I found myself agreeing with many of Kemper Freeman’s arguments in the Reporter’s article on his resistance to Eastside light rail in the special Transportation Section.

The point about Greater Seattle having too low a population density for it highlights a distinction between our residential and industrial areas that is less marked in older cities with successful rail links.

Sound Transit seems keen to boast that its plans will link the Eastside’s biggest employers, but ignores the fact that the line doesn’t go through anywhere where people actually live. We’ve seen this with the central rail corridor which runs from the airport through industrial Tukwila and South Seattle to the City Center. Who’s this supposed to serve?

Where Freeman’s argument falls down is when he starts lauding bike paths and bus routes. Despite the fact that half of central Bellevue has been leveled and rebuilt in the last five years, the absence of new bus, bike or pedestrian thoroughfares in the city center is startling.

Buy the land for an express corridor and run buses down the proposed route. Use it as a stepping stone to light rail if you like. I’d just like to see some action while I’m still young enough to pay full fare.

Lyndon Heywood, Bellevue