eattle
istoric                                                       Port Commission
aterfront                                               Meeting of
ssociation

January 7,2009
Governor Chris Gregoire
Office of the Governor
PO Box 40002
Olympia, WA 98504-0002
Cc: King County Executive Ron Sims, Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels
Dear Governor Gregoire:
We are writing on behalf of the Seattle Historic Waterfront Association, which
consists of businesses, organizations and property owners on the piers and waterfi-ont
property north of Colman Dock, all located at ground zero of the impact zone for the
Alaskan Way Viaduct Replacement Project. We have been active on the Stakeholders
Advisory Group and other public forums, and have carefilly studied the three alternatives
in final discussion, including potential mitigation scenarios for our businesses and homes.
After thousands of hours of meetings with the stakeholders and the project team, along
with independent analysis of the options, our conclusion is that only the tunnel hybrid
option would allow our businesses to survive and our homes to remain livable, while
serving the urgent needs and best interests of our community and state.
By way of background, our group consists of the privately owned piers and the
businesses along the water including Ye Olde Curiosity Shop, Argosy, Victoria Clipper,
Miner's Landing, Ivar'sand the gift shops, hotels, restaurantsand professional service
firms- plus a number of condominium owners and the Seattle Aquarium Society, a nonprofit
that supports the Seattle Aquarium, a division of Seattle Parks on Piers 59 and 60.
Among us, we employ about 1,500 people and serve between 2.5 and 3 million visitors
per year. Our revenues are about $60 million annually. We are both the historiccore of
Seattle's tourist industry and the most vulnerable businesses to the disruption caused
during construction of a new elevated viaduct and the congestion caused by the surfaceonly
option.
Recently we have been gratified by reports that the deep bore tunnel)
surface/transit hybrid is back on the table after having earlier been eliminated by oficials.
There are many reasons for our concerns about the other two options and our support for
a plan that includes the deep bore tunnel to provide capacity for traffic trying to bypass
downtown Seattle:


Pier 57, 1301 Alaskan Way, Seattle WA, 98101.Tel. 206.623.8600   *

"- *
Y

GowrnorChris Gregoire
January 7,2009
Page 2
The Elevated Hybrid Kills Us in Construction
The 5-to-7 years of construction, comprised of the demolition of the current
viaduct, utility relocation and reconstruction of a new structure (along with the resulting
traMic congestion), will virtually cut off our businesses from our customers, including
residents, employees, tourists and shoppers and make homes on the Waterfiont
uninhabitable. It eliminates most of the parking our organizations tely on and there is no
mitigation plan for this disruption. Our careful analysis shows that our businesses will not
survive this process and our homes will be both uninhabitable and unsalable.
The Surface/Transit Option Kills Us in Operation
Eliminating the conduit for 1 10,000 trips a day on SR 99 will result in
considerable traffic congestion along the surface option's arterials- Western Avenue and
Alaskan Way, especially with 23 stoplights planned. Even with improvements to 1-5 and
transit, the Project Team's traffic model says trucks and other W i cwill crowd the
waterfront and Western Avenue. By adding between 19,000 and 22,000 trips a day along
Alaskan Way - bringing the total to 30,000 vehicles each day- the surface/transit option
creates an insurmountablebarrier to our businesses for our customers. Our customers are
not (primarily) commuters, who can rely on transit for their routine trips to work. We rely
on family groups of customers being able to park and access our businesses. Like the
elevated option, the surfacdtransitoption, as it is now configured, eliminatesmost
downtown parking and, again, there is no mitigation plan.
The Tunnel Hybrid Gives Us a Shot to Survive
This option least disrupts the waterfront and downtown during construction and
provides the most capacity and quickest travel times for through traffic that needs to bypass
downtown. It gets the 55-80% of the viaduct's trafic that currently bypasses the city
off city streets, to make urban living easier and allow access to our businesses. That is
true even during construction, because the tunnel can be built while the existing viaduct
is still hnctioning.
In addition to allowing our businesses to survive and our homes to remain
habitable, this option has significant regional advantages. It allows industrial traffic to
pass through the area unimpeded, supporting operations by the Port of Seattle, freight,
maritime, and aircraft industries. It also fblfills the goal of reuniting the waterfront with
downtown, thus benefiting ow businesses and allowing the city to create a world-class
pedestrian environment on the Waterfront.
According to outside experts, the concerns over cost of the tunnel may be
exaggerated, given the improvements in tunneling technology. This is an issue that we
know the state and project team are investigating carefully and urgently. However, the
cost should be viewed in terms of tradeoffs. lf you measure the capital cost of the tunnel
against the advantages of saving waterfiont and downtown businesses, aiding industrial
truck users and the Port, and creating a unique urban space between the Market and the

Governor Chris Gregoire
January7,2009
Page 3
waterfront, it is easy to see that this could be the best investment for the state, county and
city.
Finally, the tunnel could have the lowest lifetime costs-the nearest evidence
being the Great Northern Tunnel now in its second century of operation. And, a tunnel is
the safest option in a seismic zone.
We would be glad to meet with you at any time to share our findings and discuss
our concerns, and we stand ready to help make this hybrid solution work.
Sincerely,


John Blackman
President
Seattle Historic Waterfiont Association
Cc: The Hon. Lisa Brown, Majority Leader, Washington State Senate; The Hon. Bill
Bryant, Commissioner, Port of Seattle; The Hon. Tim Burgess, Seattle City
Councilmember;The Hon. Judy Clibbom, Washington State Representative; The Hon.
Dow Constantine, King County Councilmember; The Hon, John Creighton,
Commissioner, Port of Seattle; Ms. Grace Crunican, Director, Seattle Department of
Transportation; The Hon. Jan Drago, Seattle City Councilmember; Mr. David Dye,
Deputy Director, Washington State Department of Transportation; Mr. Harold S.
Taniguchi, Director, King County Department of Transportation; The Hon, Gael
Tarleton, Commissioner, Port of Seattle; Mr. Tay Yoshitani, Port of Seattle CEO
Seattle Historic Waterfront Association Members
Alaskan Sourdough Bakery
Argosy
Exclusively Washington
Fisherman's Restaurant
Ivar's
Martin Smith, Inc.
Miner's Landing
Pier 57 Food Court, Carousel and Arcade
Pirate's Plunder
Seattle Aquarium Society
Victoria Clipper
Ye Olde Curiosity Shop