The current system (bus, heavy rail, light rail, trolly, monorail, etc.) could not possibly be efficient. We need a single, comprehensive plan!

What do you suppose Phillips means when he says, “how we will rationally pay.” Rationally pay?

Have we been rationally paying so far for our transportation, or is our payment irrational and he wishes to make it rational by rationing our payment? Apparently he believes it irrational for us to each pay for our own transportation when we could rationally ration our payments to provide transportation for others as well. You must admit, rational rationing has a real ring to it so long as you don’t try to reason what it might represent. Nevertheless, reckless reasoning referred to as rational rationing revolves around readily recognizable redistributionist recapitulations.

Hey liberal lunkhead Larry. Thanks anyway feller, but in your inimitable parlance, I’d rather irrationally purchase my own transportation.

Is that another way of saying we lied to the people about how much it will cost, so we get their approval at a palatable level and then overrun and ask for more money to finish off the job?

However, "...our visions..." scares me. Larry will suspend his church-state separation issues and look to the heavens for visions. How many dollars stacked on each other will reach Heaven? That's what the taxpayer is praying as he trembles on his knees.

We need a rail and some grease for Larry Phillips and Banker Ron.

then we can talk about some mobility investments that will take care of our REAL needs:
Widen 405 (thanks for taking two years to fix the pothole on NB 405 between 124th and 160th)
New bridge and widen western half of 520
Repave/rebuild I-5 before it kills anyone else

Anyone been to Spokaloo lately? Heckuva mess going on over there on I-90, but it had to be done and will be worth it. I-5 needs the same thing done to it - has needed it for years - before any of the other pie-in-the-sky BS like Light Rail and Monorail, projects which will eventually serve dozens of commuters every day - unless it rains.

But for pity's sake, let's take care of our real needs first. And here's $1 for the grease for the rail...

"...the bad news is, on nearly every front, we've managed to underfund our visions."

How has this happened? For starters, King County DOT and DDES work to hide impacts to roads so they can approve and obtain permit fees that run their departments. After years of hiding the impacts of growth, traffic congestion maps are RED throughout the county and the county is tens of billions short in fixing the mess.

As long as DOT continues to act to help the growth industry overwhelm roads without growth even paying the smallest of shares to address those impacts, King County should be starved of any nre tax revenues and the bums responsible for the loss of citizen time stuck in traffic congestion should be thrown out of office - starting with entrenched enablers of this mess like Larry Phillips and all those bought and paid for supporters of the growth industry's "build it now, let the taxpayers pay for roads later" mentality.

You think it is by chance that I5 is in such perfect condition around Oly? It is funny how no money is available to fix I5 between Seattle and Tacoma in the same way. It must be because the Oly section is travelled so much more. It couldn't be because our politicians want to drive, and Sound Transit is good enough for the rest of us peons! ...some are more equal than others?

I wouldn't mind paying more for transportation projects, but there are four things I need to see before my wallet opens up willingly:

1) No more project labor agreements, "prevailing wage" surveys, etc.. You find out what the prevailing wage is by advertising job openings in the paper and hiring qualified folks who will work for the lowest amount.

2) Environmental impact statements should read something like, "I, [Project Manager], certify that this project will impact the environment, but dang, it'll be a good road!" Bada-boom, bada-bing. No more spending 38% of the total project cost on making sure that we don't displace some species of bacteria from its natural habitat.

3) An initiative requiring that any voter-approved project that goes over-budget or falls behind schedule will go back to the people for re-approval. All taxing for and spending on any such project must cease immediately when it is determined that a project is over-budget or behind schedule.

4) Our representatives are representative of us, right? So they must use public transit about the same amount that the rest of us do. So the percentage of the transportation budget spent on public transportation should be proportional to the number of our representatives who hop on a bus to the legislature each morning, right? Oh, wait, does it not work out for Speaker Chopp and Friends, given their Point A, Point B, and schedule? Hey folks, welcome to the real world! Doesn't really work for most of the rest of us, either!

Until then, I think they could do better with the billions they already take from us.

Without Everett dollars, Sound wouldn't have existed. Thank Hansen/Drewel if you please. BTW, Drewel's top assistant is manager at UnSound.

Hmmm....

I think Larry Phillips history of *rational* behavior - includes sending his wife out to strong-arm and beat up the neighbors when they dissed him.....

Can't wait to hear his ideas for *rational pay*!