Drink the Water

(I wrote the following in response to those urging I continue)

Drink the Water

First of all I want to thank those of you who chose to support my Sound Transit concerns in the recent election with votes (110,972 as of Nov 13th), emails, and phone messages.   My blog has attracted nearly 100,000 page views.  Unfortunately the old adage “you can lead a horse to water but you can’t make them drink” has limited their impact on Sound Transit policies.  

Whatever impact they have had is “likely” offset by those who supported Dow Constantine’s ST3 “Prop 1 and beyond” extensions with much of the $1.3 million in campaign contributions.   Sound Transit plans to spend most of $54B over the next twenty-five years constructing their “light rail spine” have “presumably” attracted support from construction companies and their labor unions.  

No one can reasonably blame those profiting from constructing the “spine” for its failure to reduce congestion along I-5 and the resulting gridlock on I-90 Bridge outer roadways.   Those failures are strictly the result of Dow Constantine’s Sound Transit Board inability to recognize the Downtown Seattle Transit Tunnel (DSTT) limits on light rail capacity.   That the DSTT limits will result in any riders attracted by extensions reducing access for those currently using Central Link.  That operating costs over the longer routes with no increase in ridership will inevitably result in a financial “black hole” because of the fare-box revenue shortfall. 

 None of this would have been possible without the ST3 enabling legislation, the WSDOT connivance, and the Seattle Times aiding and abetting Sound Transit policies.   At this point the most feasible way to prevent Sound Transit from proceeding is for legislation requiring Sound Transit be audited.  It's something they've avoided for nearly 10 years.

Make them explain why they ignored RCW 81.104.100(2)(b) by not considering BRT on I-90 Bridge as a low cost alternative to East Link light rail.  Make them justify the ridership claims they made prior to the ST3 votes.  What impact will those riders have on current Central Link riders?   Make them explain how they intend to cover the operating costs over the longer routes.  

The legislature needs to hear from someone other than the construction companies that support Republicans and the labor unions who support Democrats.  Legislators from both parties were “likely” swayed by Sound Transit commitments to contribute more than $500 million to the state’s general fund if the enabling legislation was passed.  (Sound Transit “extrapolated” what was a 15 year program to as long as their board feels it's “warranted”)

I urge those concerned to "drink the water” by urging their legislators require the audit and use "social media" to urge others to do the same.