In Seattle’s attempts to restore its historical Waterfront District, many locals have welcomed State Route 99’s new vehicular tunnel. The introduction of an underground road provides easy vertical access across downtown, serving as an acute marker of success in the city’s focus on decreasing vehicular congestion. However, amidst the gallant support the tunnel has garnered so far, a small but mighty community has cried out in protest of the shift away from a traffic-riddled city.
COCK, a confusing choice of acronym (short for Cars Only Create Kindness), is a local grassroots organization that formed in the wake of the removal of the Alaskan Way Viaduct, an infamously traffic-ridden passage along Seattle’s waterfront. The closure and teardown of this structure tacitly marked the end of an era in urban traffic, as the viaduct alone accounted for 47% of the city’s traffic jams.
The organization believes that reintroducing traffic into Seattle roads would help improve drivers’ “confrontational skills,” “ability to eat while driving,” and “usage of their vehicular horn,” among other claimed benefits. This advocacy is based in the belief that driving in challenging conditions helps those behind the wheel build executive function, multitask, and blow off steam—skills inherent to personal development and success.
For a majority of founders and backers of COCK, traffic is a vital part of Seattle culture. Many, such as spokesperson Rhonda “Honda” LaFonda, comment on the way vehicular backups have created moments of local community.
“There was this skinhead [sic] with a 2009 Nissan Altima and an Idaho license plate I’d drive by on my way across town,” LaFonda explains. “He’d spend our entire time on Denny Way screaming racially-charged death threats at me, but ever since the tunnel opened, I don’t see him anymore. I feel like I lost a dear friend of mine.”
For others, traffic provided an emotional, liminal space that offered comfort and consistency.
“Sometimes traffic was the only constant in my life,” Gianni Versace (no relation, pronounced Ver-SAYse), an avid supporter of COCK, shared via the online forum CarLife. “Going through a lot of flux in my career and my family life really took a toll, but my 45-minute daily commute from the waterfront to Bell Town really grounded me. The viaduct is the only thing that helped me make it through my divorce.”
Versace is not alone in this sentiment. Other COCKsters, as group members call themselves, shared similar feelings about the impact of traffic in their lives.
Michelle Massage, mother of multiple daughters, offered her two cents on the matter as well.
“Seattle traffic was a huge part of my family life. I’d often take the kids between South Center and Northgate just to feel immersed in I-5. We had so many memories almost pissing ourselves looking out at the [Puget] Sound. Nowadays, we just pull up to the mall parking lot in 20 minutes or less. It’s definitely dulled the thrill of the shopping experience.”
Members and promoters of COCK have laid out their demands and key arguments in their newsletter, COCK Quarterly. They are advocating that the city stop progress on all transit-based projects and reallocate those funds into highway compression projects, directly opposing highway expansion (we assume this would involve the removal of lanes). Additionally, they wish to deregulate speed limitations in the carpool lane, citing the success of the German Autobahn.
Beyond these demands, there is also a sector of education in the organization’s mission. Sashae A. Wei, the head of COCK, is determined to take the concept of “traffic-based learning” into educational environments as young as the elementary level.
Wei has rolled out curricula that commuters can bring with them in the car. Citing her own experience while driving from Shoreline to Bellevue over the course of a two-week contract gig, Wei believes this is an opportunity we cannot afford to miss. “Honestly I made really good use of my time in the car. I learned five languages with those language tapes and listened to every single one of Oprah’s audiobooks,” Wei claims. “I think people who complain about traffic are just onye nzuzu, as they say in Igbo.”
With large corporations like BP and General Motors sponsoring the campaign, the organization has generated mass appeal they hope will sway local government attention.
For more information, please visit www.COCK4all.org.
