Comments on: The Weekly’s Rick Anderson Doesn’t Get it http://seattletransitblog.com/2008/09/26/the-weeklys-rick-anderson-doesnt-get-it/ Transit in the Greater Seattle Area Thu, 24 May 2012 04:20:59 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 By: John Jensen http://seattletransitblog.com/2008/09/26/the-weeklys-rick-anderson-doesnt-get-it/#comment-11471 John Jensen Thu, 02 Oct 2008 17:40:25 +0000 http://seattletransitblog.com/?p=1120#comment-11471 John Niles- The growth of transit in this region is barely keeping up with the growth of employment. It is not keeping up with the growth of ridership. We cannot afford to slowly roll out our current plans. Yes, light rail to UW and RapidRide will be coming online over the next eight years -- and those are great services to have. But we need more Sounder service, we need a 17% increase in express bus service, and we need to expand light rail past UW and up to Northgate and Lynnwood, and across the lake to Bellevue and Overlake.
John Niles-

The growth of transit in this region is barely keeping up with the growth of employment. It is not keeping up with the growth of ridership.

We cannot afford to slowly roll out our current plans. Yes, light rail to UW and RapidRide will be coming online over the next eight years — and those are great services to have. But we need more Sounder service, we need a 17% increase in express bus service, and we need to expand light rail past UW and up to Northgate and Lynnwood, and across the lake to Bellevue and Overlake.

]]> By: John Niles http://seattletransitblog.com/2008/09/26/the-weeklys-rick-anderson-doesnt-get-it/#comment-11432 John Niles Thu, 02 Oct 2008 07:51:01 +0000 http://seattletransitblog.com/?p=1120#comment-11432 If Prop 1 fails, there is still lots of transit investment at work in the region: What happens if Prop 1 does NOT pass is well documented in Sound Transit's recently issued 2009 budget proposal, which is a No-New-Taxes budget with no Prop 1 revenues listed. According to Sound Transit, even if Prop 1 fails, Link light rail to the airport will open for customer service, and construction of the light rail subway to Capitol Hill and Husky Stadium will commence. This Sound Transit 2009 budget proposal document is available for download as http://www.soundtransit.org/Documents/pdf/about/financial/2009/Proposed%202009%20Budget.pdf and is posted on the Financial Documents page at http://www.soundtransit.org/x1230.xml . In addition, King County Metro's Transit Now service expansion will continue, as will implementation of Community Transit's Swift Bus Rapid Transit. I've also recently noticed that City of Seattle's "Bridging The Gap" funding is making Metro bus service better around Seattle, most conspiculously on 15th in the Interbay, the road from downtown Seattle to Ballard, with a peak period buses-only lane put into operation for the 15/18 buses every ten minutes.
If Prop 1 fails, there is still lots of transit investment at work in the region:

What happens if Prop 1 does NOT pass is well documented in Sound Transit’s recently issued 2009 budget proposal, which is a No-New-Taxes budget with no Prop 1 revenues listed.

According to Sound Transit, even if Prop 1 fails, Link light rail to the airport will open for customer service, and construction of the light rail subway to Capitol Hill and Husky Stadium will commence.

This Sound Transit 2009 budget proposal document is available for download as http://www.soundtransit.org/Documents/pdf/about/financial/2009/Proposed%202009%20Budget.pdf and is posted on the Financial Documents page at http://www.soundtransit.org/x1230.xml .

In addition, King County Metro’s Transit Now service expansion will continue, as will implementation of Community Transit’s Swift Bus Rapid Transit.

I’ve also recently noticed that City of Seattle’s “Bridging The Gap” funding is making Metro bus service better around Seattle, most conspiculously on 15th in the Interbay, the road from downtown Seattle to Ballard, with a peak period buses-only lane put into operation for the 15/18 buses every ten minutes.

]]> By: Fact Checkers Bust Inaccurate Coverage - Mass Transit Now - Yes on Proposition 1 to bring mass transit to Puget Sound http://seattletransitblog.com/2008/09/26/the-weeklys-rick-anderson-doesnt-get-it/#comment-10927 Fact Checkers Bust Inaccurate Coverage - Mass Transit Now - Yes on Proposition 1 to bring mass transit to Puget Sound Sun, 28 Sep 2008 09:39:50 +0000 http://seattletransitblog.com/?p=1120#comment-10927 [...] big thanks to: The Stranger, Seattle Transit Blog, HorsesAss, and hugeasscity for setting the record [...]
[...] big thanks to: The Stranger, Seattle Transit Blog, HorsesAss, and hugeasscity for setting the record [...]

]]> By: JamesS http://seattletransitblog.com/2008/09/26/the-weeklys-rick-anderson-doesnt-get-it/#comment-10692 JamesS Fri, 26 Sep 2008 19:33:36 +0000 http://seattletransitblog.com/?p=1120#comment-10692 The good news: nobody reads the Weakly's weak blog. The bad news: Seattle is full of "don't get in the way of my car" liberals who view transit projects as an impediment to their smoke-bellowing 1978 Datsun trip to the store. Ross Anderson and half the Weakly staff seem to fall into this camp. So, naturally, Ross Anderson believes the hired henchmen of right wing think tanks when they lie about the costs of transit projects. Funny how the right wing dinosaurs and left wing dinosaurs get along so well. Dying breeds have got to stick together, don't you know.
The good news: nobody reads the Weakly’s weak blog.

The bad news: Seattle is full of “don’t get in the way of my car” liberals who view transit projects as an impediment to their smoke-bellowing 1978 Datsun trip to the store.

Ross Anderson and half the Weakly staff seem to fall into this camp.

So, naturally, Ross Anderson believes the hired henchmen of right wing think tanks when they lie about the costs of transit projects.

Funny how the right wing dinosaurs and left wing dinosaurs get along so well. Dying breeds have got to stick together, don’t you know.

]]> By: John Jensen http://seattletransitblog.com/2008/09/26/the-weeklys-rick-anderson-doesnt-get-it/#comment-10650 John Jensen Fri, 26 Sep 2008 16:07:53 +0000 http://seattletransitblog.com/?p=1120#comment-10650 No, can you do this for me? I don't know the editor's contact info. I tried posting a comment but apparently it wasn't approved.
No, can you do this for me? I don’t know the editor’s contact info.

I tried posting a comment but apparently it wasn’t approved.

]]> By: AJ http://seattletransitblog.com/2008/09/26/the-weeklys-rick-anderson-doesnt-get-it/#comment-10646 AJ Fri, 26 Sep 2008 15:43:00 +0000 http://seattletransitblog.com/?p=1120#comment-10646 This is why I read the Stranger (even though I was quoted in the Weakly).
This is why I read the Stranger (even though I was quoted in the Weakly).

]]> By: Cascadian http://seattletransitblog.com/2008/09/26/the-weeklys-rick-anderson-doesnt-get-it/#comment-10644 Cascadian Fri, 26 Sep 2008 15:22:25 +0000 http://seattletransitblog.com/?p=1120#comment-10644 John, did you send this as a letter to The Weekly as well as publishing it here?
John, did you send this as a letter to The Weekly as well as publishing it here?

]]> By: fpteditors http://seattletransitblog.com/2008/09/26/the-weeklys-rick-anderson-doesnt-get-it/#comment-10628 fpteditors Fri, 26 Sep 2008 12:58:10 +0000 http://seattletransitblog.com/?p=1120#comment-10628 Nicely done. Now I wonder if the Prop 1 opposition has any numbers on the cost of NOT investing in transit. Doubt it.
Nicely done. Now I wonder if the Prop 1 opposition has any numbers on the cost of NOT investing in transit. Doubt it.

]]> By: John Jensen http://seattletransitblog.com/2008/09/26/the-weeklys-rick-anderson-doesnt-get-it/#comment-10602 John Jensen Fri, 26 Sep 2008 08:35:07 +0000 http://seattletransitblog.com/?p=1120#comment-10602 Sorry if this strikes any readers as petty and too personal. I think someone writing for a "major" regional blog should do some check his assumptions before weighing in. If I can do it in my free time -- unrelated to my day job in software -- then certainly someone paid to be local media can do it.
Sorry if this strikes any readers as petty and too personal. I think someone writing for a “major” regional blog should do some check his assumptions before weighing in. If I can do it in my free time — unrelated to my day job in software — then certainly someone paid to be local media can do it.

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