The main West Seattle Water Taxi vessel, M/V Doc Maynard, is sporting a new look, just in time for Seattle’s Summer of Soccer to kick off.
Its new look was shown off at a media event downtown this morning; we got a look when it got back to West Seattle after the noon run left early smid all the hoopla.
I passed through downtown yesterday and was shocked at how sanitized it was. Scrubbed, painted, landscaped, and not a junkie in sight. Even the water taxi got a new paint job. There was only one tent visible in the entire downtown area, on the north end of 3rd Ave in Belltown. This seems so hypocritical to me. All of this was accomplished with taxpayer dollars, correct? Clearly it’s for the World Cup, but why not before? What benefit does the average Seattle taxpayer see from hosting the World Cup? Businesses, sure; but aren’t we the ones who paid for this cleanup? And where are all the homeless and addicts being stored for the next month? I have a sinking feeling that a few months from now we’ll be right back where we started.
These “before” clean ups always happen. Its like when you’re having out of town guests coming to stay with you and you have a deep cleaning done at home and once your guests leave the house goes right back to the way it was before.Except the homeowner/family pays for it not the taxpayers.
It’s a Potemkin’s Village, Pioneer Square is wonderful again right now. They filled the empty store fronts with temporary pop-up galleries and shops. They hung up paintings on the boarded up buildings around 3rd and Pike. It feels much safer than it has for many years. Now is the time to take the bus downtown and check it out, while it lasts. 
Love the new look! As a regular user of the water taxi, I love the boat’s summer vibes!I don’t think there is any harm in putting our best foot forward. I plan to enjoy this as well, and I’m glad the city invested in making it happen. Seattle looks radiant!I regularly walk through Pioneer Square and downtown and saw many of the same folks you’re referring to, alongside hundreds of people enjoying the watch parties and the energy the event is bringing to the city. Investments that attract visitors and activity to downtown support local businesses, create jobs, and generate economic benefits that can ultimately help fund public services. They also make the city a more vibrant and enjoyable place for residents and visitors all. ENJOY IT
Absolutely love the new water Taxies’ livery! These should be the permanent versions. How about a new revenue enhancement idea King County? Put the vessels with the new designs on t-shirts, embroidered ball caps, stickers, water bottles, and plushies. I’d go for all that and so would tourists, visitors and WSWT fans in general. Birthday and Christmas gifts would be no brainers. Oh, and how about OG tub toys?!
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