Sound Politics: Transportation Solutions

May 12, 2006

Transportation Solutions

The light rail boondoggle is about to start ripping up another neighborhood: "Sound Transit begins land grab for link to UW"

Speaking of Sound Transit, have you heard the radio ads lately claiming that the project is "on time and under budget". Talk about chutzpah.

Joel Connelly reports that folks in West Seattle, one of the neighborhoods most dependent on the Viaduct, are not sold on Mayor Nickels's multibillion dollar Big Dig Tunnel. Maybe Hizzoner should get out of his 5-gallons-of-gas-a-day chauffeured limousine and experience the city like normal people do.

Speaking of the Viaduct, David Sucher has the letter from a group of civil engineers to the City Council arguing for fixing the Viaduct.

Posted by Stefan Sharkansky at May 12, 2006 09:18 AM | Email This

Comments

1. Nickels will continue to ignore the obvious solution until Billions have been wasted studying the Big Dig. Then the voters will finally reach sanity and end the program. Sound familiar? Monorail.

Lightning strikes many times in Seattle.

Posted by: Jeff B. on May 12, 2006 09:50 AM

2. Fortunately, the monorail debacle is still fresh in everyone's minds, which is why I think the Save our Seawall (SOS) project will get voted down this fall. Much to the mayor's chagrin, it's going to be another viaduct.

Posted by: Palouse on May 12, 2006 09:54 AM

3. Amazing. Common sense from Connelly. I'm amused that the city thought they could sway the libs with pretty pictures. Fortunately, common sense seems to win the day.

Is anyone else surprised that 8 council members support Grickle's Bigdiggle?

Posted by: Steve_dog on May 12, 2006 10:17 AM

4. Please, everyone, do all you can to make sure the ST & RTID combined boondoggle that will appear on the Nov. 2007 ballot is DEFEATED.

Posted by: coot on May 12, 2006 11:15 AM

5. "As a greenie, yours truly ought to be all in favor of tearing down the ugly freeway and "reclaiming the waterfront."

Still, the street sense of 34th District Democrats made an impression. They're liberals, but no pushovers for artists' renditions and "anticipated funds."

Wow! What a ringing non-endorsement! He's yarding his immense carcass waaay out on a limb on this one!

I also like his trademark closing line: "What about us?"

What a buffoon!

Posted by: alphabet soup on May 12, 2006 11:57 AM

6. Nickels will continue to ignore the obvious solution until Billions have been wasted studying the Big Dig. Then the voters will finally reach sanity and end the program. Sound familiar? Monorail.

That's still preferable to light rail, isn't it?

Posted by: South County on May 12, 2006 12:18 PM

7. So far, Hansen said, the agency has not filed condemnation actions in court and won't until it determines it can't negotiate an individual sale.

What?? You want my property?? for how much?? Good luck Capitol Hill.

Posted by: Marmstro on May 12, 2006 12:38 PM

8. It would be foolish to ignore these engineers. They are icons in the industry. If they say they can come up with a cheaper and effective solution, then they can.

Posted by: swatter on May 12, 2006 01:05 PM

9. Nickels and Sims' attitude would be they pulled it off in Boston (the Big Dig) so why can't they pull it off here ? Money is no object (and never was) in their mind.

Were there better solutions ? Yes, for ST Light Rail and the engineers cited show that there is for the Viaduct, but the Liberal elite do what they do, because the culture of corruption that prevails in Seattle and King County. They believe that they can get away with continued extortion against the will of the people ! Remember $hit like this when you vote the incumbents out in November 2006 and also when the RTID goes up for a vote in November 2007.

Posted by: KS on May 13, 2006 06:10 PM