To: Neeka who wrote (215546 ) 8/16/2007 2:17:03 PM From: KLP Read Replies (1) | Respond to From a ST special editorial: Tri-county transit package is flawed KLP Note:Take a look at the numbers in this, then look at the entire State of WA population....I would be surprised if it's more than 6.5 million for the entire State (http://www.ofm.wa.gov/news/release/2007/070627.asp)...The same folks who are trying to bring this to Seattle must be from the Boston Big Dig.... Boston, NYC, DC, LA and similar cities have that many or more in their cities, and therefore have the population to ride the light rail, AND TO PAY FOR IT!... Don't believe the hype: Tri-county transit package is flawed archives.seattletimes.nwsource.com What is touted as a "balanced" roads and transit package is anything but. (Never mind that we currently are spending 52 percent of every transportation tax dollar in this region on public transit.) A zeal for expanding Sound Transit's light-rail system (Sound Transit 2, or ST2) has doubled the transit "half" of the combined package. The roads-and-transit package will cost $38.1 billion through 2027, with $14.5 billion going toward the Regional Transportation Investment District (roads) and $23.6 billion toward ST2.only 10 percent of the total revenue is dedicated to roads. The combined ST1, ST2 and RTID taxes will actually be $888 per household in 2008 and then inflate at Sound Transit's estimated 5.2 percent annually thereafter. where only 10 percent of the region's jobs are located. It will serve 9 percent of all other Seattle work trips, but only 2 percent of the work trips for the rest of the region, where 70 percent of the region's jobs are located. It's unconscionable and inexcusable to put forth what is essentially a Seattlecentric light-rail plan that will serve only a small portion of the region's work force. That in itself is mind-boggling. Why would you remove an effective transit mode and replace it with an expensive mode that will hardly reduce congestion? the Sound Transit board eliminated 27 of 33 proposed Regional Express Bus (REx) projects and 11 of 18 Sounder commuter-rail projects that were in the January 2005 ST2 project list draft. The shift from the REx projects in effect eliminated the Bus Rapid Transit program for the heavily used Interstate 405/Highway 167 corridor.There is a better solution to our region's transportation problems than what ST2 offers. The combination of a freeway high-occupancy vehicle (HOV) network (which is approaching completion) and well-funded and coordinated local bus systems (including Bus Rapid Transit enhancements) can do far more to alleviate our congestion problems than light rail can, at one-tenth the cost. It makes sense to continue expanding the bus-transit system that has placed our region eighth in the nation in share of work trips served by public transit.Voters in King, Pierce and Snohomish counties should reject the flawed RTID-ST2 proposal and demand that our region's transportation leaders immediately craft a more-sensible, cost-efficient package that will accomplish our top transportation priority — reducing highway congestion. Jim MacIsaac is a professional transportation engineer who has spent 45 years in the planning of the Puget Sound region's transportation systems.
