- Bus Chick has a nice post about one of my favorite ways to raise money for transit: ads. In this case, partially wrapped buses.
- My buddy Ben made this awesome site showing the projects for Sound Transit 2. Go check it out. I think it’s not quite finished yet, but there’s plenty to play around with there.
- Orphan Road thinks that the pro Prop 1 campaign’s ads not mentioning the cross-base highway could mean it’s not getting built. So why doesn’t the Sierra Club support prop 1?
- Northwest Progressive notes that the Seattle Port Commission has unanimously endorsed Prop. 1.
- The Overhead Wire points out Seattle’s shiftiness with regards to transportation options since the I-5 closures. Apparently the shifts have continued.
You know what would also be another great way to real in some serious cash, would be to decorate the new streetcar as well! I know there will be some decisions to be made on colors and schemes etc. That is incoming revenue potential, and will broadcast in a neighborhood that is going to see an explosion of people. The new building across from where I work is going to house Group Health, Microsoft, Rain Fitness Center, Starbucks (uugghhh!!), and many others yet to be determined.
Your friends site is cool, it would be nice to include the streetcar network that we are developing (or Metro projects), I haven’t heard back from Metro regarding the status of the Waterfront Streetcar, so I guess that might be why it is left off?
Regarding the Sounder and the I5, I was going to blog on that but everyone else did, so I didn’t want to over do it. I think that this shows people are adaptable. I am sure many didn’t think the Sounder was as capable as it was. I know that if I lived in an area serviced by the Sounder I would be on it everyday. I understand my opinions are biased toward transit. I think that people realized how convenient it really was and stuck with it. I know there were a handful of people that never knew about it until the I5 shutdown and are now daily riders. As an added bonus they add the two additional routes in the September shakeup. So now, people have more options. I know for some though, that last train Southbound isn’t late enough! I was bummed to see they didn’t add a later one. Anyhow, ridership should continue to increase.
The problems many folks have with Prop.1 aren’t bad projects in ST2, but the AWFUL projects in RTID.
That said, the Sierra Club isn’t complaining about the Cross-Base Highway because everyone won on the issue. It’s technically still in the package, as Ladenburg demanded, but there are only requirements for continued meetings and funds for planning. Any funds for building would have to come later, in a separate vote.
It’s obvious that the Yes on Prop. 1 folks downplay the Cross-Base highway because it’s an albatross that polls badly. Highway boosters — who threatened to kill RTID unless it was included — are quite determined to build it, but are smart enough to not advertise that fact.
The Sierra Club is not fooled. Nor is the Cross-Base highway the only terrible project in RTID.
Some word from the Sierra club.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/transportation/331430_transballot13.html?source=rss
This is probably after all the garbage the NoOnProp1.org folks have been doing.
Plus their site is ooogly.