The Seattle Times editorial board recently published a take on the Seattle Waterfront, and, while the Blethen gang being wrong isn’t news, it’s also a great opportunity to talk about what actually makes a great street and public space.
Spoiler: It’s not nine lanes of traffic. But that’s what parts of the new Alaskan Way Boulevard got. The Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) tore down its hulking waterfront highway viaduct only to place just as many lanes at ground level — and actually more south of Columbia Street, where the road turns into a giant queuing zone for the Seattle Ferry Terminal. Plus, of course the $4 billion SR-99 expressway tunnel underneath the city added four more bypass lanes. Plus, surprise: the new Elliott Way adds four more lanes funneling yet more cars and trucks into Belltown and the Waterfront — and directly adjacent to the new aquarium that is to be one of the park’s centerpieces.
