Informed but opinionated commentary and analysis on urban transportation topics from the Secret Worldwide Transit Cabal. Names have been omitted to protect the guilty.

Our Mission: Monkeywrench the Anti-Transit Forces

 
Monorail Recall in Seattle!

Home of More Transit Links Than You can Possibly Check(tm), Unless you have no life other than websurfing

Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity: and I'm not so sure about the universe. Einstein


From the Cabalmaster:

We told you so!

We knew it would come to this!!

Actually, Your Favorite Transit Pundits cannot claim to be the “first” to predict a stop-the-monorail initiative in Seattle. Some transit professionals have been saying this all along.

Although we haven’t been able to verify this story, we’ve heard that someone predicted this, in print, more than a year ago, writing in what is described as “some European newspaper or journal.” We don’t like to traffic in unverified rumors, but we mention this one because the outline of the story makes sense: the Seattle monorail project is likely to incur much higher costs than anticipated, owing to utility relocation, station parking and other issues. Once this fact becomes known, someone will start circulating petitions to place a monorail-defunding measure on the ballot. It is relatively easy to qualify an initiative for the Seattle municipal ballot if there’s any significant interest. So, the story goes, the measure would certainly qualify. The writer is said to have predicted that voters would overturn the project. We’re not quite ready to predict that – yet.

A group titled Monorailrecall.com (www.exordia.net/monorailrecall) has begun a “pre-petition” e-mail campaign – which, we think, is a novel and clever strategy. Step 1 is to collect e-mail addresses. Step 2 follows once a sufficient number of e-mail addresses are collected. Monorailrecall.com will send petitions by e-mail for recipients to sign and return by USPS. This strategy, according to the website, is required because the monorail ordinance limits signature-gathering to a 90-day period rather than the usual 180 days.

Monorailrecall.org’s list of “23 Reasons for Recall” is here www.exordia.net/monorailrecall/23reasons.htm.

Additional information may be found here seattlepi.nwsource.com/transportation/160040_monorailside10.html.

Things are beginning to get REALLY interesting in Seattle! We Opinionated Ones will certainly not be the only ones paying close attention to this story.

posted by The Cabalmaster, Master of All Transit-dom 2/12/2004 06:34:00 PM