linneasn

Hi there. My profuse apologies to everyone for all of the back and forth about regionalism, etc. What I should have orginially posted is now the goal. Many thanks to Josh for pointing this out!

Here’s a link to what I wrote yesterday about the very same topic. http://blog.myspace.com/seattlelinnea -

However, what we’ve currently got is NOT regional transportation planning, it is fragmented, city-specific planning, which is why mass transit doesn’t exsit. The PSRC is comprised of local jurisdictions – hence, nothing gets done because it is a turf battle. If you want to look at REAL regional planning, go to Portland or Boston or New York. That’s where cities have no authority, and the powers to tax and implement are squarely in the hands of regional players.

It seems that we both want mass transit. We both love and espouse the values of urban life, and want to see it propegated as much as possible. Our difference: I believe that a City can not thrive without its extended region, and that solutions to large, complex problems can only be solved regionally because the users – whether housing, education, transportation, environment – do not conform to those city boundaries. The reason why our schools are failing, our region had no mass transit system, and our housing costs are spiralling out of control is precisely because we DON’T have a regional strategy.

Linnea

we’re sitting here, stuck in traffic.
we have three different transit systems, assuming monorail continues.
we have no viable alternatives over the bridges, and to the N/S suburbs… sorry, but buses get stuck in traffic, too.
And really, what we need is a regional transit authority to coorindate ONE system.
That gets you from Point A to Point B without much navigation.
That has established, posted station stops.
That runs on a regular schedule (ie every 10-15 minutes).
That is on a dedicated right-of-way.
That goes from Tacoma to Everett and Seattle to the eastside.

HOW HARD COULD THIS BE?!