The monorail, as a concept, could be a great transportation achievement for this city - moving people quickly along congested routes without disturbing the lives and locomotion of the people below.
The reality, however, is that the monorail has so badly miscalculated its income that it doesn't have enough money to do what it promised.
With a 30 percent shortfall, the monorail folks are rushing into the project, cutting corners to meet a deadline that simply doesn't exist. The losers in all this could be the people of Seattle.
With the Monorail short on money, many changes have been made to cheapen the project. The two-rail system is being replaced by one rail in many places. Money that was intended to ease the impact on nearby residents and businesses isn't there. The contracts the monorail has sent out to bidders are missing many of the promises they have been making all along.
To compensate for this, the city could be required to pay many of the costs not included in the monorail contract. The city is already short of funds and likely will have to cut $16 million in services this year. Making up for the monorail shortfall could take even more away from other services such as parks, roads, possibly even public safety programs.
With this in mind, the question becomes: What could be left out of the monorail plan? What remains to be decided?
- With no new parking lots planned near the stations, where will all the people park when they come to ride the monorail?
- Who will pay for new parking? If neighborhood streets must have special zoning for resident-only parking, who will pay for these permits?
- Who will pay for sewer and power pole relocation?
- Who will pay to address and resolve the issues of neighborhood congestion and street repair due to the increased traffic around stations?
- Who will pay for environmental cleanup during construction, landscaping and sidewalk repair afterward?
- How will Metro buses be rerouted to serve Monorail stations? Will bus service be taken away from other neighborhoods? Will bus riders have to pay higher fares if they want to transfer to the monorail?
These are costs the Monorail should pay out of its $1.7 billion budget. They should not be shifted to the city, Metro or the neighborhoods.
Currently the Seattle City Council is beginning to discuss a right-of-way agreement with the monorail. The project needs that agreement before it proceeds. The city has the capacity to require that all these questions be answered and that the Monorail Project pays for all project-related costs and they should do so. Let's do this right!
We encourage everyone to contact our city council members to let them know we want to be sure the Monorail Project keeps its promises and pays all of the costs. The council can be reached at 684-8888 or through www.cityofseattle.net/council.
If you want more information about or want to join OnTrack, call 686-3830 or visit www.monorailontrack.org.
Faye Garneau, Kent Kammerer and Eugene Wasserman are members of OnTrack, a group of citizens and business people from across Seattle dedicated to ensuring that the Seattle Monorail Project delivers the transportation system approved by the voters of Seattle, both in the manner and for the price that was presented to them.[[In-content Ad]]
