Coping with the coming years of construction detours due to replacement of the Alaskan Way Viaduct was the predominant theme of questions directed at Deputy Mayor Tim Ceis during a meeting of the Fauntleroy Community Association.

Will the city widen the Spokane Street Viaduct and build a Fourth Avenue South exit before they tear down the Alaskan Way Viaduct downtown? Will service be expanded for the Elliott Bay water taxi? What about light rail coming to West Seattle?

Ceis spoke at the March 1 meeting of the Fauntleroy Community Association at The Hall at Fauntleroy. About 80 people attended.

The deputy mayor said the Spokane Street Viaduct would be widened prior to construction of whatever is to replace the Alaskan Way Viaduct along the waterfront. In addition, the new interchange planned near the stadiums will be built as well as the Lander Street overpass across the railroad tracks before the Alaskan Way Viaduct is demolished, he said.

Several people asked about expanding water taxi service to partly offset loss of the viaduct during the years of construction. Ceis was confident the water taxi would qualify for what's called "mitigation" money to help the community cope with the long construction period. There would be an expected $200 million in mitigation money available, Ceis said.

There's been talk of putting a larger vessel on the Elliott Bay water taxi route. Even more important is having a permanent dock location for the water taxi, with secure car parking, somewhere along Harbor Avenue Southwest.

For years, the Elliott Bay water taxi has loaded and unloaded passengers from a floating dock at Seacrest Park. But that facility is part of a city park and has always been a temporary solution to a lack of dock space on the West Seattle shore.

A permanent dock was previously recommended just south of Salty's on Alki and, according to Ceis, that is still the planned option.

The lengthy construction closure could merit year-round service for the water taxi too, he said.

An audience member asked if Sound Transit's light rail line might be coming to West Seattle.

"The West Seattle Bridge is not suited to a light-rail configuration," Ceis said.

West Seattleites most likely will have to rely on Metro buses which, under the Rapid Ride program voters approved in the fall, will come by each stop much more frequently, he said.

Other topics of interest to the Fauntleroy neighborhood were discussed with the deputy mayor too. Drainage got a lot of attention because Fauntleroy suffered more than many other neighborhoods during the mid-December wind and snow.

A person in the audience asked when to expect repairs on a road near 47th Avenue Southwest and Maplewood Place Southwest that has just one lane due to damage by a landslide. It hasn't been fixed since the Hanukkah Eve storm, in which a large volume of water fell within 15 minutes.

"That storm showed some of the weaknesses of our system," Ceis said. "It was an unprecedented storm. We can't design a system to deal with that."

In the 9200 block of Fauntleroy Way, streets, yards and even homes flooded. The city requires contractors to install special storm-drain filters known as storm socks located in street drains to capture sediment and pollutants. Neighbors say their flood resulted because the filters were not properly maintained so they clogged and stopped draining.

Jack Lawless, whose home was flooded in the storm, recommended the city require contractors to pay a deposit to install the filters. Their deposits would be returned only after the filters were properly maintained throughout the length of the project and removed at the end.

"Good idea," Ceis said. "We'll look into it."

With the March 13 deadline fast approaching to mail in ballots regarding replacement of the Alaskan Way Viaduct, Deputy Mayor and West Seattle resident Tim Ceis believes the advisory vote "will send a message to Olympia," although he did not explain how to decode it.

Ceis also said Mayor Greg Nickels, the No. 1 cheerleader for a tunnel, will abide by the results of the election.

Among an evening full of questions for the deputy mayor, he was asked how much real estate around the Alaskan Way Viaduct could be developed by private interests.

A 75-foot-wide public promenade is planned along the waterfront, Ceis said. There also would be four lanes of traffic, as well as a 40-foot-wide pedestrian walkway.

"So all of it goes into public use," Ceis said.

Tim St. Clair can be contacted at tstclair@robinsonnews.com or 932-0300.