How about just having neighborhoods where people want to live work and shop?

I've come to believe in the "jump the shark" theory of politics--that, as long as they can get away with it, our elected leaders will continue to strain our credulity.

Bush and Cheney managed to sell the laughable notion that nation building in Iraq was more important than nation building here in America. And here locally Tim Burgess has launched his shadow mayorship on the preposterous position that the biggest issue facing Seattle is panhandling and it deserves nothing less than a response worthy of the Arizona legislature. And Judy Nicastro (well, an ex-politician) now has nothing better to do than convince us that our limited public funds should be spent on luring an NBA team.

Well, you know what, this is what I love about Mike McGinn. For all his rumblin', bumblin', stumblin' political missteps, he's the one leader out there who you know could never jump the shark. You might not agree with his assessments or his solutions, but you know he isn't one to shy away from unpleasant truths. Sound Transit funding notwithstanding, he's being just that kind of truthteller when he says the following: "“We have billions going into highway facilities that will be tolled. But if you need transit services, you’re told we don’t have the money. Turning that ship around won’t be easy.”

That right there is a simple, obvious "the emperor has no clothes" truth, and yet who else has the courage and conviction and common sense to state it?

No money? I sure do see SDOT ripping up a lot of the streets downtown. Repaving and pouring concrete in the bus lanes. What's that, heavy busses wear into the pavement? Hit up King County for that money... lord knows we're giving them an unfair amount of service.

Cienna's so far the only journalist I've read who's actually said, Nice idea but since there's no money, what's the point?

There is no money. There is no money anywhere. There won't be for some time. From any level of government.

Best frickin' mayor evah.

Sarah68 @5, I don't deny your observation that there's no money, however much of an oversimplification that may be. But to paraphrase a statement that has been made about the Pentagon, I look forward to the day when goddam WashDOT has to hold a bake sale.

Wake me up when he actually does something. I could grab a megaphone and yell nonsense near a light rail station.

He's the goddamn Mayor and this is the best he can do? A warmed over campaign speech? Big. Fucking. Deal.

I have mayor envy.

How about some sidewalks on Aurora?

Well written article and good points about the funding and public sentiment.

Ironically, its the blind hatred of cars that is going to keep any plan of McGinn's from getting more than lukewarm support. Walking, biking and electric buses are all great. Hybrid cars are good. Gasoline-based cars and diesel buses suck and need to get out of the way. In the fairly near future, all-electric cars will take over as the most common, and the most efficient form of transportation if you're going more than a mile or two in this city.

So by all means, make lots of plans for better walking and biking, but adding diesel buses and making the roads less efficient for cars fucks us all. Oh and btw, whoever was responsible for "improving" Pine between Summit and Belmont should be strung up by their collective nutsacks. That is now the least walkable and least drivable block in the city--let's not make that mistake again!

And in other news I will give a stump speech concerning my jet-pack initiative. A jet-pack in every garage by 2014! Now If I can just figure out where I'm going to get the funding...

McGinn is a clown.

You know, if we just killed the Billionaires Tunnel, we wouldn't have to worry about stuff like this.

@12 - my garage is full.

Is it ok if I keep it on the upstairs deck?

What would be acceptable ways or raising the 30 million? Are the folks in the slogsaphere willing to vote for a gas tax hike? What about an additional $20 vehicle liscensing fee? If some dude held a bake sale for transit would anyone come?

@14 fine by me. Welcome to the future.

breakdown @11:
Ironically, its the blind hatred of cars that is going to keep any plan of McGinn's from getting more than lukewarm support.

Quick erecting a strawman. Neither Mike McGinn nor the great majority of transit activists harbors a blind hatred of cars. Most of us drive. Most of us love our cars. We just don't like living in a world where the development and infrastructure are so lopsided that people have no choice but to drive.

Wanting to make it slightly more inconvenient or expensive to drive, in return for making it easier to do the alternatives, hardly suggests someone hates cars. And even then, it's hardly a zero-sum game between cars and everything else. In fact, having a transportation system with more balanced incentives would actually do a big favor for drivers, even if there'd be fewer of them.

@11 You fucking wish the near future included electric cars. Newsflash gas powered cars will be how 90% plus of people get around this country the rest of your life. Deal with it. All the pipe dream talk about a future city where everyone walks, buses, or bikes isnt going to happen. Sorry.

However, I do love hipsters talking to each other about nothing. It is the funniest form of group think around.

OH.....it will be so great in the future when cars are running on batteries (or outlawed all together) and bikes are an equally used form of transportation. Oh how great it will be.

Fucking hipsters....