Editor's Note: This letter was sent to City Councilman Nick Licata with a copy to this newspaper.

Hello Mr. Licata.

I just read the recent article in the Ballard News Tribune (Jan. 30) about a proposed street car line in Ballard. I am not able to attend ameeting due to childcare issues. But I would like to voice my opinion if I may.

I voted for the monorail every single time. I moved here to Seattle in 1988, I grew up in the Bay Area and used BART very regularly as a way to get around the entire Bay Area. I saw potential within the monorail as a way for my entire family and community to travel south to other neighborhoods including downtown attractions. Then it was gone sadly.

This trolley system is not the answer, and I don't believe it is what most Ballardites would think of as a solution to our current and soon to be heavy congestion problems. The trolleys are no faster than a bus. They actually create traffic (note what the South Lake Union trolley is doing to the already congested Mercer mess area). And our bus system is already taking care of the Ballard - downtown route, with hopefully more buses and frequency to come. People in Ballard already know and are comfortable with the bus system. If they want to get somewhere fast, they take the Express bus, if they want to get to the next neighborhood over, they take the "local" bus.

The trolley system will not improve the system already in place, it will only make it worse, by adding to the traffic, blocking intersections, taking up a lane that could of been a "carpool" lane, and I haven't even mentioned the cost involved. Why not put all that construction costs in to more buses, fast ones and slow ones.

If we want a successful transit solution, it needs to be off the ground, away from cars and traffic. I remember voting for something like that, but now it's gone.

Marcie Guthrie

Ballard