Thank you for the very good article on my work on the City Council in your July 27 edition. Unfortunately, the headline "Conlin supports monorail here" does not accurately represent my position on the monorail. I have always been skeptical of the monorail as a technology (because of its impacts on the pedestrian environment) and as a solution to our transportation problems (because of its high cost and probably low ridership).

The headline could lead readers to believe that I have changed my position. I have not.

I am a committed supporter of transit and I do believe that West Seattle needs more transit. The lead quote, "'We need to separate the fate of the Seattle Monorail Project from the fate of mass transit in Seattle, because that still needs to be addressed, regardless of what happens to the (monorail)'" is an accurate reflection of my position.

However, the following sentence, "Conlin proposes building at least part of the monorail between West Seattle and downtown," misses the key point that it is not the monorail technology, but the route to West Seattle, that is critical. I have always stated that, of the whole Green Line route, the West Seattle-to-downtown segment seems to make the most sense because that is the most congested part of the proposed Green Line route. The reporting, therefore, misses the nuance of our conversation about what would be the best thing to salvage in the event that the Seattle Monorail Project advances the idea of shortening the line.

To summarize: I support more transit, particularly for West Seattle. If the Seattle Monorail Project chooses to resurrect the project by shortening the line, the West Seattle to downtown segment would be the most useful. A better choice, however, would be to replace the monorail with another alternative, such as a light rail spur serving West Seattle and ending at King Street station.

This would allow a consolidation of resources (the maintenance facility and administration) and would advance the vision of an integrated regional transportation system. This makes far more sense than building a shortened monorail line - a stand alone technology that does not integrate with light rail or a possible streetcar network.

Richard Conlin

Seattle City Council