Editor:
I read and reread with some interest your article "TUNNEL:Skeptics have thier say" in the December 10 issue of the Herald. In particular, a quote attributed to our local City Councilman, Tom Rasmussen, caught my eye, "Why can't Seattle get things done?". I have been waiting for someone to make some suggestions, but haven't seen any in print, so here goes.
I was initially a supporter of the monorail. Then I started looking at it with a more critical eye. Lots of questions, but no answers, only arm waving. Below is a letter I sent to Councilman Rasmussen conveying some of the reasons for my skepticism.

Sent: Friday, February 04, 2011 09:46
Subject: Tunnel Skeptics

Dear Councilman Rasmussen:

I read with some interest the article in the December 10, 2010 issue of the West Seattle Herald on the subject. I was particularly bemused (or maybe amused) by a quote attributed to you, "Why can't Seattle get things done?"

I offer a few thoughts.

First and foremost, I believe, is the tendency for the movers and shakers in the community to push things while looking at the project through rose colored glasses. Recall the monorail: there were going to be two sets of tracks over the Spokane Street Bridge to handle rush hour transit requirements. Guess what, no one asked the question if the bridge could handle the load. When the question was asked and an answer sought, the answer was 'NO', and so it became a one lane crossing. Then there was the location of the tracks down the middle of California Ave. People bought the condos on California to be close to the station. The big debate was whether the lost road space was to be used for parking, left turns, or? Then some wag asked where the utilities were located on California. Woops, now the trains were going to be passing very close to those once popular condos. I could go on but I hope you see the point.

Let's talk about the Tunnel. There was joy and jubilation when the bid came in under the budget. All the leaders, state, county and city, expressed great confidence in the wisdom of their choice. Critics were jeered. Well, I just came back from a week in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. They are building metro tubes under the city. The tour bus driver was telling us about how far behind schedule and overrun they were on the latest tunnel. Then on the way out of town to the airport the taxi driver was telling us the same thing but added the sinking of the land around the construction. He claimed they evacuated a city block.
So I went to Wikipedia. I reproduce a portion of their discussion on the latest construction:

Planned
In 2002, the construction of the North/South Line was started, which was due to be completed in July 2012. Due to several setbacks and disputes with the construction company the construction of the line is behind on schedule and it is now scheduled for completion in 2017.

In 2009, a special city council investigative committee concluded that the municipality of Amsterdam "should never have approved" this project. The digging and building of underground part of the line caused historic buildings to subside and the city's budget deficit to explode. Initially the project was budgeted at €1.4 billion and it should have been finished by 2009. The total costs were re-estimated at around €3 billion and the line would not run until 2017.

The new metro line will be the first to go to the northern Amsterdam district, underneath the IJ. From there on, it will run, via Central Station to Zuid train station, which is planned to replace Amsterdam Centraal as the city's main transport hub. The project initially had a budget of €1.46 billion, but after several setbacks the total cost estimation has been adjusted to €3.1 billion (price level 2009), which will make it the most expensive metro line ever to be built worldwide. The programme has experienced several difficulties, mainly at Centraal Station, resulting in the project running more than 40% over budget. The original planned opening of 2011 has slipped several times, so the current deadline has been contractually agreed upon by all parties, with the construction companies facing fines should the completion date slip any further.

The tram line to IJburg in the east was originally planned to be a metro line, and a short tunnel was constructed from Centraal Station underneath the railway lines towards this goal. As this line was eventually constructed as a tram line, the tunnel had been abandoned, and there are plans to use it as part of a chocolate museum. There are still plans for the tram to IJburg to be upgraded to metro and connect to the nearby city ofAlmere, where big new residential areas are being built.

The North/South Line might be extended to Amsterdam Airport Schiphol in the future.

NOTE: To see a larger version of the tunnels around Amsterdam see the link above.

Keep in mind, Tom, that the Dutch have been doing this kind of stuff for years and they are having BIG problems. And our political leaders continue to look at the AWV replacement through rose colored glasses.

And that, in my opinion, is why we can't get things done. Our leaders are either ignorant, ill-informed or stupid, because they don't look carefully and pragmatically at the projects they tackle.

Regards

Mike Wayte

Beach Drive (another fiasco, but I digress)