News
McGinn Rallies Troops to Lobby Council for Rail
Mayor Mike McGinn sent out an email blast this morning imploring recipients to lobby the city council to include $1.5 million in next year's city budget to study high-capacity transit (i.e., light rail, which McGinn has been pushing since his 2009 election campaign) from Ballard to Fremont to downtown, as well in as four other corridors.
"Rail from Ballard to Fremont to Downtown has been identified as the corridor with the highest potential ridership in the whole city (up to 26,000 daily riders)," McGinn writes in the email, which asks constituents to testify in favor of rail, write the city council, and let friends know they should do the same.
The city council has long been cool to the idea of westside Seattle rail, noting that it's far more expensive than other options such as bus rapid transit. In fact, the very transit analysis McGinn cites for his 26,000 figure shows that rail from Ballard to downtown compares poorly on most metrics to BRT, costing more in annual operating costs ($9.1 million, compared to $8 million), more per mile ($48.9 million, compared to $18.9 million), and more overall per rider ($2.95, compared to $2.60) for identical speed improvements (11 minutes faster for each mode). Rail would, however, lead to higher transit capacity and ridership overall, with more riders per hour (175) than BRT (105).
The council has twice rejected McGinn's proposals to push light rail forward--- rejecting his proposal to put a city-only transit measure on the ballot as well as his proposel to ask voters for $10 million to simply study rail feasibility on the Westside corridor.
Ethics and Elections director Wayne Barnett says there's no ethical problem with McGinn using his bully pulpit to rally the troops to next week's budget meeting. "If people do support it, hopefully they'll show up and say that," Barnett says. "He's got to go to the people and get them to persuade the council. That's the only tool he's got."
The next public budget hearing is on October 4 at 5:00 pm in city council chambers.
"Rail from Ballard to Fremont to Downtown has been identified as the corridor with the highest potential ridership in the whole city (up to 26,000 daily riders)," McGinn writes in the email, which asks constituents to testify in favor of rail, write the city council, and let friends know they should do the same.
The city council has long been cool to the idea of westside Seattle rail, noting that it's far more expensive than other options such as bus rapid transit. In fact, the very transit analysis McGinn cites for his 26,000 figure shows that rail from Ballard to downtown compares poorly on most metrics to BRT, costing more in annual operating costs ($9.1 million, compared to $8 million), more per mile ($48.9 million, compared to $18.9 million), and more overall per rider ($2.95, compared to $2.60) for identical speed improvements (11 minutes faster for each mode). Rail would, however, lead to higher transit capacity and ridership overall, with more riders per hour (175) than BRT (105).
The council has twice rejected McGinn's proposals to push light rail forward--- rejecting his proposal to put a city-only transit measure on the ballot as well as his proposel to ask voters for $10 million to simply study rail feasibility on the Westside corridor.
Ethics and Elections director Wayne Barnett says there's no ethical problem with McGinn using his bully pulpit to rally the troops to next week's budget meeting. "If people do support it, hopefully they'll show up and say that," Barnett says. "He's got to go to the people and get them to persuade the council. That's the only tool he's got."
The next public budget hearing is on October 4 at 5:00 pm in city council chambers.
