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.

Tuesday, September 29, 2026

What Light Rail Success?

The September 25th Seattle Times front-page Traffic Lab article reported that Sound Transit CEO Dow Constantine received a $30,000 bonus for "light rail successes." Board Chair David Somers credited Constantine with bringing stability, citing the crossing of Lake Washington and project reshuffling to control soaring costs, raising Constantine's compensation to $509,689 this year.


However, these light rail extensions have failed to generate adjacent transit-oriented development while increasing local noise levels. Sound Transit continues to prioritize projects based on political preferences and borrowing capacity rather than traffic congestion reduction.

Furthermore, a $35 billion funding gap has delayed extensions to Everett and Tacoma, shortened the Ballard line, and cut planned stations and parking. Despite these setbacks, over $250 million has been spent on an in-fill station.

While Constantine deferred his $30,000 bonus until trains crossed the I-90 Bridge, August ridership figures showed only 13,913 boardings on the 2 Line—a small fraction of the 50,000 projected—compared to 155,167 boardings on the 1 Line. The article included details of countless Sound Transit problems. Given these results, the substantial compensation and bonus are unwarranted.

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