After eight years of reporting and editorializing about the monorail—the elevated rapid transit project that died at the polls last week—The Stranger has some final thoughts and parting shots on what has been an inspiring, frustrating, and ultimately infuriating experience.

Mayor Gridlock by Josh Feit
What Went Wrong? by Erica C. Barnett
A Chilling Effect: An Interview with Monorail Board Chair Kristina Hill
All Torn Up: An Interview with Monorail Board Member Cleve Stockmeyer
A Failure of Leadership by Dan Savage

 

 


FROM THE ARCHIVES

THE LAST IDEALISTS Dreading a Future Without Mass Transit, Young Activists Stage Long-Shot Battle to Save the Monorail, Oct 27, 2005

MONORAIL CRACKDOWN Council Vote Forces Agency's Hand, Sept 29, 2005

RAPID RESPONSE Under the Gun, Monorail Agency Reacts to Nickels's Demands, Sept 22, 2005

CRITICAL MESS Ignore the Hysterics. The Monorail Is Still a Good Idea, Aug 18 2005

UPHILL BATTLE Longtime Monorail Proponent Takes Charge After Agency Heads Resign, July 27, 2005

BACK TO THE VOTERS Seattle needs elevated rapid transit. But we don’t need to pay $11 billion for it. Scrap the finance plan, fire the agency heads, and face the voters one last time, June 30, 2005

TAXING AGENCY Final Monorail Plan Released Under Financial Cloud, June 23, 2005

STATION AGENT Monorail Director Joel Horn presents bidder's proposal to monorail board. The bad news? They might delay building some stations. The good news? We're closer than ever to elevated transit, April 7, 2005

MONORAIL MONOPOLY The Monorail's Latest PR Mess: Excessive Land Appropriations? March 4, 2005

BUILD THE MONORAIL Vote No on Initiative 83, Oct 28, 2004

September 30, 2004 Monorail Special Issue:

WEAPONS OF MASS OBSTRUCTION Anti-Monorail Campaign Relies on Red Herrings to Undermine Monorail

THE LAST MONORAIL CAMPAIGN Seattle's last chance to build a rapid transit system may go down thanks to one rich developer, a handful of angry Hummer drivers, and timid politicians

FOLLOW THE MONEY Controversial real estate developer Martin Selig is funding the anti-monorail campaign—but what's in it for him?

JUST BUILD IT So You Want to Run a Monorail Campaign

DEATH, THE SEATTLE WAY Seattle Is the Only Home I've Ever Known. If It Doesn't Build the Monorail, It Can Go to Hell

 

OFF TRACK Monorail Recall "Grassroots" Effort Upended by Ties to Big Money and Big Hummer, June 10, 2004

GET TOUGH Monorail agency: Stop making nice with the NIMBYs and whiners. Stop apologizing, start building, Nov 27, 2003

MONORAIL PAPER TRAIL E-mails Reveal Monorail Agency Overlooked Warning Signs, Sept 11, 2003

MONORAIL MATH LESSON Monorail Supporters Confront Bad Numbers, Aug 28, 2003

MONORAIL GREEN LIGHT ETC Lobbyists Drive Bills in House and Senate, Feb 13, 2002

WALL STREET WHACKS MONORAIL Monorail Agency Nervous About Bad Bond Rating, Seeks Fixes in Olympia, Feb 6, 2003

WILLS KILLS MONORAIL In De Facto Repeal of I-41, City Council Votes to Disband Elevated Transportation Company, Aug 3, 2000

BUILD THE MONORAIL It's Not Just a Good Idea, It's the Law., June 8, 2000