Why I'm A Candidate

I read the following to the Seattle Times Editorial Board at their “recommendation interview” for the Bellevue City Council Pos 7.  They appeared interested though didn’t ask any follow-up questions.  I was later contacted and agreed to meet with another Times reporter which could be promising.

Why I’m A Candidate,

I’m running to use my candidacy for the Bellevue City Council to make people aware that the East Link the council is about to approve will devastate the route into Bellevue, forever changing the “City in the Park”.  It begins next March with the closure of the South Bellevue P&R ending easy access to transit for thousands of commuters.

A year later, ST closure of the center roadway to begin installing light rail tracks will increase congestion for all commuters from both sides of the lake.   ST will spend the next several years disrupting those who live or commute along the route into Bellevue.  Doing so will involve ripping out hundreds of trees, installing light rail tracks and power lines and an elevated roadway on what was a scenic tree-lined boulevard. 

What’s worse is that after years of disruption and increased congestion, East Link operation will require thousands of those who commute by bus to switch to light rail trains that will never have the capacity needed to accommodate them.  The fact that light rail operating costs will far exceed any fare-box revenue requiring a huge subsidy to cover the shortfall adds to the insanity.

The only way to meet cross-lake demand is to move non-transit HOV to 4^th lanes on the I-90 Bridge outer roadway and initiate two-way bus only (BRT) on center roadway.  They could do that in 6 months for a few million and avoid the devastation to Bellevue.  They could make Bel Red area a magnet for development with South-Lake-Union types of streetcars circling through the area with connections to Bellevue T/C.  

If the council allows East Link to proceed, the 6 years of construction and subsequent light rail operation will very quickly be recognized as an historic blunder.