Dear East Side City Councils

Anyone who viewed the Mercer Island Sept 15 council meeting on MI TV21 or views it on Youtube will likely empathize with island residents treatment by their city council.   Especially the decision to raise their taxes to fund a $1.5M suit of Sound Transit without any discussion after spending an hour debating a rather arcane zoning issue.  This is the same council who, in a July 16^th 2019 council meeting where islanders nearly unanimously objected to Sound Transit plans to terminate I-90 corridor bus routes on the island, used a 2017 Settlement Agreement to justify allowing Sound Transit and KCM do so.

The Sept 15 meeting was a follow up their Sept 1 decision to raise islander taxes for 3 years to fund the $1.5 M suit opposing Sound Transit bus intercept configuration. The council could have avoided the need to raise $1.5 M and simply refuse allowing KCM bus routes from stopping on island.  (Whatever Sound Transit configuration wanted would have minimal impact since ST route 554 was limited to 4 buses an hour.) Instead, two hours into the meeting the council, without any discussion of the issue, unanimously approved proceeding with the tax increase and the suit.

Even If the suit "succeeded" in forcing Sound Transit to provide a more acceptable bus intercept configuration, Mercer Island will still be inundated with KCM commuters.  Islanders will be forced to share their access to East Link at their light rail station with thousands of KCM I-90 corridor commuters, potentially ending access during peak commute.

East side city councils should pay particular attention to the Sept. 15^th video.  It’s their I-90 commuters who will have to endure the hassle of attempting to transfer to and from East Link at the Mercer Island station.  Terminating both Sound Transit and KCM bus routes on Mercer Island will limit I-90 Bridge transit capacity to East Link’s share of DSTT capacity, a fraction of what’s needed to meet peak commute demand. 

Thousands of KCM riders will chose the option of driving rather than enduring the hassle of transferring to and from light rail to commute into and out of Seattle and the hassle of accessing light rail for the return trip in DSTT.  The result of any Mercer Island suit, whether they win or lose, will be more commuters driving cars and increased congestion along the entire I-90 corridor. 

The bottom line is East Link operation in 2023 will demonstrate the folly of allowing Sound Transit to confiscate I-90 Bridge center roadway.  Their bus intercept attempt to generate riders exacerbates that debacle,  increasing congestion along entire I-90 corridor, grid-locking I-90 Bridge during peak commute.  

East side city councils owe their commuters action to stop them. Demand their KCM bus routes bypass Mercer Island.