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Thursday, September 23, 2004
Can't do without it
It's tempting to flirt with the People's Waterfront Coalition's notion we can get by without the Alaskan Way Viaduct. It's founded on a wonderfully idealistic theory, one of reduced dependence on the single-occupancy vehicle and imported oil, of alternative transit modes and priority for pedestrians and bikers.
"Demand is reduced when capacity is reduced," says co-chairwoman Cary Moon. "People adjust in a few months."
Moon's comments are founded on a British study, which shows that when a highway is removed, 25 percent of the trips previously taken on it simply aren't taken anymore.
At face value, however, that still leaves 75 percent of the trips looking for somewhere else to go.
Even if its demise -- by earthquake or intent -- were to make 25 percent of the viaduct's 110,000 daily trips vanish, that would still push some 82,000 vehicles onto the rest of the city's already congested arterials and freeways. The impacts on traffic congestion and freight mobility would be unacceptable, according to a state analysis.
It's wise to examine alternatives should an earthquake leave us without the structure, but unwise to let fanciful what-ifs distract from the task of replacing the viaduct.
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