I don't mind paying taxes as long as there is accountability. I fully understand that with the opening of the light rail project freeway congestion will NOT be alleviated. I also believe that only the people living along the light rail corridor will benefit from the project.
Yes, mostly people along the corridor will ride it as well as tourists; and lets face it, tourism is an important industry for Seattle, now that BA is having problems. However, this is just the first leg......as more legs of the light rail open up and the number of Sounder trains are increased, the numbers of riders will increase. The new systems in San Diego, LA and Portland took time to build up their ridership. However, once the initial build up has been completed, and as each new route comes online, its met with greater ridership and acceptance than the initial line. And if light rail sells in SD and especially LA, it certainly will sell in Seattle.
What has happened in Washington state IMO is that not enough emphasis has been put on building new roads. Just like light rail, roads are a part of transportation solutions. Those needs have been virtually ignored since Gary Locke was elected Governor. Washington taxpayers just let him know that they aren't happy about that.
In the past, I have argued this point with Tim. First, no one wants a new road in their back yard. Traffic has increased dramatically in the last 30 years, and traffic mitigation has become a major issue. Most new roads have a negative impact on the area through which they are built. Noise and pollution concerns are rampant. The subsequent litigation costs and delays add greatly to the construction budget.
Secondly, for any freeway built in the last ten years, acquisition costs usually are much greater than those for freeways built in the 50s and 60s........partly because urban areas are denser now, and partly because owners are more savvy in exacting the last penny from the gov'tmental agency in charge of acquisitions.
Thirdly, with most new roads, usage exceeds capacity soon after the road is opened. Rarely, has gov't been able to keep ahead of traffic growth. Our freeway system, instead of reducing congestion, only encourages more people to drive, creating almost instant congestion. Its like a person on a diet who thinks because they just got done working out, they can eat a lot more and still lose weight.
Don't follow your thinking that corporations and government are even on the same playing field. I think I will let you pursue that discussion if you wish, assuming you take into consideration the difference between making choices about where your money is spent and having little say in the matter, as in the case of government.
I think public corporations have nearly as much responsibility to their shareholders to do the right thing as do gov'ts have with their constituents.
You sound like one of the architects of the Sound Transit project, and I didn't compare the two, but since you bring it up....
Coming across country in an old rickety covered wagon braving the elements, hostile inhabitants and deadly disease is a lot braver than building a light rail project as far as I'm concerned. A few of those relatives died in that crossing. Unlike the planners of mass transit, they went into the unknown with what they owned literally on their backs and a gun in their hand.
It would not surprise me if people die during its construction but I understand your point. I guess I am guilty of exaggerating what it takes to build a new light rail system. It may not take as much courage as crossing the country in a covered wagon or going to Mars but its up there in terms of the difficulty in execution.
Having said that, some of the conditions under which the light rail will be built are nearly as unknown as those of the pioneers. Building a tunnel thru Cap Hill and even through downtown will be a major undertaking with all the underground water, sewer, gas, fiberoptic, electrical, and telephone lines. Plus, there was a lot of infill done in places along the route, making excavation particularly risky. Not as unknown as a trip across 19th century America but still a major hurdle.
edit- BTW: Why should I be afraid of the Monorail project. I first rode it at the '62 worlds fair, and do so every chance I get. It is wonderful.
The people presenting the concept are professionals at making presentations......they have made it very exciting and attractive project by playing into Seattle's need to be unique. They also have made it seem that it will be a much easier and less expensive project to build than the light rail. And of course, it looks better because its all pretty pictures and designs right now.
First, elevated trains, and that's what monorails are, tend to blight the properties along their route. Because of the its uniqueness and because this is Seattle, the route along the current monorail is not blighted but the adjacent 5th Ave corridor is probably the deadest part of downtown. They also tend to create areas conducive to burglaries and other criminal activity.
Secondly, one of the reasons BA is having trouble competing with Airbus is because Airbus's planes provide certain efficiencies that BA's don't. For an example, all the cockpits are the same on Airbus; with BA planes, only the 757 and 767 have the same cockpit. Having the same cockpit provides cost savings in terms of training and maintenance. Its one of the things airlines like about Airbus planes.
A metro area runs into the same issue re. training and maintenance for its transit systems. LA has two different sets of tracks and vehicles within its light rail system and rues the day it allowed that to happen. They have to buy two different kinds of track, two different sets of parts, two different types of cars, and they have to spend more time training maintenance workers and system operators. They also have to spend more on salaries because the two diff. systems require more skills than typical and each employee has to be versed on both. Furthermore, they can't take advantage of some price breaks normally available when buying parts in larger quantities.
Thirdly, aesthetically, elevated trains cast a great deal of shadow and detract from the architecture of the buildings along their route. Some people in Seattle were freaked because the light rail route ran in the middle of the road.......can you imagine the complaints and lawsuits when the monorail route is published and people really look at it?
ted |
