People agree they want the right solution for the future, though they disagree what exactly should replace the Alaskan Way Viaduct.

At an open house last week at Seattle Center, people questioned transportation staff and voiced opinions about what should be done with the waterfront structure. This was the first of three community meetings this month.

"The only true right answer is retrofitting and repairing the viaduct," said Bud Shasteen of West Seattle. "When they mentioned a surface street, I thought they were kidding. The tunnel is in disrepute. We voted against it.

"Their grandiose plans will cost us time and inconvenience and money."

As he and others spoke, transportation engineers and agency staff stood before placards and were explaining plans, answering questions, inviting comments. Each section around the room showed a different building block toward a solution for the central portion of the Alaskan Way Viaduct: improvements which can be made to public transit, surface streets, the interstate, policies and management, along with the 10 sets of alternatives to the viaduct structure itself.

Advocates brought their presentations too. In the hallway, a model of the Elliott Bay Bridge design showed extended flat stanchions. Another map showed the alignment of a floating bridge and its off-ramps to downtown streets. In the room, a movie ran on a laptop showing a cable-stayed design for a on-land bridge where the viaduct stands now.

Public comments were introduced by Bob Powers, deputy director with the Seattle Department of Transportation, and Ron Paananen, the Alaskan Way Viaduct project director with the Washington State Department of Transportation. Also up front sat Ron Posthuma, assistant director with King County Department of Transportation.

After Shasteen, Kingsley Hall was next. He had been handing out flyers and carrying a hand-lettered sign reading "Don't tear down the viaduct until a floating bridge is built." At the microphone, he admitted to being 73 years old, but claimed at 27 he was "the only qualified engineer" to work on the Hood Canal Bridge

He proposed a floating bridge linking the Battery Street Tunnel with Terminal 34 on Harbor Island. With sliding draw spans, it could act as a breakwater for new waterfront marinas.

Hall said he just missed getting Initiative 964 on the ballot this fall, asking for a city vote on his plan.

Victor Gray came from Port Townsend to testify. He's a retired engineer and long-time advocate for retrofitting the existing viaduct. He said a retrofit can be done for billions less and no closures to traffic.

"We're getting a one-sided story here," he said, nodding apologetically to Powers, Paananen and Posthuma. "I think we're getting sandbagged by bureaucrats."

Next Ron Ubaghs, an urban planner and environmental analyst, is concerned about development after construction. He's afraid the waterfront will end up a "gentrified, urban park of nondescript condos, a neighborhood for millionaires."

"It may look pretty," he said, "but it won't be where families will want to go."

Pike Place Market was saved from being torn down for a shopping mall. The terra cotta architecture was saved in Pioneer Square. Similarly, Ubaghs said, the waterfront should be preserved.

"People are just crazy about our gritty, mixed-up environment."

"Everyone is marking their own trees," observed Teagan McDonald, with the Pike Place Market. She doubts her dream, a long waterfront park with walking and bicycle paths, will ever be built. But, "I hope we will do something positive instead of having another turf fight."

Jessie Israel, from Ballard, applauded the cooperation she sees between the state, county and city agencies. She was proud when the convention center was built, as well as the Olympic Sculpture Park.

"I'm looking forward to a solution (for the viaduct), not for today, not for tomorrow, but for my lifetime," she said. "I am looking forward with the same sense of pride - if we can do it right."

Evan Siroky, an engineering student from the University of Washington, wants to see congestion pricing - which has brought increased revenues and decreased traffic in downtown London - to finance high capacity transit, something he didn't see in any plans for the waterfront.

Then, Allen Silverman remembered when he moved here in 1972 and saw the Kingdome being built, thinking it must be the concrete headquarters for Burger King. It may have been the least expensive solution, but "it looked like hell." Likewise, a rebuilt viaduct may be cheaper than the alternatives, he said, but it's for his kids and his grandkids.

"It's gonna cost us," he warned. "We must spend the extra dollar to do it right."

Matthew E. Miller may be reached via wseditor@robinsonnews.com