Seattle Times: Vote NO on tax for light rail

Let’s charter a bus and send The Oregonian editorial board up north to meet its sensible-on-transit counterpart. A Sunday, Oct. 16 Seattle Times editorial recommends area voters reject what one Times columnist referred to as November’s “ginormous $18 billion Proposition 1“. Most all of that tax increase would go toward building a fixed rail system. The editorial points out, “Much more could be done with bus service, particularly if high-occupancy lanes are kept flowing by the smart use of tolls. Light rail replaces buses, and at a much higher cost per rider. Rail soaks up money buses might have used. Rail funnels transit. Buses extend it. And most rail riders will be people who were already riding the bus.” There is time for the O to play a role in stopping the expansion of the Portland-area fixed rail system. It need not fear the regional Transportation Mafia.