About this blog

My name is Bill Hirt and I'm a candidate to be a Representative from the 48th district in the Washington State legislature. My candidacy stems from concern the legislature is not properly overseeing the WSDOT and Sound Transit East Link light rail program. I believe East Link will be a disaster for the entire eastside. ST will spend 5-6 billion on a transportation project that will increase, not decrease cross-lake congestion, violates federal environmental laws, devastates a beautiful part of residential Bellevue, creates havoc in Bellevue's central business district, and does absolutely nothing to alleviate congestion on 1-90 and 405. The only winners with East Link are the Associated Builders and Contractors of Western Washington and their labor unions.

This blog is an attempt to get more public awareness of these concerns. Many of the articles are from 3 years of failed efforts to persuade the Bellevue City Council, King County Council, east side legislators, media, and other organizations to stop this debacle. I have no illusions about being elected. My hope is voters from throughout the east side will read of my candidacy and visit this Web site. If they don't find them persuasive I know at least I tried.

Thursday, November 16, 2017

Mayor Durkan

(I submitted the following in response to the Seattle Times opinion page request for 150-word recommendations for Mayor Durkan.  I decided to post it since they will likely ignore it)

Mayor Durkan
The top issue for Mayor Durkan to address is the affordability of housing in Seattle.   A major contributor to the recent increase is buying a home in Seattle is the only way to avoid the congestion commuters currently encounter on all the major roadways into the city.   The only way to ease that congestion is to provide more commuters with access to parking near where they can afford to live with public transit capacity to where they wish to go.  

Yet the billions Sound Transit for will spend on ST3 will provide neither the added parking nor the transit capacity needed to attract the number of transit riders needed to reduce congestion.   Sound Transit needs to be “persuaded” to redirect the ST3 funds towards adding thousands of additional stalls with access to BRT routes along restricted HOV lanes into the city.  

The entire area would benefit of Mayor Durkan did so.

Bill Hirt
2615 170th SE
Bellevue, WA
98008
425-747-4185
wjhirt2014@gmail.com

P.S. Seattle residents would particularly benefit since current Central Link commuters wouldn't be displaced by those riding extensions and ST3 funds could be used to expedite the Ballard and West Seattle extensions. 


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