"Oh yeah Atlas, with me and the other 109,999 drivers dispersed to the freeway and surface streets I don’t know how you think you’ll even get near downtown. btw, there’s a GREAT view of puget sound from the viaduct."

They had the same whining in SF about tearing down the Embarcadero. Turned out not to be the traffic apocalypse everyone said it would be.

Great view?? Shouldn't you be paying attention to your driving when you're on the viaduct?

I agree about placing the convention center on top of I-5. Truly a stupid decision but Seattle seems to excel at stupid transit decisions (monorails, floating/sinking bridges, 520 being only two lanes, etc., etc.)

Oh Evan, I forgot that YOU are the center of the universe!!!!!!! Oh it is so much more important that you be able to have a conversation near the viaduct than the entire west side of Seattle be able to commute, conduct business, get to the airport, etc. So sorry!!!

Viaduct or tunnel?

Has anyone noticed it rains here? Sheltered parking under the viaduct is a huge plus when I visit Seattle. Widen and shorten the viaduct. Put all the tourist businesses under the viaduct out of the rain. Create a covered pedestrian mall along the waterfront.

The view was blocked long before you moved here.

Anyone remember how over budget and delayed the bus tunnel was? Do you think a tunnel next to and below sea level will be any different? (See Boston's Big Dig).

If you want to point fingers find the idiot who put the convention center over I-5 creating the only place between Tijuana, Mexico and Vancouver, BC where I-5 can not be widened.

A bus to Auburn. Yes. Oh, wait - No. 2.5 hours on the bus is not really an option.

Not everyone driving on the Viaduct is working in places that can be bussed to.

Busses are an important piece of the equation, but they are not the be all, end all solution.

You want Seattle to grow up as a city? Look at Manhattan. It's been around for a while. It has a similar land setup, with water on both sides.

Where will the traffic go? How about on to buses?

I think it would be fun. The no kids rule would exclude me and mine though.

I wonder where you "tear out the viaduct" people think the traffic will go to. Have you ever driven on it during rush hour when i-5 is a parking lot? There are too many people trying to go N/S for there only to be one limited access road.

Also, that "clean" graffiti is awesome. I want to know more about Hogie!

Atlas is right - its time for Seattle to grow up as a city and reclaim the downtown streetscape from that behemoth of a piece of infrastructure. With improved transit, a boulevard or a tunnel, and improvements on I-5 those 109,999 drivers (and Atlas!) will be fine.

We'll take a picture of your "view" for you so you can hang it on your wall, while I enjoy being able to have a conversation within 3 blocks of the waterfront again.

Oh yeah Atlas, with me and the other 109,999 drivers dispersed to the freeway and surface streets I don't know how you think you'll even get near downtown. btw, there's a GREAT view of puget sound from the viaduct. And believe me, when they build the condos you'll have less of a view than you do now!!

I wonder if they plan to clean the Battery Street Tunnel while the viaduct is closed. Although I like graffitti that "cleans" the walls instead of using paint. Anyone else see that?

U ARE DULL!USIONAL.

A tour of the Viaduct? That sounds dull. How about tearing it down so we can actually see Puget Sound from the city? Or will all the truck drivers protest?