Steve Marshall and Bruce Agnew of the conservative Discovery Institute have penned a great pro bus op-ed in the Seattle Times.
Though not the last word on the subject they have articulated a vision for the future that is well grounded on what has already proven itself to work. Specifically they propose enhancing our Park and Ride lots - a bit of high tech, a bit of espresso, as well as a few other ideas.
I've personally been arguing for the placement of park and ride lots next to existing small business districts for quite some time. I was proud when a developer actually came forward to the City of Seattle with a proposal to include same in a project which included Senior housing, in the Admiral District. I never met the developer, though a neighborhood friend I trust did work closely with them.
Unfortunately the environmentalists, most notably Aaron Ostrom, opposed, and defeated, the project.
This is, unfortunately, the sort of regional 'leadership' that is only taking us backwards, including in the recent defeat of the regional transportation package, Proposition 1. Our transportation expenditures need to benefit everyone in the entire metropolitan puget sound, not just those 'merchants' within 10 blocks of Fourth and Pine.
One more idea for Park and Rides - how about day care? In this way a young family could limit their car ownership to only one vehicle and store it near childcare. The funding model for daycare is tough, but with more and more working moms a new solution seems doable - especially if employers were to kick in to support, in a fair manner, for private daycare providers at locations such as Park and Ride lots.
A minor aside - I attended two meetings in Tacoma last night - a Sound Transit open house on the Sounder expansion to Lakewood and a Pierce County Council sponsored meeting on open space. I enjoyed the Pierce County meeting much more - two electeds coming out and actually talking with their constituents, as opposed to Sound Transit with a room full of so-called 'professional' 'planners'. I did run into early Sound Transit Board Member Paul Miller at the ST function - it is good to see some of the early electeds watching the 'baby' they helped conceive. Those folks, as a group, are perhaps one of the most likely to put that agency back on course. If it is possible.
