Goldman Sachs execs were on the hot seat Tuesday April 27, and just a few hours later, and a lot closer to home, King County Department of Transportation Director Harold Taniguchi was on the hot seat at the standing-room only South Park Bridge Closure Plan meeting held at Machinists Hall, 9125 15th Place South.

The meeting began as a non-emotional, business-like PowerPoint lecture led by KCDOT leaders including Taniguchi outlining alternative bus routes between South Park and downtown Seattle resulting from the fast-approaching date of June 30 when the bridge closes for good, and siting potential funding sources for a new South Park Bridge, since national funding requests have so far been turned down.

But wait. There’s more, as those commercials say, as the tenor changed and things got tense when dozens of frustrated business owners, residnets and others from the South park area lined up for a turn at the mike during the Q&A. Most expressed anger and frustration toward Taniguchi and demanded to know why a new bridge had not yet been built while plans were made as far back as 50 years ago to modernize the South Park Bridge, and 32 years ago to replace the now worn and crumbling span.

More than one speaker demanded to know that if KCDOT believed the bridge was so dangerous for so long why the bridge was permitted to remain open for so many years potentially endangering commuters.

Taniguchi did his best to respond calmly and with empathy, but his answer was that he had no answer, other than to assure the audience that the only option left would be to look forward and to try to find money for a new bridge.

The crowd seemed particularly moved when Gurdev Singh got his turn to speak. It seemed ironic that he first apologized for his "Punjabi accent" and "broken English" and yet seemed to speak the same language as many in the audience, who applauded his every point.

Singh owns the South Park Subway restaurant and South Park 76 gas station just south of the bridge, at 8819 14th Avenue South. He says his business will not survive when the South park Bridge closes as the majority of traffic is expected to cease in that spot.

"There is discrimination between poor and rich," he said. "If this bridge was on the Eastside, like Bellevue, they would have built a nice bridge before anyone said something. Why do they tax us if nobody wants us in South Park? As a business owner I send in all my taxes on time and everybody comes to get their share. I pay my employees and my mortgage on time, and have my business permits in place. I meet my obligations, and when they need to meet their obligations, nobody's there," he said, blaming the local government for not managing its money well.

"We’ve been hearing about those environmental studies you guys have been making, and you have made very big progress to make the new bridge shovel ready. What good is shovel ready when you have no funds?

"Last year they spent my six busy months repairing 14th Avenue and they blocked all the entrances and I asked why were they doing this and they said, 'Because now you will have a nice road with the new bridge.' I am sick and tired of this."

Signage pointing out the date of the closure (in English) was posted on Wednesday, April 28. The Spanish and Vietnamese versions will be posted April 29, directly below the English sign. The small lag time was due to a few revisions needed in the translations.