Sound Transit and the Democrats think light rail is the future, but as one unfortunate local radio broadcaster found out, it’s all about getting you out of your car and into their idea of a dystopian drug-fueled future and less about actually getting where you want to go in a timely manner.
Local celebrity Sully (KIRO News Radio’s Chris Sullivan) recently rode Sound Transit’s Light Rail to the Seattle Mariners game, after advising his listeners to do so, and found out that light rail isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. Travelling from Everett (where light rail does not yet exist), Sully did his environmental civic duty by driving to Northgate and attempting to catch light rail to watch the World Series-winning (let’s hope) Mariners on Julio Rodriguez bobblehead night.
Light rail, like many government projects, didn’t quite live up to the promises.
First, parking turned out to be almost as expensive and hard to find at Northgate as it would have been near the Stadium. Sully arrived at the light rail station three hours before the first pitch, and it still took another two hours for him to arrive at the stadium for what should have been perhaps a 45-minute journey, if he’d opted to drive directly to the stadium on a Saturday.
Plus, there was the homeless and drug-invested train station to deal with before even starting the trip. “There were a few people passed out” Sully stated, which is the reality on Sound Transit’s light rail network pretty much any time of the day. The homeless have figured out that because of lax (essentially non-existent) fare enforcement they can ride all day in a warm, dry train with absolutely no penalty whatsoever.
And Sound Transit loves its fare scofflaws and has little intention of actually collecting fares.
Don’t believe us about Sound Transit’s problems? Check out the agency’s own press releases. They have hired four new security companies to help with the out-of-control crime and drugs on light rail, and Sound Transit officials still don’t even know what’s going on. Spokesman Mike Gallagher was reduced to pleading “If something is happening on our trains, we would really like to know about it.” The risk is all on you every time you board the Democrat-promoted, taxpayer-funded government transportation system.
And that’s the reality of the Democrats’ vision of the future. Just look at recent laws they have jammed through.
No gas-powered cars (Democrat Governor Jay Inslee has already said we must follow California’s lead and ban new cars after 2035), higher heating costs (Inslee’s bureaucrats are banning natural gas in new businesses and homes), and now a transportation system that requires you to risk your safety to go to a baseball game.
The Narcan market must be a buy recommendation in Democrat circles right now.
The auto industry and free market created a system where you can get to where you want more quickly, safely (unless the protestors are out in Seattle) and cheaply than ever before. That’s before Democrat-controlled governments came along to make everything slower, dangerous and more expensive.
It does seem that Sounds Transit’s light rail is popular with a least one demographic. If you are homeless or just want a seat to ride around undisturbed all day, check out light rail. It’s free, warm, and dry, and unless it’s the day of a sold-out baseball game, you have you pick of seats.
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