Seattle Initiative 123:
An Unfunded, Irresponsible Mandate
The idea is to model a Seattle park after New York’s privately funded Skyline Park.
I-123 would replace the Viaduct with an elevated park. Unlike Skyline in Manhattan, there is no private donor underwriting this bad idea. Instead 123 grants an unelected board unlimited access to the City’s budget to implement their plan to build the massive elevated structure running from the Pike Place Market to Century Link field.
Even the architect of the Skyline Park, James Corner, has expressed outrage about the idea. Corner designed the proposal for the new Waterfront Park and understand the need to somehow restore the connection between downtown and the waterfront that was destroyed when the Viaduct walled off downtown.