The Seattle Monorail Project is desperately attempting to find a way to keep the Green Line alive.

Many ideas are being put forth by die-hard advocates to resurrect the financially troubled project. Most ideas are based on reducing scope or phasing the Green Line. None are legal!

In November 2002, Seattle voters barely approved (by a 0.5 percent margin) a single phase, 19-station route, with twin guideways from Ballard to West Seattle with a four minute headway between trains at peak hours, and at a cost of $1.75 billion. This is the only plan that the Seattle Monorail Project has been authorized by voters to build even though proponents are trying to evade this requirement.

The final August 2002 Plan was a masterpiece of saying nothing, and , by numerous innuendoes, promised a "World Class System." The Seattle Monorail Project reductions and changes of scope from the 2002 Plan during the extended contract negotiation period with "Cascadia" can be generally attributed to euphemisms they called "innovation and cost savings." It appears to me the Seattle Monorail Project feels it was mandated to build the Green Line "come hell or high water."

I doubt if any of the monorail advocates (including the Herald) have read, studied and analyzed all three drafts of the plan to see their evolution, or any of the backup documents referenced in the plan. Or attended the innumerable City Council meetings. The two ridership documents, the risk assessment document, the cost benefit document and the two environmental impact statements have many strongly cautionary caveats that were never highlighted in the 2002 plan for voter knowledge. An integrated, in-depth study, by me, shows there are glaring errors, misuse of data, missing data, and disagreement between these important documents

The 1962 World's Fair monorail created a fantasy image that attracted voters. Reality TV programs are the rage. The monorail needs a strong reality check. A sanity check. In my three years of extensive personal involvement, I know that the monorail organization has failed to "square with the public."

Voters are gullible and very trusting. The entire monorail program can be characterized by not informing, under-informing, misinforming, and selectively informing the voting public. It is wake up time!

John Storz

Arbor Heights