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Seattle monorail project is dead

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Discussion starter · #1 ·
I have learned from a good source that the Seattle monorail project is set to die as early as tonight. This was bound to happen as the funding was well short, costs higher, & the only way to pay for the thing was to string out the tax & debt payments even longer making a $2 billion project into an $11 billion project. The recent lies in the paper (paid for by tax payer money) was the last straw (if the $11 billion wasn't already).

I think transit proponents should quickly bail off this titanic & propose the monorail tax be rolled into the University/Northgate lightrail line.

Recent monorail articles & thoughts:


Pressure on monorail grows - Seattle P-I
Monorail ad numbers flawed- KING TV
Commentary: it's lost a die-hard monorail supporter like me- The Stranger
One Billion per Mile - Seattle Weekly
Editorial: Monorail Project: Board must say no - Seattle P-I
Majority of City Council now troubled by monorail - Seattle Times
State treasurer says halt monorail - Seattle Times
New monorail tab hits hard - Seattle P-I
Monorail's building, debt costs balloon to $11 billion - Seattle P-I
 
Discussion starter · #6 ·
^^^ Yep. Lightrail is still alive but only part of the proposed line is being built.

I thought it was silly to have the monorail, lightrail, street cars, & commuter rail. It seems like too much. I also thought the monorail line was silly. It didn't mirror the most popular transit corridors. It would have brought more dense residential growth to Ballard & West Seattle but taxing the folks of Lake City, Beacon Hill, South Park, Madrona, etc. to make some developers & land owners wealthy is silly. This was a stupid plan & I was pretty convinced it would die. I also thought ST would die too but Joel Horn & the monorail is making them look compentent.

Seattle residents should call their council member & tell them to roll the monorail funds into the north extension of the lightrail; which just so happens to mirror the most popular transit corridors in SEattle & travels through the highest transit ridership neighborhoods (nothing better to spur an expanded system than with a good example; a busy, successful line...).
 
Discussion starter · #7 · (Edited)
Blink182 said:
Damn, I hate Bush cuz he don't give enough budget to Seattle. It's unfair with LA about Bush give alot of $$$$$ for new LRT.
Click to expand...

What the heck are you talking about? This was a Seattle only deal. The feds have zero to do with this. The big reason Washington doesn't get much $ from D.C. is incompetent leadership. Patty Murray is the dimmest bulb in D.C. & the corrupt/incompetent officials in Seattle are little help either. How many chances has Joel Horn had to rip the public off & destroy a project?
 
#8 ·
....

where was the lightrail originally suppose to go? it's going from the airport to westlake center. yeah the airport extension is coming like 2 months later. if you're referring to it not going to the convention center. well whatever it's 4 blocks hop on a bus if you're too lazy to walk
 
#9 ·
It's sad to see that project die off, I hate when they rip off the public with that kind of amount, it isn't fair that other cities in the US are getting BETTER deals with shorter amount of time to pay it off. I guess Seattle has lot of corrupt govt.

The project will extend to Northgate mall which is 8 mile extension from Westlake Center to Northgate, will be mostly tunnel, because of the dense neighborhoods and houses are in the way, and with some elevated tracks north of the segment torwards Northgate. Seattle to Northgate is one of the busiest corridor for bus routes.
 
#10 ·
Although Seattle seriously needs a mass transit system to become a world class city, I would not support citizens paying 11 billion. That's a bloody crime.

Seattle maybe too big for light rail. Light rail is supposebly best suited for metros of 3 million and under.
 
#12 ·
Didn't construction already begin?
 
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#14 ·
So disappointing. I've always liked monorails and the prospect of one being built in Seattle was a major attraction for me to potentially move to the city in the future. Seattle still has a lot going for itself regardless of what happens with monorail, but I'm still really disappointed. Lightrail just isn't as great (not that I don't like it). It's just that it stops the flow of traffic (can't tell you how many times I've had to wait on the lightrail to pass across a street here in Houston) and there are too many automobile/railcar accidents (even just one is one too many). I definitely prefer monorails or subways much much more.
 
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#15 ·
The obiturary for the monorail is premature.

From The Seattle Times:




Tonight, the monorail board will discuss whether to approve borrowing up to $350 million to keep the project moving toward a groundbreaking later this year.

The letter from Licata and Carr comes as the proposed monorail has seen its support at City Hall steadily dwindle, making it more of a challenge for the project to win council approval for its construction permits.

Also yesterday, Councilman Richard Conlin, chairman of the council transportation committee and a longtime monorail skeptic, issued a statement calling for a "monorail exit strategy" and indicated he was prepared to vote against issuing the needed permits.

In an interview, Councilman Peter Steinbrueck also said he would vote no if he had to vote today, citing the agency's finances, as well as proposed monorail tracks and columns he called "gross in size and out of scale, not what we expected."

Councilman David Della also has signaled opposition, and Councilman Richard McIver has said the proposal "doesn't feel good" but hasn't entirely made up his mind. Others on the nine-member council have expressed deep concerns but said they are awaiting a review by a consultant hired by the council prior to making a final decision.

Monorail Board Chairman Tom Weeks has aimed for a July 13 or July 20 SMP vote on the $1.6 billion contract between the agency and Cascadia Monorail Co., a 28-member team led by Fluor Enterprises and train supplier Hitachi of Japan, that submitted the only contract bid last year. With costs of utility relocation, real estate, agency overhead and cash reserves, the project adds up to well over $2.1 billion.

One monorail board member, Cindi Laws, called the 50-year car-tab tax a "non-starter" and said the board needs to look at all options, including a rebid.

Another train company, Bombardier of Canada, which dropped out of the competition to build the monorail, is now pushing for another chance.

Licata and Carr's letter said they "do not believe that it is time to give up on a monorail transit option" noting that Sound Transit's light-rail project went through a "very difficult" period and survived.

"The monorail can survive this difficult period, but only if you are not afraid to act boldly," the letter concluded.

In an interview, Carr said, "I don't think this plan flies" but noted that as the lawyer for the City Council and the mayor, he would abide by their decision as policy makers.

Krista Camenzind, researcher for the monorail critics' watchdog group OnTrack, called the Licata-Carr letter "a wake-up call to SMP board members, and we trust they will take it seriously."

Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels, who has been publicly supportive of the project in the past, has continued to take a cautious stance in recent weeks.

Deputy Mayor Tim Ceis said yesterday Nickels is taking "a thoughtful approach" and wanted to see more analysis of the proposed monorail contract. He said there are several options available to the city, including sending the project back to the monorail board to be reworked.
 
#16 ·
This is a positive. Now they can do it right. I didn't like the financing problem either.

I say that as an ally of the plan, and a friend of some of the staff.

It'll come back sooner or later with a new vote for a replacement funding source. I suspect that the design cuts will be reversed, like the single-track sections, smaller stations, etc. And it ought to have better frequency.
 
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