Sighhhhh

Goldy is likely correct.

A post on HorsesAss shows that a majority of folks are willing to pay taxes for mass transport. Most people are willing to pay directed taxes for things THEY need.

The problem is that we STILL lack any sense of a long term transportation and traffic plan.

Light rail is everybit as important as the beardless young version of Goldy says. But, light rail needs to be done along with other sorts of planning and that is nt happening.

Look at Capital Hill. The panned station is no where near a parking facility. Presumably a lot of folks will use this as there route to the airport. How? The bus ride to Broadway may take as long as the drive to SeaTaC.

Look at Aurora ... or didn't you know that Aurora IS the AllCan, is the Viaduct?

Look for ANY major roads, other than freeways and viaducts, through Seattle! There are NONE. Major NS roads never are the broad boulevards one sees in other big cities .. e.g. Comm Ave or Mass Ave in Boston. We have dinky, narrow wagon wheel paths that are barely wide enough for two cars. Add a bus or a trolley anf there is NO room for anything, not even a bike!

Look over the water to far off Redmond-Issaquah-Bellevue ... has no one noticed the traffic flow in the AM and PM. Seattle has become a bedroom! Folks drive out of here to work in the AM and back at night! This si OK by me, but doesn't it necessitate a rethinking of how we route light rail?

Finally, look at B-B-B-Boeing. Zeus, Apollo and Raven willing, the lazy B will live long and prosper in Everett. The Lazy B is a manufacturer! It makes planes and jobs. Hopefully, the plane factory will lead to other job centers, but this means we need good commercial transport ... aka freeway or toll roads that connect Vancouver BC to San Fran.
Does anyone see Aurora/the viaduct as an answer?

The bottom line, the lack of regional transportation planning makes everything more expensive in the long run and hurts the public support Goldy talks about because people do not see the long term benefits.

I am hardly qualified but here are my thoughts:

1. The Viaduct

Dump it. All the data says we do not need it for commercial traffic and it is absurd to consider Aurora as a viable NS corridor.

Instead create a FULL CITY traffic plan including creating better pathways, esp. boulevard size roads, on the waterfront, connecting MLK/Rainier to Lake City Way, replacing the Mercer mess with a functional road around Lake Union, AND creating a city wide transportation plan ... busses or whatever but DOIT!

2. NS

Seattle is not a sensible stop on a freeway. In the long tterm the rgion needs either to expand 405 or build 605.

3. EW

Recognize that Seattle is a bedroom might mean building lightrail TO/FROM Bellevue and Redmond.

One Jew's ignorant opinions probably do not matter.