Mr. Lee’s comments regarding light rail’s future benefits is right when he compares East Link to the effective rapid transit system in Paris as “comparing an apple to a watermelon.” I think East Link would be more equivalent to a “grape.”
He fails to recognize that East Link will always be limited to two or three car trains running every nine to 15 minutes by bridge structural concerns and Seattle “bus tunnel” restrictions.
He may wish to reconsider his comments about the low “fare-box recovery ratio” with buses when he finds out the average “cost per boarding” for Sound Transit bus service is about half their cost for Sounder Commuter rail. I suspect that light rail costs will be even higher. (When Sound Transit finally gets around to publishing the data.)
I agree with his comment that a fourth lane could be added to the outer bridge to accommodate carpools. The bus proposal reserves the center section for two-way bus-only lanes that could accommodate 40,000-50,000 riders per hour in each direction, meeting cross-lake needs for the foreseeable future. (As attested by Mr. Lee’s comment about lack of congestion there.)
The idea that adding a fourth lane to the outer bridge section could accommodate all cross-lake traffic raises questions as to why the WSDOT didn’t do that a long time ago and spare us the cost of the center section.
Mr. Lee’s comment about how current and future riders from Issaquah and Eastgate will be more “likely to continue existing commuting habits until a line reaches Issaquah far in the future” reminds me of Marie Antoinette’s comment “Let them eat cake.” Those commuters need help now! Apparently, he is more concerned that Seattle be connected via light rail with downtown Bellevue, Overlake, and Redmond.
Currently about 2500-3000 commuters ride Sound Transit’s 500 route into and out of Seattle every day. East Link will allow this small percentage of cross-lake commuters to switch to light rail, forcing everyone else onto the outer bridge. The idea that East Link will attract a large number of new developments with new riders is questionable (as Tukwila residents can attest).
Mr. Lee would have large portions of Bellevue permanently devastated and thousands of commuters forced to endure gridlock for some highly questionable benefits of light rail for future generations. I hope most readers disagree.
Bill Hirt, Bellevue
