City Hall
McGinn Blasts KING-5 Report on Still-Unreleased 520 Study
Mayor Mike McGinn sent out a press release a few minutes ago blasting KING-5's Linda Brill for claiming in a piece last night that a consultant's study on putting light rail on 520 "slams [McGinn's] stand on light rail." The unusual release—elected officials usually ask for corrections when reporters get facts wrong, and a press blast is practically unheard-of—highlights Brill's "selective editing" of a conclusion in the study's executive summary:
McGinn hasn't released the report—as I reported last week, he delayed a planned release from last Thursday until today so his staff could have "more time to look at" the results—but Brill apparently got a copy of the executive summary. (She hasn't yet responded to a request for comment). McGinn will release the study at an 11am press briefing today.
Yesterday, the city council had a briefing on its own half of the study (P-I report here), which focused on how to improve the state legislature’s preferred “A-plus” option, and includes no reference to either light rail or “high-capacity transit." Nonetheless, the council asked the consultants about rail during the briefing. Tim Payne, representing consultant Nelson Nygaard, told the council rail would not be possible across 520 without extensive work. We'll have more details about the results of the study later this morning.
KING 5 BROADCAST: “The mayor’s own commissioned report concludes putting light rail on 520 now is not a good idea. It says the plan for light rail on I-90 should proceed, but the ‘focus of the effort on 520 should…not replace the current planning and design work underway.’”
The report’s full quote is below with the section omitted by KING-5 underlined.
FULL QUOTE FROM CONSULTANT’S REPORT: “Sound Transit’s current project to construct light rail to the Eastside over I-90 should continue unabated. The focus of effort on SR 520 should be assessing the potential to add a second cross-Lake Washington LRT corridor, not to replace the current planning and design work underway.”
McGinn hasn't released the report—as I reported last week, he delayed a planned release from last Thursday until today so his staff could have "more time to look at" the results—but Brill apparently got a copy of the executive summary. (She hasn't yet responded to a request for comment). McGinn will release the study at an 11am press briefing today.
Yesterday, the city council had a briefing on its own half of the study (P-I report here), which focused on how to improve the state legislature’s preferred “A-plus” option, and includes no reference to either light rail or “high-capacity transit." Nonetheless, the council asked the consultants about rail during the briefing. Tim Payne, representing consultant Nelson Nygaard, told the council rail would not be possible across 520 without extensive work. We'll have more details about the results of the study later this morning.
