Die, Monorail, Die

This news doesn't seem to be online yet, but Mayor Nickels announced at the outset of this morning's discussion on KUOW that the Appeals Court has ruled to allow the Monorail Recall Initiative to proceed to the November ballot.

And just in the nick of time. The Monorail would be a threat to public safety:

A wheel fell off one of the Las Vegas Monorail trains early this month, forcing the entire system to shut down during a major convention and one of the busiest holiday weekends of the year.

After repairs and a major investigation, the system reopened six days later -- only to close again the next day when another small part fell off a train. As of Sept. 13, the system is still closed.

The first incident occurred early Sept. 1 when a 60-pound guidance wheel broke loose from a train and fell into a Harrahs parking lot.

The Mayor told KUOW:

My personal preference is that we voted on it three times this would be the fourth vote. It seems to me that at some point it's got to be a final decision and move forward. We spent millions of dollars in design and development and engineering and public process and then to have it stopped suddenly and reconsidered. I think is damaging to our ability to accomplish things. I'd rather not see a recall vote take place.

Presumably then he'd rather go visit the hospitals and funeral homes to comfort the victims and survivors when the Monorail starts throwing pieces of itself down on people's heads.

UPDATE: The Seattle Times has the story. Now it's up to the City Council to place the measure on the ballot at this afternoon's meetings. Contact the Councilmembers and encourage them to do the right thing.

Posted by Stefan Sharkansky at September 13, 2004 10:46 AM | Email This