One of the more absurd Sound Transit activities is their highly
publicized “attempt” to come up with savings that supposedly will reduce Bellevue
City costs. Sound Transit gets
about 40% of their funds from taxes generated on the east side. Only a small portion of that money has
been spent on eastside improvements as supposedly mandated. Instead they’ve used the funds to pay
for Central Link, the most expensive light rail system in history. They’re continuing to use our taxes to fund their University Link and a streetcar system in Seattle.
Any rationale distribution of eastside taxes would have
provided more than enough to pay for whichever route Bellevue wanted
approaching downtown as well as how and where the tunnel underneath the city
business district should be built.
Instead we have the spectacle of Sound Transit selecting the route and
demanding that Bellevue come up with additional funds to pay for any deviations
from their choice such as the tunnel.
What is equally absurd is the apparent willingness of the
Bellevue City Council to go along with this charade. Sound Transit’s 2008 DEIS lists 9 permits or approvals
they need from the BCC. Sound
Transits planned route devastates a part of the Mercer Slough Park, a violation of federal environmental law (United States code Sec 138). The council surely has no legal
requirement to grant these permits or accede to ST’s extortion, particularly in
view of their recent budget problems that have forced them to delay needed
projects for years.
Unfortunately their willingness to go along with this charade pales in comparison to their failure to use their permitting process to stop East Link altogether.
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