Bellevue Mayor Grant Degginger argues an east-west light rail line is crucial to connect the city of Bellevue to Seattle, while opponents favor cheaper express buses to move people in the Eastside's Interstate 405 (I-405) corridor.
The $17.9 billion measure would offer 34 miles of light-rail tracks reaching Lynnwood, Overlake and Federal Way by 2023. It would also almost double Sounder commuter-train capacity between Pierce County and Seattle's King Street Station by 2015.
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Bellevue Mayor Grant Degginger is asking his city of Bellevue if they want to support the Sound Transit’s $17.9 billion Proposition 1 on the November 4 ballot. In Mayor Degginger’s mind, either Bellevue will link up to the light-rail corridor being constructed through Seattle or it will be left off the track.
Fuss
Traffic is bad in the Seattle area. Gas prices are worse. And large companies like Microsoft have thousands of people traveling the congested I-405 corridor every day. I-405 has the worst traffic congestion in the area; it can take upwards of one hour and twenty minutes to drive 20 miles on I-405 during peak commuting times. Some citizens feel the light-rail solution is too expensive from a taxes standpoint. Others see it as the only solution to the traffic problem on I-405.