An 8-Year-Long Emergency

New Seattle mayor McGinn enters the scene with hopes of dismantling the tunnel project while progressive Seattle grapples with its desire for a 'Waterfront For All', what the deep bore tunnel promises, and the reality of investing long term in a car-centric future. For others, the end result feels certain: “ When we’re done down there [on the waterfront] everybody will win. Without one iota bit of...

A state-mandated public vote shoots down both tunnel and elevated viaduct and its back to the drawing board. Three new coalitions form to come up with alternatives and while chewing on various options, new deep bore tunnel technology arrives on the scene. But who will foot the bill?  “Interestingly, it is the fact that it took so long to get to this point in the process that actually made the...

How far have we come? Did we learn from our past mistakes? In this episode, officials and archival voices remember the inequities of previous highway construction in the region and this time, a state-mandated public vote decides the fate of the viaduct, bringing us up to 2007.  “I think the whole engagement process with people has evolved over the years...a lot of folks were negatively i...

The game is afoot! The first several years following the Nisqually Earthquake witnessed " the winding and cranking of the system through the city, and the state and the federal government, [and] the stakeholders " to come up with a new vision for the Seattle waterfront. In this episode, we introduce some of the key players in the system and listen as 76 potential replacement op...

Dive into the history of Seattle's Central Waterfront, uncovering layers of colonial empire building, settler place-making, and Indigenous displacement, and highlighting the significance of Native inclusion in the planning of the new Waterfront Park. As the episode reveals, " Even though it’s changed dramatically over time, repeatedly, you can still see traces and tou...

Be it rickety pilings or concrete behemoth, Seattle's industrial transportation along the waterfront has only been as strong as the seawall beneath it. In this episode, we remember fondly the "gritty, grungy" viaduct and the not-so-hallowed ground upon which it stood.  With both the viaduct and seawall breathing their last breathes, Seattle faces a full shoreline reorganization and as Knute B...