While it’s likely that the Seattle P-I Editorial Board will endorse Proposition 1, the board met with proponents Greg Nickels and Carla Saulter and opponents John Niles and Mark Baerwaldt this past week and you can watch the debate online. I believe the P-I will be publishing their endorsement this Sunday.
The newspaper published their No on I-985 endorsement online last evening — it will run in the newspaper tomorrow.
I see all these polls about Obama/McCain and Gregoir/Rossi … but is there any poll data supporting either side of Prop 1?
65% last check, probably swayed 5-10 points as more people make up their mind.
I find it funny that Mark Baerwaldt really believes that people will prefer RapidRide over Link Light Rail. I doubt that anybody would prefer RapidRide over Link Light Rail except for people that think only about cost and nothing about the transit rider’s experience.
In the long term, cost is higher for RapidRide anyway. Just look at Portland – operating costs for buses are far higher than MAX.
It irks me to hear Mark Baerwaldt keep saying “of course I’ll support it if it’s free” about rail, as if buses are free. Baerwaldt is making a fool of himself; he cherry-picks data, spreads lies and misconceptions, and ignores all the good news that’s been coming out of Sound Transit for the past few years.
Some people have called Boston’s Silver Line the “Silver Lie” and LA’s “Orange Lie.” It’s good to have improved quality bus service but to say that BRT can substitute for light rail or even monorail, especially around here, is a joke.
Here’s why Baerwaldt likes buses so much – good place to park outside his Belltown condo:
State/Province: WA
Make: AUDI
Color: SIL
Defendant: MARK BAERWALDT
05/18/1999
Case # Type Infraction
201276689 PRK BUS ZONE
To be fair, Muni Court public records show Baerwaldt also enjoys parking in front of stop signs, in load zones, and all kinds of other places. God knows Belltown has infrequent bus service.
You should see how many citations he’s had for expired tabs! As in, the taxes which paid for the bus service he now pretends to support, as well as the light rail he loathes. Of course, Baerwaldt started paying his transit mvet again when his monorail taxes kicked in.
Reading the “Soundoff” comments after that piece is painful and scary. If the commenters on the PI website are any representation of the general voting public, this thing is going to pass without a hitch. Then we have to deal with its ill effects until the inevitable lawsuit makes it through court and outlaws all the unconstitutional garbage.
I kind of wish Mr. Eyman would get hit by someone running a red light. That would make me believe in karma.
Your comment was mentioned in the “Soundoff” for today’s Prop 1 article. Good quote!
Mark Baerwaldt – what a weird guy. Still fighting that big lawsuit he lost years and years ago. Burned a couple hundred thousand dollar hole in his pocket…so, I can see why was grumpy. Seven years ago.
When he talks about the “coming revolution” in vehicles (ala Doug MacDonald) and full electrification of buses, Baerwaldt sounds like he’s speaking at a Star Trek convention.
Both John Niles and Mark Baerwaldt lie through their teeth on transit market share comparing Seattle with light rail cities. Like most transit opponents, they ignore industry standards to cook their books. The rest of the world uses passenger miles…not boardings.
Geography is a problem for light rail – not the transit opponents’ rubber tire alternatives? Hello disingenuous space boy: bus and car rights of way are a lot more challenged by geography. Even hills screw up operations.
Vanpools are mass transit? Egad, Marky B.
Buses are exciting (when you’re using them as political fodder).
Mark B thinks we should look to Eugene as the model BRT city? You mean Mayberry, USA? Do they still have Cow Crossing signs to keep the cattle off the BRT guideway??
Eugene can have its EmX while cutting other bus service because of record high diesel prices. The fact that we’re vulnerable to volatile fuel prices and that buses cost more to operate makes the case for light rail stronger.
There are many cities around the world which have decent rail transit with challenging topography. In many cases, rail is actually an improvement. University Link is the best example in this region. Currently, it takes 20 minutes for the 70 series express to get downtown or the 43 to get to Capitol Hill. With U Link, it’s 3 minutes from Husky Stadium to Capitol Hill plus another 6 min to Downtown. That’s significant.
As I can recall, the trains continued to run while buses jackknifed and got stuck when snow and ice hit the region.
Not to mention that 20 minutes to downtown is the Platonic ideal time for the 7x buses. Many many times I’ve sat in traffic for another 10 or 15 minutes, too.
It’s typical Baerwaldt would gravitate to a Eugene BRT system which operates mostly in mixed traffic, and features a whopping 5k riders per day. This is considered “success” in the anti-transit world.