Traffic! Transit?

The Puget Sound regional transit authority--"Sound Transit"--suffered a setback when the city of Tukwila voted against a proposed rail system issue. The city's decision was based upon the fact that the trains would not stop near Tukwila’s South Center Mall, the city’s main source of taxable income.

That should not have come as a surprise to anyone. Why would the city take a decision that could have had an adverse impact upon its source of revenue? Why would the city take a chance on the mall becoming a ghost town?

In hindsight, this all seems obvious. Sound Transit has a history of flubbed decisions, delays, and waste of public money. This setback threatens to add even more costs for “negotiations” with Tukwila, redesign, and delays.

All for a system that may never achieve levels of use that alleviate our transit problems, and keep businesses in the region—and taxpayers employed.

The answer continues to be obvious. Those who have jobs drive cars or take buses--today. Their commutes are long because roads are not wide enough, drivers are not trained to drive on freeways well enough, and companies do not offer flextime or telecommuting for a few days a week to alleviate congestion, parking issues, and the like. Why not lead the region to a "sound" decision by proposing work on these issues instead of building a white elephant that will not help Boeing ship a single fuselage from Renton to Everett?

The clock is ticking.