September 2008

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Friends of Seattle Endorses YES Vote on Parks Levy, Sound Transit 2, and Pike Place Market Levy

Friends of Seattle has issued the following press release.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

September 15, 2008

Friends of Seattle Endorses YES Vote on Parks Levy, Sound Transit 2, and Pike Place Market Levy

SEATTLE – After calling in May for a new parks levy, and after hosting an informational event on Sound Transit 2 earlier this month, Friends of Seattle (FoS), a membership-based advocacy organization, is pleased to announce its endorsements of the Seattle Parks for All campaign, the Sound Transit 2 ballot measure, and the Pike Place Market Levy.

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Debating Our Transit Future (Worldchanging Seattle)

Friends of Seattle is in the news.

Julia Levitt, "Debating Our Transit Future," Worldchanging Seattle (10 Sept 2008)

Sound Transit will face voters once again in November with ST2, its new and improved regional transit package. While the promise of improved bus service, the allure of light rail and the like are undeniably enticing, I'm still not sure where I stand on the issue. Will the new high-speed commuter rails bring about the kind of sustainable, dense, happy and prosperous region that I'd like to see in our future ... or will the new transit plan just fuel an outdated model of many miles separating our workplaces from our doorsteps?

To get a better grip on the facts, I went to a refreshingly social kind of town hall meeting last night: policy wonks mingled with hipsters when Friends of Seattle hosted a Sound Transit Q&A at the ultra-cool McLeod Residence in Belltown. After greeting our neighbors (about 25 residents attended, running the gamut from sustainability professionals to grad students and concerned neighborhood activists) and redeeming our drink tickets, we settled into folding chairs in McLeod's narrow gallery space and welcomed our featured guest. Ric Ilgenfritz, Sound Transit's executive director of policy, planning and public administration, did an admirable job keeping his cool while presenting an overview of public transit beneath a flashing disco lamp.

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Sound Transit Explains It All for You (Slog)

Friends of Seattle is in the news. Erica C. Barnett, "Sound Transit Explains It All for You," Slog: The Stranger's Blog (10 Sept 2008)

Last night, Friends of Seattle, a group that promotes urbanism and good environmental policy, hosted a Q&A with Sound Transit staffers, including chief spokesman Ric Ilgenfritz, at McLeod Residence in Belltown. The questions were generally thoughtful, unique, and even surprising—a pleasant change from what you usually hear at these events, which is more along the lines of “Is it going to go by my house?” and “How much will it cost me personally?” (Answers: Probably not, but it benefits the whole city; and about $69 a year.) Here are a few things you might not know about Sound Transit, in Ilgenfritz’s words. (Sound Transit haters, take note: This is all from Sound Transit’s perspective. If you disagree, feel free to let me know in the comments.) On ridership, and whether Sound Transit will pay for itself: “By 2030, we expect 360,000 daily riders with a capacity of more than one million. … No transit system anywhere fully funds its operations [with fare revenue].. We’re expecting to recover 45 to 50 percent [of costs] from fares, which is on the high end of the industry standard. … The system will reach a point where the benefits to the economy begin to exceed the costs in around 2034, which is about ten years after operation begins. So it’ll pay for itself.”

Read the whole thing.