OPPOSING RIGHT WING INITIATIVES AND FIGHTING TIM EYMAN
Proposition 1 would fund dozens of rapid transit projects throughout Puget Sound, attacking congestion and providing commuters with new choices.
With the cost of fuel skyrocketing and traffic continuing to grow worse, it’s time we got up to speed with more rapid transit. Proposition 1 would:
- Expand the Link light rail system north, south, and east to Lynnwood, Federal Way (towards Tacoma), and Redmond
- Add a streetcar connecting the International District, First Hill and Capitol Hill
- Contribute money towards an expansion of the Tacoma Link streetcar
- Strengthen Sounder commuter rail with four new daily round trips and extended platform lengths to accommodate longer trains, as well as new stations at Edmonds and Tukwila.
- Construct provisional Sounder stations at Ballard and Broad Street following negotiations with Burlington Northern Sante Fe.
- Dramatically increase Sound Transit Express bus service beginning in 2009, growing the bus fleet by 25% and boosting frequency in key corridors
- Establish a Eastside rail passenger partnership to examine the feasibility of running commuter rail service on existing north-south tracks
- Revamps existing transit centers, builds new park and rides
Proposition 1 is a smart, sensible mix of projects from Sound Transit that will take cars off the road, reduce emissions and air pollution, ease gridlock, and improve everyone’s commute and quality of life.
Commonly asked questions and answers about Sound Transit’s light rail program
What is light rail?
Light rail is a type of rapid transit system larger than a streetcar but not as big as heavy passenger rail (think Amtrak or Sounder). Light rail is:
- reliable: runs in its own right of way and doesn’t get stuck in traffic
- convenient: runs so frequently you don’t need a schedule to ride it
- clean: powered by electricity, so it doesn’t produce emissions
- quick: operates at high speeds with fast station stops
- flexible: can be built at grade, above ground on aerial trackway, or below ground in tunnels
What would travel times be like?
The following chart created by Sound Transit shows the approximate travel times between destinations that Link light rail would serve.
Microsoft to downtown Bellevue: 11 min.
Northgate to downtown Seattle: 15 min.
Bellevue to Qwest Field: 20 min.
Lynnwood to UW: 21 min.
Lynnwood to downtown Seattle: 28 min.
Highline C.C. to Safeco Field: 37 min.
Isn’t Sound Transit already building light rail?
Yes. Sound Transit is a year away from opening its first light rail line, Central Link, which connects downtown Seattle to SeaTac International Airport. Ground will soon be broken on an extension of this line, University Link, which runs north from Westlake Plaza to the University of Washington. Central and University Link are being built with funding approved by voters in 1996 (the Sound Move plan).
Where would light rail go if Proposition 1 (Roads & Transit) passes?
Proposition 1 funds three expansions of the system: an East Link line from Seattle to Redmond, a South Link line towards Tacoma (through Federal Way), and a North Link line to Lynnwood. These lines would be built in transportation corridors that are often heavily congested today. If you travel across Lake Washington on a floating bridge, or use Interstate 5 to get between Seattle and Tacoma or Lynnwood, you will benefit from Link, even if you don’t plan to regularly ride it.
Why do we need light rail? Why not expand the bus system instead?
A good transit system needs a strong rail backbone to attract ridership and connect major cities. Buses are an important part of a useful network, but they’re no substitute for rail. An effective transit network is not unlike the human body, which has different types of blood vessels (arteries, veins, capillaries) that all have different but complimentary purposes.
A circulatory system without arteries would be unworkable. That’s why it doesn’t make sense to have a transit system that relies solely on buses. Buses are slower, dirtier, and move less people than light rail. Unless they run in dedicated bus lanes they can (and do!) get stuck in traffic, and their routes aren’t as predictable or easy to understand. Light rail doesn’t have these drawbacks. Additionally, King County voters have already expanded Metro bus service with the passage of Transit Now in 2006.
How is rail a viable option for people who don’t live next to train stations?
While it’s true that light rail can’t go everywhere, it is designed and planned to be an accessible system. Riders who live too far away to walk up can board a public bus or a streetcar closer to their home, bike there, take a private shuttle, or park and ride…. then transfer to light rail upon reaching the station hub. Light rail is again, like an artery. Arteries can’t go everywhere but they are key to circulation.
Why did Sound Transit choose light rail over other systems like monorail?
The agency picked light rail because it is a dependable rapid transit solution that has been successfully deployed all over the world - and because it is what the public has told Sound Transit it wants in countless workshops, forums, and public hearings. Other technologies may be more fascinating, but they cost more, can be visually intrusive, and are more complicated to put together and operate. Most riders don’t care about the idea of traveling in vehicles suspended above the ground - they just want a comfortable seat on a clean train that arrives and leaves the station on time. That’s what light rail does well: ensure a reliable commute.
How can I be sure Sound Transit will build what it promises? I seem to remember we were supposed to get more light rail in 1996 than what they’re building.
After years of experience dealing with engineering, contracting, designing, and financial problems, Sound Transit has transformed itself from a stumbling bureaucracy to a responsive, accountable transportation agency. Earlier this decade, following the aftermath of the disclosure that it could not afford to build what it originally promised in 1996, Sound Transit’s board officially adopted a policy of under-promising and over-delivering. Using this policy the agency makes predictions or forecasts that rely on restraint and caution, so that the actual projects it builds come in on time/on budget at worst, and early/under budget at best.
Sound Transit is now so well managed that it recently received an upgraded bond rating from Moody’s and Standard & Poor’s - which lowers the agency’s cost of borrowing money. We can trust Sound Transit to wisely invest our dollars. It would be a waste to discard the valuable lessons learned earlier in Sound Transit’s history and abolish the agency in favor of giving revenues to a new entity.
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