Now they tell us we can't ever have a streetcar, even though a monorail could have made it to West Seattle. It this a plot to deprive us of any meaningful transportation beyond buses snarled in gridlock traffic from here to downtown?

We grudgingly think not, but we understand the disbelief of many who see the combination of $4 a gallon gasoline and global warming as spelling real transportation hardship for residents of our proud peninsula.

Monorail could have made it over the West Seattle Bridge, we are told, because it would have been powered by much stronger engines, and because the propulsion systems are different. That was added to much higher costs to build a streetcar line across the bridge - spelling the end of that idea.

Now, why are we for streetcars, but still have reservations about the so-called Bus Rapid Transit system?

Buses go on surface roadways, are subject to traffic constraints, of gridlocked streets. To a great extent, so are streetcars, but often the rails are down the middle of the street and in special lanes. Buses could have that also, but we worry it would not be considered financially cost effective.

The story on Page One tells us the idea of a streetcar over the low-level swing bridge was considered and rejected for various reasons, including the opening of the bridge for marine traffic during rushhour. The Coast Guard has been asked to restrict those openings, but no decision has been made.

The biggest thing going for streetcars is the fact the city would control them, not Metro Transit, which is hamstrung by regulations that give bus service to the east and south suburbs at a faster rate than in the city. This was done when Seattle was not growing, at a time before we were steered into accepting more growth in the city than in the far-reaching suburbs, which were then and are still growing.

But so now is West Seattle, where over 1,000 new apartments are soon to be built along Alaska from 35th to the Junction. More cars will be coming, more traffic clogging will be a result and with gas going skyward, transit is becoming a better idea.

Streetcar run could be added when needed in Seattle, not when Kent or Issaquah growth slows.

We need either a major realignment of the bus route allocation formula or we need our own city-run system. If that isn't changed, then we need a way to speed streetcars to West Seattle, up another route or with some swallowing of some higher costs by taxpayers.

But we need some way out of this impending mess.

- Jack Mayne