Elway Research, a local polling firm, reports today that by a 15-point margin most Seattleites want to vote this summer on the proposed $4.2 billion deep-bore tunnel. But that's where agreement ends: Most voters also oppose building a new Alaskan Way Viaduct (though it is the most popular option) and, by a large margin, oppose a surface/transit alternative to the existing freeway. "There is nowhere near a consensus about what the preferred alternative should be," says firm president Stuart Elway.
The campaign Protect Seattle Now appears ready to submit enough signatures today to qualify the tunnel issue for the August ballot. Meanwhile, sources say that the Seattle City Council is trying to block that vote.
I've posted the full Elways Report in this .pdf
Pollsters began by asking asked 405 registered Seattle voters, "Should the agreement to build the tunnel stand or should the question of the viaduct replacement be put to Seattle voters?" Here's how they replied:
- Elway Poll
But while a majority of respondents want to vote, there's not majority support for any option:
- Elway Poll
Who supports the tunnel most? "The tunnel has its strongest support in the swath between downtown and Capitol Hill," Elway says. "The viaduct has the strongest support in northwest sections of the city and West Seattle." In other words, he adds, "People who drive it want the viaduct, and poeple who live with it want the tunnel."
As for the poor performance of surface/transit, Elways says, "My sense is that people are not convinced that surface/transit would handle the volume of traffic, and they have visions of clogged downtown streets and the waterfront. I think poeple just don't think it would do the job."
MY TCW: As an admitted supporter of surface/transit—which performs better on virtually all metrics than the tunnel—I don't think it's getting a fair shake. First, the broadcasting powers of the city council, governor's office, and mainstream media have routinely portrayed it as resulting in a city-wide traffic jam. That's untrue—and the state's own data prove it. Second, in this poll it's described as simply "improved surface streets," when, in fact, it also involves changes to I-5 and improvements/adjustments to transit corridors. If the tunnel gets shot down, I think we may end up with a surface alternative as our only realistic option. As Dan Bertolet lays out beautifully on Slog today, if the tunnel is rejected, we won't get a viaduct.
