A few months ago, I posted about a video from the Obama Transition Team that mentioned the need to invest in Mass Transit. Since then, we’ve become increasingly worried about if the Obama administration will include transit projects in the stimulus package.
Fortunately, incoming White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs answered this question in a video just posted by the Transition Team, and although we’d certainly like to hear this from Obama himself when he talks about roads and bridges, it’s still very good news (pertinent question starts at 1:58):
What sort of transit projects could we see in our region as part of the stimulus package? Stay tuned.
Aside from ST potentially asking for funds to accelerate North Link and perhaps some Streetcar money, I don’t know what we’d really get, barring some major “OMEGA, WE’RE GETTING SOME CASH EVERYBODY!” announcement from ST.
Right, let’s not forget that they keep talking about “shovel ready” projects. Problem is, doing NEPA (National Environmental Policy Act) Environmental Impact Statements takes time. Speeding up North Link would be easy because the EIS is done and the Record of Decision has been issued. Maybe some of the proposed track improvements to speed up Amtrak Cascades service could be done; the Port Defiance Bypass project just got some money from the FRA. But any grand new projects would require at least a few years, maybe even four or five, just to do the EIS and preliminary engineering, and I don’t know if that’s the type of project that they’re talking about.
The Monorail! They’re funding the Monorail!
(ok, I doubt it, but a fan of both the world’s fair system and grade separated urban transit can dream, can’t he?)
I just spit water through my nose!
It is the fastest way to get from Seattle Center to Westlake
I’m still a skeptic. It’s just political banter in this video. I won’t believe it til I read about major funding going to transit from the feds.