Free Republic

Fare ambassadors give Sound Transit a less intimidating way of checking that riders are paying their fares. The agency also wanted more diversity in their fare staff. CEO Peter Rogoff said the goal is to create more equitable fare collection processes. We are pleased in our new hires that they are able to reflect the diversity of the community that we’ve served,” Rogoff told the Sound Transit Board last month. Rogoff said this shift is about passenger education and customer service, not enforcement. There will be no citations written during this eight-month pilot program, so you can essentially ride the...

A date for at least a bit of congestion relief has been set for commuters on I-405 between Bothell and Lynnwood. During the last session, state legislators approved the bonding of I-405 toll revenue, allowing the build-out of at least one highway project to begin sooner. Construction to widen I-405 between highways 522 and 527, which will add another express toll lane in each direction, will now start by 2021, according to Craig Smiley, a spokesperson for the Washington State Department of Transportation. The project also includes building direct access ramps from Highway 522 onto the express toll lanes, and...

MERCER ISLAND, Wash. - The city of Mercer Island plans to sue Sound Transit and the State Department of Transportation over I-90 access, which could freeze the East Light construction project set to begin in June. The City Council unanimously approved the legal action Monday during a packed council meeting. They plan to sue both agencies and seek a moratorium on the construction as they search for short-term solutions to their traffic concerns. In response to the authorized legal action, Sound Transit CEO Peter Rogoff released a statement calling the decision “highly regrettable.” “While Sound Transit remains ready to reach...

Washington needs more road capacity, now. THIS FALL, VOTERS will be asked, as periodically happens, to pony up yet another large sum of money to fix traffic problems, which never seem to get fixed. Environmental groups are already lining up with concerns about Referendum 51, which goes heavy on the road building at a time when Tim Eyman's free enterprise schemes have limited the available funds for public transit. As a card-carrying tree worshiper (forget hugging; I kneel and pray), I should be beyond skeptical. I should be exuding fire-breathing hostility. They're paving over our planet, you know! Pave s'more....