Sound Politics: "Light" rail in the sense that it makes your wallet lighter

July 15, 2005

"Light" rail in the sense that it makes your wallet lighter

Today's P-I reports that [un]Sound Transit has fantasies of expanding link light rail south to the airport and north to Northgate. The citizens will get less value for more money:

Voters in 1996 were told they'd get a 22-mile line with 19 stations by 2006 for $1.9 billion. Instead, they'll get a 19-mile line with 16 stations for $4.2 billion completed in 2016.

The P-I is overly optimistic. This paragraph should be edited as follows:

Voters in 1996 were told they'd get a 22-mile line with 19 stations by 2006 for $1.9 billion. ~~Instead~~ Now they're being told they'll get a 19-mile line with 16 stations for $4.2 billion completed in 2016. Who the hell knows what they'll be told if and when the project is ever completed

Those figures, by the way, "do not include financing costs".

I wonder how ridership on that second Sounder train is doing.

Posted by Stefan Sharkansky at July 15, 2005 10:26 AM | Email This

Comments

1. Yes, but they have a giant tunnel-digging machine! Isn't that cool? See, our tax dollars are being spent on pure awesomeness. Who cares about traffic congestion when you can dig a sweet tunnel?

Posted by: Skor Grimm on July 15, 2005 10:31 AM

2. But the agency believes it will have enough money to get to Husky Stadium without asking for more taxes if it drops the risky First Hill station and if it receives a federal grant of up to $650 million.

IOW...if we had some eggs, we could have some ham and eggs...if we had some ham...

Posted by: South County on July 15, 2005 10:54 AM

3. You have to admit, that's a pretty sweet rig.

Theoretically, that sort of thing should make the project immensely less expensive than it would be otherwise, but I have a feeling that won't happen.

Posted by: Timothy on July 15, 2005 10:58 AM

4. Won't if be sad when the PeeEye goes under and we don't have these vacuous optimists to kick around anymore? They must have gone to public schools and had their critical thinking skill development arrested. Maybe the Times will double the pages dedicted to Editorial.

Posted by: Mark on July 15, 2005 11:11 AM

5. The mass transit magician is on stage. The taxpayer audience volunteer kid is also on stage. Magician is re-thinking his choice and sweating. The kid is looking around the magician's hidden hand in back and saying "Hey--what was THAT?!"

Posted by: Jimmie-howya-doin on July 15, 2005 12:17 PM

6. Yes, light rail is deeply flawed. Yes, Sound Transit wastes huge sums of money and is probably corrupt.

But, you know, the moonbats have got to get something or they will just keep screeming and then the stupid monorail will be revived.

I don't like paying the taxes for the light rail, but overall, it is funded with a mix of money that doesn't make it overly rich for me to own a car. So, I've chosen not to fight this one, let it go, and hope that at some point in the future we can elect a KC executive that will clean up Sound Transit and make it more efficient.

In the meantime, the feds are putting money in and that is just fine with me.

Posted by: BananaLand (aka Iguana) on July 15, 2005 12:39 PM

7. $3488 per inch. Steel must be pretty expensive these days...

Posted by: TB on July 15, 2005 12:46 PM

8. Aren't they are blowing up subways these days? And we want to build what in Seattle, a "subway", a very expensive subway....Duh!

Posted by: Fed UP on July 15, 2005 02:28 PM

9. What is it with Seattle area transit?
The incompetence here is incredible.

Does someone have their hand in the til or something?

Posted by: Dishman on July 15, 2005 06:38 PM

10. "Yes, but they have a giant tunnel-digging machine! Isn't that cool? See, our tax dollars are being spent on pure awesomeness. "

Heh...I think they were hoping to use that tunnel digging machine for the unapproved and unfunded viaduct project after they bled us dry with the transit scam.....That is - until the people yanked the gas tax ripoff from their greedy little hands.....

I cannot believe that Sound Transit is still alive....It needs to go the way of the Monorail project. (sudden death without heroic attempt to resuscitate..)

Posted by: Deborah on July 15, 2005 10:42 PM

11. Well I wonder if they have the State archeologists there the site at hundreds of dollars per hour sifting through the dig to assure there are no bones or relics in the cround.

On Camano Island you can't even dig a hole for a flower planting without a damn state archeologist there at costs of over $1000 to be sure there are no relics.

But this is seattle and there are no rules their except to S over the citizens!

Posted by: GS on July 16, 2005 12:48 AM

12. While watching the Discovery channel last week I learned that the Great Pyramid took 23 years to build. How long will it take to lay 19 miles of streetcar track?

Don't undertake vast projects when you have a half vast organization.

Posted by: The Jimmer on July 16, 2005 07:52 AM