Governor decides to punt on plan for road fixes

Gov. Chris Gregoire's lack of a decision on what to do about Seattle's critical state-funded road projects will be remembered as a major lack of leadership.

After months of saying she would decide how the state should spend its money to fix Seattle's waterfront viaduct freeway, in a press release today she punted the decision to city voters. She said both a new overhead freeway and a tunnel would be obstructed by opponents. She called for "a path forward" to break the stalemate but unfortunately didn't deliver.

On replacing the 520 floating bridge, she seemed to endorse the six-lane transit-friendly replacement option, but noted that the financing plan isn't sufficient. Yet she didn't suggest a better alternative.

With a difficult 2008 election ahead, she no doubt wants to avoid appearing to favor pricey Seattle projects at the expense of suburban and rural voters. Considering that options to rebuild the viaduct depend on shaky finances and will take years, she should have recommended a package of improved streets and transit, worked to build consensus with warring local politicians and then explained why the fixes matter to the whole state. This is a case where failing to take a stand is worse than making the wrong call.