Dear Editor,

During the past year of stakeholders meetings, we have written letters concerning the Alaskan Way Viaduct. In one of those letters we suggested that the communities of Ballard, Queen Anne, Magnolia, and West Seattle join together as a group regarding the replacement of the SR 99 Highway.

Our state legislators and the Governor decided that they know what is best and decided to ignore the stakeholder’s options. The two options were a replacement elevated structure and a surface street option.

In opposition of the people’s vote in March 2007 election the people voted 70 percent against a tunnel.

The tunnel option does not offer the same access to that of the current viaduct. It prevents access to and from the three communities. Support for the Seattle tunnel is already caving in.

The city does not have its share of funding and is determined to tax the people of Seattle for all cost overruns. The project will raise taxes and the people will not have any rights or any say in the project’s financing. We feel to penalize only the people of Seattle, seeing our state legislators voted in favor of the project we feel that the State should also be responsible for any excess costs overruns of the total project.

We believe that taxing only the people of Seattle is construed as taxation without representation and we are entitled to vote on any measure that pertains to raising the taxes of the people of Seattle on a state approved project that doesn’t fulfill the needs of our current and future transportation needs.

It is imperative that the cost of this magnitude of a project can exceed the total allowed budget re: Seattle Monorail project where the cost went from $1.6 billion to over $11 billion. It could double the amount allocated by so-called experts who claim there will be no cost overruns.

We the people have and should be able to vote on this monstrosity.

Mabel Aide
Guy Gallipeau
West Seattle