Join Something!

The community of concern about the future of the central waterfront got a major jolt recently, as Mayor McGinn said he would push for an immediate vote to build a new seawall. All the vague talk about how much he valued community input and good design was exploded by a call for the bulldozers.

If you left the matter up to WSDOT you’d get a freeway on the waterfront. If you left it up to SDOT, you’d get an ‘urban arterial’- that’s a freeway with traffic lights and a speed limit of 35. What will make a difference will be the other stakeholders, ranging from environmental groups to Washington tribes- and beyond.

Bike groups, museum groups, commercial groups, neighborhood groups- many of these will be fighting for better pedestrian and people access and use on the waterfront, and they need all the help they can get. And if that help comes in the form of a person who also favors a streetcar running in the mix, so much the better.

If you’ll excuse a personal note, my biggest mistake in life was not joining and participating in more groups. Believe it, you want to be involved in this process, and will remember with pride having been involved as long as you live.

So join a group and participate. It’s crunch time.