Thanks for your story in the Ballard News Tribune on transportation. I live in Magnolia, but spotted the story (on your Website).

I'm the Technical Director of Coalition for Effective Transportation Alternatives, www.effectivetransportation.org.

Please let me comment on a few of your paragraphs:

" 'Ever since voters failed to pass two proposals for underground rail in the early 1970s, the county is digging itself out of a 35-year auto dependency hole,' said Phillips. Now, officials are trying to catch up to Seattle's growing transit needs."

The two failed proposals were in 1968 and 1970, coming out of a 1960s planning effort called Forward Thrust. To say Seattle has a "35-year auto dependency hole" is a bit extreme. Data from the U.S. Census bureau indicate that Seattle has one of the highest levels of commuter usage of public transit in the nation. Transit use could be pushed higher, and the fastest way to do that is with improvements in the quality of bus service from and to the points where travelers wish to go.

King County Metro's Transit Now bus improvements voted last November and costing one tenth of a cent of sales tax are a step in the right direction. These are described at http://www.metrokc.gov/kcdot/transitnow/about.stm .

Sound Transit's attempt to extract one-half cent of sales tax for 50 miles of light rail is extreme and unnecessary

" 'The people are coming," Phillips said. "It will definitely happen. It's just a question of when.' But in the long term, light rail would provide additional capacity and faster, more reliable trips, he said."

Light rail is so expensive that its implementation must necessarily be limited in geographic coverage. Case in point - Sound Transit's six-mile Seattle Subway light rail tunnel from Pine Street in downtown Seattle to Northeast 75th Street on the way to Northgate will cost about $3 billion. This will suck up $3 billion in money that could be used to improve bus service all over North Seattle and the entire region. Instead of six miles of railroad tunnel Sound Transit Board member Larry

Phillips and his colleagues could have planned for 300 miles of improved bus routes at $10 million per mile. Are buses as fast as light rail trains? No. But is better bus service all over the region better than a fast underground ride for a few people who live and work close to subway stops? Yes.

"In 2009 light rail will begin operating from downtown to the airport and plans are in place to build from downtown to the University of Washington as soon as next year."

Beginning light rail service from the airport to downtown depends on a lot of construction events going very well. The Beacon Hill tunnel is not yet half completed. The tracks in Rainier Valley are behind schedule. Time will tell if Sound Transit will meet its commitment. Remember, the commitment of 1996 was to have light rail to the University District completed by now. Yet, the agency has not yet started building this train.

The underground light rail train from University of Washington to downtown Seattle today depends on future approval of a $750 million federal grant. It is probable that this grant depends on voter acceptance of the $39 billion Roads and Transit package this upcoming Nov. 6th. Otherwise, Sound Transit does not have enough money to complete the tunnel to

Northeast 75th.

John Niles

Technical co-chair

Coalition for Effective

Transportation Alternatives