Alaskan Way redesign sparks outrage from advocates

People are expressing their discontent over the redesign of Seattle’s waterfront.

Waterfront Seattle released an environmental impact statement that shows a portion of the new Alaskan Way will be eight lanes wide, plus a lane for parking, a bike lane, and three buffers. To cross the street between South Main Street and Yesler Way, pedestrians will have to walk 111 feet.

That has some people, such as Executive Director of Feet First Lisa Quinn, upset.

“We tear down this viaduct so that we can create a waterfront for all, and yet we end up back with an eight-lane highway,” she told KIRO 7. “We need to make it so it’s more inviting and more accessible.”

Has the perception of Bertha and the Seattle Tunnel project changed?

The reason for the roadways width is because of all the requests the city received. KIRO Radio’s Chris Sullivan says the Port of Seattle requested four lanes (two in each direction), Metro wanted dedicated bus lanes, and the ferry system requested two turn lanes for northbound drivers entering Colman Dock. Everyone had a finger in the pie, Sullivan said.

However, Alaskan Way will only be that wide for about four blocks. North of Yesler Way, the number of lanes reduces to four.

“It will be reduced once you’re past the ferry dock, which is one reason why it is so wide,” Sullivan explained.

Colman Dock served more than 9.5 million ferry and water taxi riders in 2015. With a growing population, that number isn’t expected to shrink any time soon.

Additionally, the state is working to replace the old and seismically vulnerable parts of Colman Dock. The work includes replacing the main terminal building and reconfiguring the dock layout. A description of all the work can be found here.

The Seattle Times reports the new Alaskan Way could be finished by 2020. That work is dependent on the Seattle tunnel project, which could open sometime in 2019.

The Washington State Department of Transportation reports Bertha the boring machine has tunneled more than 5,000 of the 9,270 feet required to break through to the north end of the tunnel. The most recent schedule shows the breakthrough happening in 2017.

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