A coalition of environmental, immigrant and social justice groups that includes Real Change plans to file a new city initiative this week aimed at keeping Seattle taxpayers from being liable for cost overruns for the deep-bore tunnel planned to replace the Alaskan Way Viaduct.
Unlike a competing measure that asks voters to kill the tunnel project, the Move Seattle Smarter initiative follows the money, organizers said. It would require the city to put mechanisms in place to protect itself from cost overruns not just on the tunnel, but any state transportation project the city is a party to, said coalition spokesperson and Sierra Club activist Drew Paxton.
Among the measures the mayor and City Council would have to adopt is a viable funding plan to pay for the city portion of state transportation projects, Paxton said. The group hadn't finalized its initiative language at press time, but wants to create commissions of residents and stakeholders to oversee costs of such projects, Paxton said.
Mayor Mike McGinn has argued that cost overruns on the $2 billion tunnel, which is slated to replace the Alaskan Way Viaduct portion of Highway 99, could eat up all or part of the city's operating budget. That would leave little or no funding for other city essentials like human services, tunnel opponents have said.
"We're looking to give not only our constituents, but the citizens of Seattle a voice, which they haven't had throughout this process," Paxton said.
The Sierra Club and the United African Public Affairs Committee are also part of the coalition. Once the initiative is filed, the groups have 180 days to collect roughly 20,000 signatures from Seattle voters to qualify for the May ballot.