Every time I see the elevated Alaskan Way Viaduct in downtown Seattle, I think of the raised (and now being razed) Central Artery in Boston and the collapse of the elevated Cypress Street decks during the Loma Prieta Earthquake. In other words, it doesn’t give me the warm fuzzies. I wasn’t surprised to find that it has been a subject of redesign for the Seattle waterfront area. Perhaps the most controversial plan, publicized today by a coalition of concerned residents, is the option of removing it and replacing it with…nothing. No tunnel, no new highway. Just some better planning on existing roads and highways to handle increased traffic. The DOT has five replacement alternatives: rebuild as it exists, rebuild widened, replace with a tunnel, a tunnel and widening of the road underneath, and a larger widening of the road underneath. Not having knowledge about the traffic patterns in that area, I’ll just hope for anything except rebuilding an elevated highway.