Slog - Comments on To Play or Not to Play http://slog.thestranger.com/2006/08/to_play_or_not_to_pl Like some of the transit purists, I too have trouble swallowing the idea that Transportation Choices Coalition is making nice with RTID. (I'm a dues paying member!) In particular I don't like TCC's willingness to make lemonade out of the added auto capacity lemon. But TCC does deserve credit. Moderating their message (playing politics) has resulted in some good. Check this out. Previous state legislation prevented RTID from funding transit programs. During the 2006 session, however, TCC was able to add language into the legislation (TCC executive director Jessyn Schor actually wrote the provision) that eliminated the prohibition and allowed... Copyright 2007 Fri, 25 Aug 2006 15:11:42 -0800 Sun, 03 Sep 2006 06:39:13 -0800 http://www.movabletype.org/?v=3.34 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss Comment by Will in Seattle As another member of TCC, I agree that was an improvement, even if it may not be enough to want to create a Regional Transportation Improvement District (RTID) which not only has taxing authority, but the ability to force cities to build what they say (e.g. the monorail-hating Seattle-hating suburbs who get a majority of the seats) instead of what we want (more buses, real transit like elevated monorail or elevated lightrail, not at-grade streetcars or at-grade lightrail).

But, yeah, it's an improvement. I'm trying not to complain at the roads-heavy stench that is the RTID as it would probably be implemented, but it's a difficult thing to be forced with my tax dollars to subsidize more roads.

]]> Will in Seattle http://slog.thestranger.com/2006/08/to_play_or_not_to_pl#c451462 http://slog.thestranger.com/2006/08/to_play_or_not_to_pl#c451462 Politics Fri, 25 Aug 2006 15:18:41 -0800 Comment by Michael Taylor-Judd Transit isn't "mitigation" for roads, Josh. Transit is where we need to put a rather large percentage of our transportation funds right now.

Real advancement would be developing the political and fundraising power to get politicians to consider really "radical" things -- like amending the constitution to allow gas taxes to be spent on transit.

We also might want to ensure that the recently sunset "Monorail MVET" capacity isn't simply tossed into the RTID package for more roads.

]]> Michael Taylor-Judd http://slog.thestranger.com/2006/08/to_play_or_not_to_pl#c451542 http://slog.thestranger.com/2006/08/to_play_or_not_to_pl#c451542 Politics Fri, 25 Aug 2006 16:51:13 -0800 Comment by Grant Cogswell Better to refuse to collude and lose: in the long term at least it's visible to the public where the lines are drawn. I think I can say that from experience. In a region (ten, twenty years from now) overrun with roads and traffic, the incremental, puny amount of slow transit these folks spent their lives trying to tack onto roads bills will count for very little.

]]> Grant Cogswell http://slog.thestranger.com/2006/08/to_play_or_not_to_pl#c451544 http://slog.thestranger.com/2006/08/to_play_or_not_to_pl#c451544 Politics Fri, 25 Aug 2006 16:57:31 -0800 Comment by Fnarf Good to hear from the defeatist wing.

]]> Fnarf http://slog.thestranger.com/2006/08/to_play_or_not_to_pl#c451559 http://slog.thestranger.com/2006/08/to_play_or_not_to_pl#c451559 Politics Fri, 25 Aug 2006 17:19:12 -0800 Comment by Gomez Didn't Grant say he was leaving forever or something?

]]> Gomez http://slog.thestranger.com/2006/08/to_play_or_not_to_pl#c451595 http://slog.thestranger.com/2006/08/to_play_or_not_to_pl#c451595 Politics Fri, 25 Aug 2006 18:48:38 -0800 Comment by erosive-esophagitis <a href=http://erosive-esophagitis.net>erosive esophagitis</a> all about

]]> erosive-esophagitis http://slog.thestranger.com/2006/08/to_play_or_not_to_pl#c455287 http://slog.thestranger.com/2006/08/to_play_or_not_to_pl#c455287 Politics Sun, 03 Sep 2006 06:39:13 -0800