Viaduct vote will proceed

The viaduct vote will go on.

Efforts by two Seattle City Council members to cancel the March 13 advisory vote have failed.

Stephanie Pure, aide to Councilman Peter Steinbrueck, said he couldn't get enough of his colleagues to agree, and so there will be no stopping the election. Steinbrueck said the ballot measures on how to replace the Alaskan Way Viaduct were "a sham and a fiasco,"

Steinbrueck and Council President Nick Licata wanted to stop the advisory vote, and perhaps save some of the $1 million the all-mail election is expected to cost.

The election, asking voters whether they want to see a tunnel or another elevated structure on the waterfront, was requested in December by Gov. Christine Gregoire.

But after the state Department of Transportation released a report this week saying the city's proposal for a slimmer tunnel would not work, Gregoire said she would proceed with an elevated replacement. It was, she said, "the one option that meets safety standards and is fiscally responsible."

Other council members say the vote, for which ballots must be postmarked by March 13, is the only way to tell the governor they don't want another elevated viaduct on the waterfront.

Ballots will be mailed to voters next week.

Susan Gilmore: 206-464-2054 or sgilmore@seattletimes.com