News
Smart Growth Group Says New Traffic Stats Show Tunnel is Unnecessary
Using data from the Seattle Department of Transportation (which I wrote about here), the Congress for the New Urbanism---a Chicago-based group that advocates for smart growth planning strategies---reports
that the number of trips Seattle residents take by car per capita has actually declined 14 percent, making the deep-bore tunnel, in the CNU's words, "senseless."
The group reached the 14 percent figure by combining a six-percent decline in auto trips with a ten percent increase in population.
"The reasons for this make sense, as in that same timeframe the city has made more efficient use of its existing network of streets, started light rail service, improved bus and commuter rail service, created better bicycle facilities, made the downtown more pedestrian-friendly, and set a goal of being carbon neutral by 2030," the CNU reports.
Despite this decline, the state Department of Transportation has justified the tunnel, in part, based on projections of ever-increasing downtown traffic---in direct contradiction to city and state policy that aims to dramatically reduce vehicle miles traveled and greenhouse gas emissions.
The group reached the 14 percent figure by combining a six-percent decline in auto trips with a ten percent increase in population.
"The reasons for this make sense, as in that same timeframe the city has made more efficient use of its existing network of streets, started light rail service, improved bus and commuter rail service, created better bicycle facilities, made the downtown more pedestrian-friendly, and set a goal of being carbon neutral by 2030," the CNU reports.
Despite this decline, the state Department of Transportation has justified the tunnel, in part, based on projections of ever-increasing downtown traffic---in direct contradiction to city and state policy that aims to dramatically reduce vehicle miles traveled and greenhouse gas emissions.
