The closure of the West Seattle bridge for eight hours last week demonstrated how much we will miss the monorail and how much we will need to strengthen and expand the services of the Elliott Bay Water Taxi.

The tragic accident that killed three young men demonstrated what will happen when the Alaskan Way Viaduct is closed for years to be rebuilt. The concerns about the commuting woes of our community were basically ignored by the mayor, city coucil and downtown interests when they caused the monorail to be trashed.

During last Thursday morning, the water taxi ferried 1,147 passengers to the downtown waterfront. That compares with an average 530 riders the water taxi has logged on an average June morning.

County Councilman Dow Constantine was justifiable happy about performance of the service of the water taxi he has strongly supported over the years.

"This unprecedented one-day ridership demonstrates the water taxi's importance as an emergency transportation safety valve for the West Seattle peninsula," said Constantine. "In light of the devastating effect the upcoming reconstruction of the Alaskan Way Viaduct is expected to have on auto access to West Seattle, expansion of water taxi service could be a key mitigation measure." He is right.

Parked cars packed the area near Seacrest Park, the docking place for the water taxi. It seems that even the parking enforcement officers got a chance to increase their numbers because white slips of paper were flapping from many of the cars precariously parked along the steep edge of California Way as it loops down to Harbor Drive.

Thousands of other commuters were forced to cancel going downtown, drive circuitous routes or simply wait for the bridge to open.

The reaction to the police closure of the bridge so officers could conduct a complete and thorough investigation of the tragedy brought out the worst in some people.

A caller to this newspaper was angry when we could not tell them exactly when the bridge would reopen. One loud-mouthed television commentator admitted he felt "like a jerk" for suggesting an eight hour closure for the investigation was "five or six hours too long." Well, he partly right.

The police had found a car fully engulfed in flames, unable to even tell how many people were inside. Imagine the outrage of the public if the police had done a quick, slapdash investigation. The police were right and the complainers were simply placing their own narrow interests over good investigative work. They should be ashamed.