AWVB: Appeal to Westsiders
Dear West Seattle,
I am very sorry the Monorail didn't work out. Many Seattlites did their best to support a mass transit link from your neighborhood to downtown to Ballard. But in the end, the city chickened out. Now we are faced with another transportation problem: the vital Alaskan Way Viaduct. The Boulevard solution is the best replacement option because it DEPRIORITIZES THE CAR and frees up billions of available dollars to be invested in MASS TRANSIT, just like the monorail you narrowly missed.
Doing this however requires a sacrifice on your part. Your driving and bus times to Downtown will increase some, however, not by nearly as much as the anti-Boulevard alarmists claim. DoK contributor Jpo states that the Boulevard will add "hours" to the bus commute each day. This is not true. A 45-mph surface street with timed lights will slow down the trip by 3-4 minutes. Remember, the existing highway has right-of-way from the south until the stadiums, and from then on you might expect to stop at an average of 1 or 2 lights on your way to the Spring Street exit. Bus riders can expect even less of a delay with dedicated bus rapid transit lanes. A few minutes - not hours!
Supporting mass transit requires a sacrifice. There were plenty of people (albeit not enough in the end) of Lake City and Seward Park residents that chose to pay increased car tabs to support your monorail. They chose to sacrifice their hard earned dollars to make a statement in favor of mass transit – and it wouldn't have even directly benefited them! If the Boulevard option feels like a sacrifice to you, I hope you find its anti-car/pro-mass transit statement worthwhile. It is only the first step towards bringing sensible mass transit to Seattle - we need to then stipulate that its savings be devoted to a monorail or underground light-rail solution.
We need your support. Please consider the AW Boulevard plan as part of the larger, citywide movement in favor of mass transit.
I am very sorry the Monorail didn't work out. Many Seattlites did their best to support a mass transit link from your neighborhood to downtown to Ballard. But in the end, the city chickened out. Now we are faced with another transportation problem: the vital Alaskan Way Viaduct. The Boulevard solution is the best replacement option because it DEPRIORITIZES THE CAR and frees up billions of available dollars to be invested in MASS TRANSIT, just like the monorail you narrowly missed.
Doing this however requires a sacrifice on your part. Your driving and bus times to Downtown will increase some, however, not by nearly as much as the anti-Boulevard alarmists claim. DoK contributor Jpo states that the Boulevard will add "hours" to the bus commute each day. This is not true. A 45-mph surface street with timed lights will slow down the trip by 3-4 minutes. Remember, the existing highway has right-of-way from the south until the stadiums, and from then on you might expect to stop at an average of 1 or 2 lights on your way to the Spring Street exit. Bus riders can expect even less of a delay with dedicated bus rapid transit lanes. A few minutes - not hours!
Supporting mass transit requires a sacrifice. There were plenty of people (albeit not enough in the end) of Lake City and Seward Park residents that chose to pay increased car tabs to support your monorail. They chose to sacrifice their hard earned dollars to make a statement in favor of mass transit – and it wouldn't have even directly benefited them! If the Boulevard option feels like a sacrifice to you, I hope you find its anti-car/pro-mass transit statement worthwhile. It is only the first step towards bringing sensible mass transit to Seattle - we need to then stipulate that its savings be devoted to a monorail or underground light-rail solution.
We need your support. Please consider the AW Boulevard plan as part of the larger, citywide movement in favor of mass transit.
posted by rmetrobus at 20:05
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