“There’s a good chance the Proposition 1 ballot measure to expand light rail will fail, stalling for years comprehensive transportation planning in metro Puget Sound.”
“I think it’s pretty iffy whether or not, in this climate, people will accept that level of taxation.”
Sound Transit leaders today congratulated Seattle-area voters for giving future generations a regional train system.
Proposition 1, the $17.9 billion measure to expand light rail, commuter train and bus service, won easily, despite the national economic slump.
I no longer listen to the predictions of our local media talking heads. It’s clear now, more than ever, that these guys don’t know any more than I do about this stuff, and just because they write for newspapers or have been around for years doesn’t make their insight anymore prescient than mine.
They’re not bad people, and it’s not that they’re not smart… They’re just out of touch.
UPDATE:
Seattle P-I columnist Joel Connelly ads this in the comments:
In defense of David Brewster, he had pro-Prop. 1 sign on his lawn. I twice witnessed him argue the case for light rail at breakfasts with skeptical neighbors.
He was clearly in touch, just pessimistic: After 40 years he had reason to be.
vesely rhymes with weasely.
I’m surprised it passed.
In defense of David Brewster, he had pro-Prop. 1 sign on his lawn. I twice witnessed him argue the case for light rail at breakfasts with skeptical neighbors.
He was clearly in touch, just pessimistic: After 40 years he had reason to be.
It is interesting that a year ago the more roads advocates thought the proposal lost because of the light rail component and the light rail advocates just the opposite, that it was the more roads component that dragged it down. One year later we get the answer…it was the more roads component that the public didn’t want. That has to be a bitter pill for Freeman, Vesely and the rest of that cabal. Maybe there will be toll roads to Bellevue Square, but no more freeways.
An elderly friend who lives at 36th Ave S. and Raymond was worked into a fever the other day about how he will have to take a bus to either Holly Park or Alaska street just to catch the train. Of course, he says, now they want to cut bus service on MLK Way. He’s not too pleased with how this first pass at light rail is working out.
Of course Jim Vesely really bit the big one this time around with Prop 1, the Pike Market and City Parks all passing with strong margins and Dino getting the one finger salute from not just Seattle but most of western Washington. Now if Darcy can pull it out it will complete a sweep against that miserable little bastard.
@4 Rat City! Is the Thundering Herd still thundering? Brings back memories.
Well, no. They just get paid better and have a wider platform for their guessing. Would that we all had jobs where we could guess consistently wrong and not only NOT be fired, but linger on for years and occasionally even get promoted!
Other than inheriting a wad of dough, how can you beat that?
@5 Steve
That is going to be an inconvenience; there will need to be more circulating feeder busses. At the moment it may just be Ron Sims tweaking Sound Transit because he is pissed at light rail these days.
@3 “After 40 years he had reason to be.”
Forty years? That’s just about how long it’s been since a lane was built that I could use. Thanks for the social engineering.
Guess you could call ME just out of touch too, I voted against it. ST keeps begging for more moola when they’ve yet to complete anything to show it works. I figured the dopey voters would pass it though – just because they can’t help themselves when it comes to voting for more taxes, then squawking about how much it costs to live in Seattle.
One thing about it though, at least my house is one exact mile to Northgate. When I’m forced to sell cause I can’t afford to stay in my home, one selling point might be “Get your exercise daily, walk to/from ST!”
I did vote yes on the Pike Pl Market levy though, I admit, so I’m not a complete scrooge. Not cool to squash all the lovely tourists during the next earthquake.
Will:
Let’s not forget the execrable Ted Van Dyk.
Yeah Will… throw in some Ted Van Dyk quotes.
And… welcome back.
If we’re going to look back on bad prognostications, how about all the vitriolic slamming the Sierra Club and The Stranger took on these boards for opposing last year’s rail+roads issue? Well, I guess those “useful idiots” were right on target after all, eh?
Interesting comments by the commentators.
RTID was attached to light-rail funding last time around because RTID couldn’t pass on its own and light-rail could pass. At the public meetings I went to last time around 80% or so of the people there were pro-transit, anti-RTID. Polling done after transit/RTID failed showed that a transit only measure would pass.
We’ve all known that sooner or later gas prices would start to go up and we’d have to start making some changes once they did. Passing the light-rail measure was the first step in that process. I’m surprised that Prop. 1 passing is a surprise to anyone.
@10
Prop. 1 is no more social engineering than building a low-density car based transportation system is. It may be less of one considering people voted for it.
KUDOES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Incredible good news.
Don’t forget about Frank Chopp’s voice on Transportation issues:
The price tag is gigantic, Clibborn said. People are scrambling to deal with the slow economy.
“I’m skeptical whether this is a good time for this,” she said.
http://heraldnet.com/article/2...../538252233