Simply think about: What if Seattle had by no means torn down the viaduct and was nonetheless debating the following steps of the waterfront? Image a shoreline walled off by a crumbling freeway casting concrete shadows over Elliott Bay, drowning out ferry horns and slicing residents off from one of many metropolis’s treasures. Think about the persevering with risk of an earthquake — longer or stronger than the 40 seconds of the 2001 Nisqually earthquake — that might have introduced the viaduct down immediately.
That was practically our future.
As a substitute, we selected a transformational imaginative and prescient. We tore down the barrier and reconnected our metropolis to the ocean. Playgrounds, paths and sweeping overlooks changed grey concrete, making a civic area that welcomes guests and residents and gives enterprise alternatives. It was proof that this metropolis can dream massive and ship once we come collectively.
As we rejoice the waterfront, we are able to additionally take away three key classes for the following civic initiatives: decisive management, perseverance and shared duty.
In Seattle and Washington, we delight ourselves on strong public processes. We should take heed to all voices — however course of can’t turn out to be paralysis. Leaders should weigh the choices, hear from the group after which make the exhausting selections, even when consensus proves elusive.
Second, perseverance is crucial when challenges mount. From modifications in elected management to unexpected hurdles, this venture was examined many times. Quitting was by no means an choice, and might’t be within the years forward.
Lastly, we should embrace shared duty. No single particular person may have delivered the waterfront alone. Our largest initiatives forward would require the identical spirit of public-private partnership.
Over twenty years, native and state officers carried this work ahead — every chapter constructing on the final. Governors stored the substitute going and secured funding. Lawmakers in Olympia delivered funding and oversight. Washington State Division of Transportation leaders studied alternate options, navigated setbacks and shepherded one of the most complex projects in our state’s historical past to completion. The Port of Seattle safeguarded freight mobility and stored the working waterfront robust. Mayors, councilmembers and county executives imagined, debated and finally agreed to tear down the viaduct and create a waterfront park. And behind all of them have been the employees groups whose persistence and problem-solving turned the plan right into a actuality.
Engineers, expert trades and crews solved one among Seattle’s biggest infrastructural challenges and made the inconceivable attainable, whereas metropolis designers and planners envisioned a public area worthy of our collective creativeness.
Above all, it was the individuals of Seattle — neighbors, staff and companies — who made their voices heard on the poll field, persevered throughout a decade of building and finally backed a shared imaginative and prescient to make a tunnel, seawall and waterfront park actual. They have been joined by a coalition of group leaders and philanthropic champions — like Buddies of Waterfront Park — who rallied public assist, raised personal funds and ensured the brand new waterfront could be not simply infrastructure, however a spot for everybody.
Seattle’s waterfront proves that our metropolis and state can nonetheless do massive issues. Washington has by no means shied away from daring concepts — the House Needle within the Nineteen Sixties, the world’s largest floating bridge, the world’s longest tunnel on the time and now a waterfront opened to town of Seattle: a generational achievement.
And it’s a reminder that once we lead with imaginative and prescient and dedication, we are able to construct one thing lasting. As we glance to the long run, let our waterfront be a blueprint for as we speak’s challenges. It’s a testomony to what’s attainable once we come collectively throughout political variations and institutional silos to serve the general public good even when the trail ahead is complicated. At a time when establishments really feel paralyzed, that lesson is extra pressing than ever.
We tore down a freeway and constructed a horizon — not simply of water and mountains, however of risk. That’s town and state we’re, prepared to show the following problem into alternative.
Congratulations, all!
Observe: Waterfront Park’s grand opening celebration is 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Sept. 6, and can provide guests stay performances, artwork installations, a beer backyard and meals vans, amongst different leisure. Free. Data: waterfrontparkseattle.org
