Nickels Pushing Mercer Fix

The Stranger has been following Mayor Greg Nickels' crusade for the Mercer Corridor Project. He's trying to pull a fast one on the city council, but they aren't buying it.

Mayor Greg Nickels has proposed a measure that would release $25 million in city funding to pay for bonds on two projects: the new Spokane Street Viaduct and the conversion of Mercer Street in South Lake Union into a two-way boulevard. The mayor's proposal links both projects together in a single ordinance; passing the ordinance would mean funding both a popular project (Spokane) and a controversial one (Mercer) simultaneously.

The Spokane proposal, which would ease congestion for drivers coming into the city from West Seattle, appears to have unanimous support on the city council, while the Mercer proposal, which the Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) contends will make it easier for drivers to access I-5 and improve travel times to nearby neighborhoods, is far more contentious. SDOT and mayoral staffers say the Mercer proposal, which would convert Mercer into a two-way boulevard and reconnect some of the street grid in South Lake Union, will improve access for cars, bikes, and pedestrians if the city moves forward with a surface/transit option for replacing the viaduct.

The city council's concern lies primarily in the Mayor's optimistic funding plan, and whether the plan would do actually do anything to fix the "Mercer Mess".

At the moment, the committee appears inclined to move forward with funding for Spokane, and yellow-light Mercer until funding can be locked down—perhaps 6 to 12 months. That would mean Mercer construction would overlap with viaduct construction. Another option would be holding off on Mercer construction until the viaduct work is finished—an option that would push work on Mercer off until 2018 or beyond. The transportation committee will take a vote on the Mercer and Spokane proposals on May 6.

Here we have a case of the council reinforcing the single driver commute, and scrutinizing a plan to make the city more pedestrian-friendly and livable. What if we lived in a world in which the Mercer Corridor Project and a surface street-viaduct replacement had unanimous support, and the Spokane Street Viaduct project was met with disdain? Wouldn't that be nice.