Seattle -
Dreading yet another trek to work tomorrow morning on the 520 bridge? It's been the talk of the town after Microsoft took out a full-page ad in the paper, pushing the state to get moving on repairs.
The bridge is so bad right now it helped put Seattle near the top of a new list of most congested cities.
For more than 10 years, people have debated a solution to the traffic troubles. Last year, the state legislature approved a plan to expand 520 to include three lanes in each direction. The Seattle City Council signed off on it and so did WSDOT.
Seattle's new mayor has a different idea though. He wants to keep 520 at two lanes on each side and build a light rail line across the bridge.
"The public gets it. 70% of people in Seattle and 70% of people on the east side think building light rail over 520 is a smart idea for the future, and if our elected officials caught up with the public we could get this project done faster," says Mike McGinn.
We asked drivers who sit in this mess every day what they think about the two ideas.
"I'd like to see the light rail but I don't think commuters that drive vehicles are going to make the change," says Danny Godinez.
"I think they should expand it but allow people to use the transit lanes in the meantime," says Susan Sarrafan.
Other commuters brought their opinions to a public hearing Tuesday night.
"We need to be moving beyond the 1950's transportation thinking," says Noam Gundle. "We have different environmental realities now. We need to have the possibility of light rail across this bridge."
Of course, the question remains whether Mayor McGinn even has the power to halt the current plan.
"There are a lot of conversations still yet to be had in this process," says Julie Meredith with WSDOT. "Now is the time to hear from everybody including the new mayor about what they see as the future of the region."
For now, both proposals are stuck in gridlock, just like the drivers they're intended to help.
Microsoft is getting pretty vocal about completing repairs to the 520 bridge now, not later. 5,000 Microsoft employees use the bridge every day.
The company supports the original plan with unrestricted HOV lanes.
So what's next? The city has hired a consultant firm to examine both options, to the tune of $251,000. Preliminary results will be done in the middle of April, with a final recommendation at the end of June.
That will be presented to both city council and WSDOT.
The bridge is so bad right now it helped put Seattle near the top of a new list of most congested cities.
For more than 10 years, people have debated a solution to the traffic troubles. Last year, the state legislature approved a plan to expand 520 to include three lanes in each direction. The Seattle City Council signed off on it and so did WSDOT.
Seattle's new mayor has a different idea though. He wants to keep 520 at two lanes on each side and build a light rail line across the bridge.
"The public gets it. 70% of people in Seattle and 70% of people on the east side think building light rail over 520 is a smart idea for the future, and if our elected officials caught up with the public we could get this project done faster," says Mike McGinn.
We asked drivers who sit in this mess every day what they think about the two ideas.
"I'd like to see the light rail but I don't think commuters that drive vehicles are going to make the change," says Danny Godinez.
"I think they should expand it but allow people to use the transit lanes in the meantime," says Susan Sarrafan.
Other commuters brought their opinions to a public hearing Tuesday night.
"We need to be moving beyond the 1950's transportation thinking," says Noam Gundle. "We have different environmental realities now. We need to have the possibility of light rail across this bridge."
Of course, the question remains whether Mayor McGinn even has the power to halt the current plan.
"There are a lot of conversations still yet to be had in this process," says Julie Meredith with WSDOT. "Now is the time to hear from everybody including the new mayor about what they see as the future of the region."
For now, both proposals are stuck in gridlock, just like the drivers they're intended to help.
Microsoft is getting pretty vocal about completing repairs to the 520 bridge now, not later. 5,000 Microsoft employees use the bridge every day.
The company supports the original plan with unrestricted HOV lanes.
So what's next? The city has hired a consultant firm to examine both options, to the tune of $251,000. Preliminary results will be done in the middle of April, with a final recommendation at the end of June.
That will be presented to both city council and WSDOT.
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