Kevin Wallace’s light rail “Vision Line” along the BNSF rail corridor and 114th ignores one fundamental problem. Where are all the riders going to come from?

Sound Transit East Link fliers predict 40,000-45,000 riders by 2030. The vast majority of riders will have to walk to the station since the only parking (Wilburton P&R near Southeast Eighth) will never be able to accommodate more than a tiny fraction of that number. The lack of parking and the fact no one wants to live anywhere near light rail would seem to limit the number of future riders.

The reality is East Link’s lack of capacity across 1-90 and access to potential Eastside riders limit its ridership to a fraction of their current predictions no matter which route is selected.

The only way to relieve cross-lake and Eastside congestion is to modify the bridge center section to accommodate two-way bus only traffic. The bus-only lanes will be able to accommodate buses providing non-stop connections between every Eastside P&R and Seattle now and for the foreseeable future. Allowing drivers to park their car at their local P&R will relieve traffic throughout the entire eastside.

This improved bus service could be relieving Eastside traffic within two years at a fraction of East Link cost with plenty of money left over to fund the 520 bridge rebuild and eliminate the need for bridge tolls. The Bellevue City Council needs to recognize this reality and stop East Link.

Bill Hirt, Bellevue