http://seattle.metblogs.com/2004/07/22/monorail-monorail-monorail/ Mon, 29 Nov 2010 17:32:19 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 http://seattle.metblogs.com/2004/07/22/monorail-monorail-monorail/comment-page-1/#comment-40 Jeff Mon, 16 Jan 2006 19:44:28 +0000 http://seattle.metblogs.com/2004/07/22/monorail-monorail-monorail/#comment-40 The monorail was a complete waste. We spent millions of dollars on a project that inevitably went nowhere. We tried to complicate it too much and we overthought it. Sound Transit can build light rail to the airport and Seattle City Council can't adequately project a monorail. I think it all fell apart when people got bogged down in discussions on how it should look and how the stations should be created to reflect the neighborhoods. Give us a subway. It ain't pretty but it works. The monorail was a complete waste. We spent millions of dollars on a project that inevitably went nowhere. We tried to complicate it too much and we overthought it. Sound Transit can build light rail to the airport and Seattle City Council can’t adequately project a monorail. I think it all fell apart when people got bogged down in discussions on how it should look and how the stations should be created to reflect the neighborhoods. Give us a subway. It ain’t pretty but it works.

]]> http://seattle.metblogs.com/2004/07/22/monorail-monorail-monorail/comment-page-1/#comment-39 Manuel Fri, 23 Jul 2004 06:10:37 +0000 http://seattle.metblogs.com/2004/07/22/monorail-monorail-monorail/#comment-39 I still think it's a good way of moving people around the city. It was never meant to be a solution for getting people to stop driving. It is not a solution for I-5 traffic or eastside traffic. (If the WSDOT and voters want to add a bazillion lanes until it looks like LA and it's still jam-packed every Friday, fine, just don't deny us non-drivers good transportation options.) Simply put, the monorail is a system for moving people. That's ALL it is. I want a way to get around the city that is fast, reliable, on time, and doesn't use the streets. I have always simplified it this way and continue to. The financial issues are too complex for me. It seems if there's going to be big problems it's going to be in that area. I still think it’s a good way of moving people around the city. It was never meant to be a solution for getting people to stop driving. It is not a solution for I-5 traffic or eastside traffic. (If the WSDOT and voters want to add a bazillion lanes until it looks like LA and it’s still jam-packed every Friday, fine, just don’t deny us non-drivers good transportation options.)
Simply put, the monorail is a system for moving people. That’s ALL it is. I want a way to get around the city that is fast, reliable, on time, and doesn’t use the streets. I have always simplified it this way and continue to.
The financial issues are too complex for me. It seems if there’s going to be big problems it’s going to be in that area.

]]> http://seattle.metblogs.com/2004/07/22/monorail-monorail-monorail/comment-page-1/#comment-38 josh Thu, 22 Jul 2004 16:28:52 +0000 http://seattle.metblogs.com/2004/07/22/monorail-monorail-monorail/#comment-38 as far as I'm concerned, it's another argument against direct democracy. We've voted on the monorail three times. My instincts tell me that after this initiative fails, someone will try to get us to vote on the issue a fifth time. Actually, I'm hoping that one of the legal challenges blocks this from even going to the ballot. More than that, this whole ordeal leaves me feeling rather pessimistic about the future of a complete elevated transit plan. The green line was meant to be the first stage in a network. If there is this much opposition to a single line, I can't imagine how it will be possible to extend the system to the rest of the city. as far as I’m concerned, it’s another argument against direct democracy. We’ve voted on the monorail three times. My instincts tell me that after this initiative fails, someone will try to get us to vote on the issue a fifth time.
Actually, I’m hoping that one of the legal challenges blocks this from even going to the ballot.
More than that, this whole ordeal leaves me feeling rather pessimistic about the future of a complete elevated transit plan. The green line was meant to be the first stage in a network. If there is this much opposition to a single line, I can’t imagine how it will be possible to extend the system to the rest of the city.

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