Folks, you may have heard the new radio ad on KVI 570 or other local stations that discusses the lack of actual congestion relief that would be provided from the Sound Transit Light Rail package.
Remember, the Puget Sound Regional Council (PSRC) advocates for using HALF of our transportation tax dollars to increase the transit ridership from 3% to 4.5%.
Doesn't that expenditure of public funds seem a little disproportionate and inefficient compared with the actual congestion relief provided?
What about the rest of us, the 95% of us, that still would be using our cars to pick up groceries, get to jobs NOT located in Downtown Seattle or Downtown Bellevue, or transport kids and heavy goods?
Check out the website of the folks who produced the radio spots (you can also listen to the ads), the Eastside Transportation Association (ETA), at: http://eastsideta.com/congestion.htm
ETA Board Chairman Jim Horn states:
“We believe there are clear transportation choices that will allow us to go where we want to go, how we want to go, and when we want to go,” said Jim Horn, association board chairman and former state Senate Transportation Committee chairman. “We also believe there’s enough tax money proposed to do the job if we simply spend it on the right projects.”
“We do not believe we should be spending transportation mega-dollars in an attempt to change human behavior,” Horn said.
“We want to spend funds on those parts of a transportation system that support increased efficiency, productivity and our quality of life.”
"Light rail’s geographic coverage is limited in comparison to the diversity of origins and destinations of travel.
"Bottom line:
1. Not enough people will ride light rail to make any difference on the roads.
2. Even Sound Transit admits that light rail will not reduce congestion; the train simply provides an alternative for the small fraction of travelers who find it convenient for their trip."
"To be specific, real congestion reduction should be a primary goal. The metropolitan region of Atlanta, Georgia has recently mandated that 70% of the weighting in the evaluation of their alternative should be for congestion reduction. The Puget Sound region should follow that example."
We need to spend the transportation dollars we have, which are finite, to provide actual, cost-effective congestion relief that will move more goods and people.
Our regional taxpayers do not have unlimited funds just to waste billions in order to provide a possible increase of 1.5% in ridership, especially when it will not help 95% of the rest of us get where we need to go.
This entry misses the point. I agree that rail isn't going to reduce congestion. Unfortunately, and more importantly, *nothing* is going to reduce congestion. No one likes admitting this, but it's an unavoidable conclusion. Congestion is something that we're going to have to learn to deal with in this region. It's already bad, and it's only going to get worse.
More roads aren't going to fix the problem. Most attempts to reduce congestion by building roads have delayed the problem for a few years, after which the driving population once again start screaming for more roads.
Transit isn't going to fix the problem, but it will, as you mentioned, provide an alternative for some commuters. Over time, it will provide choices for many more commuters. This is a good thing, and I believe it's the best of many options.
Posted by: brad | May 16, 2007 at 04:10 PM