Here’s some shocking news: voters’ view of an issue changes depending on the information they have.
That’s seems to be the case when it comes to replacing Seattle’s earthquake-damaged viaduct freeway. A poll earlier this month of 400 voters (40 percent over age 60), found 47 percent support for a new elevated freeway along the waterfront and 29 percent support for a tunnel. Politicians who can’t decide have used the poll as proof of public support for a new viaduct.
But another poll of 400, mostly younger, voters found that 52 percent supported a tunnel when told of the cost and larger size of a rebuilt viaduct. Fifty-five percent supported a tunnel when told that it would create open space downtown. The second poll was sponsored by business and anti-viaduct groups.
The results suggest that representatives need to lead on this issue, rather than look to polls for support. Replacing the viaduct with a combination of improved surface streets and transit remains the least costly and most effective way to handle this opportunity to reshape the core of the city.
Comments
2 responses to “Transport fixes need leadership, not polls”
Casually referring to once option as the ‘most effective’ is an awfully flippant way to assess a complicated issue.
One major problem here is a failure to capture potential external benefits in the decision making process. For example, I’d bet that lease payments on opened land would substantially offset the cost of a tunnel.
We’ve linked to lots of data suggesting the surface option is “most effective,” especially when it comes to making the city more livable, with more transit. Here’s an interesting outside link: http://www.cnu.org/news/index.cfm?formAction=press_release_item&press_release_id=92&CFID=14859212&CFTOKEN=99976501. Nothing flippant about that.