Election: Sound Transit 3 is not a sound solution

The percentage of people using South Sound transit will increase from 3.1 to 4.3%. (PSRC Transportation 2040 Executive Summary.) This 1.3% increase will not even come close to solving our problem.

It is projected to cost $54 billion. That is a very large sum of public money. It would probably be worth it if it would solve our traffic problem and if no other alternatives were available. We have enough difficulty finding $2 billion for our schools and other much needed but underfunded programs. This additional $54 billion will be a great burden and negatively impact the long term economic well being of our state.

It is projected to take 25 years to complete this project. This is a very long time. Traffic congestion is not just a Puget Sound problem; it is a world wide problem. Consequently there is a world wide effort to come up with workable solutions. Much progress is being made involving 21st century technology which will be implemented well before the ST3 project is completed.

This story was originally published October 13, 2016 at 12:56 PM with the headline "Election: Sound Transit 3 is not a sound solution."