I love mass transit but even with all the mass transit New York has it's still a traffic nightmare (along with some transit nightmares), so I suspect the case would not be much different for us. I'm not saying we shouldn't invest in it but I think it's good to keep reasonable expectations. Urban traffic will probably always remain a nightmare, but alternative ways for people to get around more quickly is objectively a good thing.

Charles dear, the Seattle of 1970 was a very different place than the Seattle of today. It had a much smaller population, and was much more lower-and-middle class. Cars were cheap, gas was cheap, parking was largely free, and traffic was nothing compared to today. And the Boeing Bust - something that contemporary Seattle residents cannot even begin to comprehend - was just starting (That bust was what gave us the celebrated and dearly missed cheap rents and dive bars in the 80's and early 90's). The citizens were not in a mood to spend money as the town was sliding into decade long recession.

Yes, they lacked the "vision" of contemporary Seattle, but I'm sure in 48 years some navel-gazer will be writing about how we failed to see the future as well.

@3 Catalina Vel-DuRay: Bravo for nailing it. Charles, please take note: Catalina tells it like it truly was back then. Seattle of 1970? I remember the Boeing billboard on I-5: "Will the last one leaving Seattle please turn out the light?"
Not at ALL like today.

Not sure why you would reference "Chinatown" in relation to an evil public works conspiracy when "Roger Rabbit" is a far far better choice. The plan of the villain was to literally pave over ToonTown and construct a freeway. Even referenced the mysterious destruction of LAs cable car system that preceded the construction of their freeway system.

"Judge Doom: [Explaining his plan to wipe out Toon Town] A few weeks ago I had the good providence to stumble upon a plan of the city council. A construction plan of epic proportions. We're calling it a freeway.
Eddie Valiant: Freeway? What the hell's a freeway?

Judge Doom: Eight lanes of shimmering cement running from here to Pasadena. Smooth, safe, fast. Traffic jams will be a thing of the past."

@3: Thank you. I was about to say. Charles, you choose great topics - but don't seem interested in doing some digging to get the critical historical perspectives.

In 1911, City Engineer Virgil Bogue wrote a plan for city-wide mass transit, a civic center in what is now Belltown, extending the city limits to encompass almost all of Lake Washington — and turning Mercer Island into a City Park! Centerpiece of his mass-Transit vision was a rail tunnel from downtown Seattle to what is now downtown Bellevue. Voters rejected his plan as too large and expensive.

If you want to weep for What Might Have Been, don’t stop at 1970. Bogue’s plan was the real deal.

@6 tensor: Wow--I didn't know about Virgil Bogue's 1911 plan, and I'm Seattle-born. Just imagine how better off we could have been had voters supported his vision--and over a century ago. That truly is sad.

3) total bullshit. Only the most stupid or brainwashed Americans would turn down a massive infrastructure investment in the middle of a downturn. Listen to yourself before posting.

Oh Charles, now don't be bitter. You weren't here and you seemingly don't understand the way cities change. You can be sure that if Amazon, Starbucks and Microsoft suddenly announced that they were cutting a third of their employees, this Seattle would suddenly be full of those same "stupid and brainwashed Americans".

9: 1/3? Try over 2/3... and since Seattle was pretty much only Boeing, you are correct on the Depression-level impact it had on the area. Absent that, who knows how that vote might have gone? Then again, the federal money for Seattle ultimately went to Atlanta and you don’t hear about the great traffic there, do you?

@8: You can't fault folks for not being aware of the unknowable unknowns at the time they're living.

@8 Charles: I was born in Seattle in 1964--two years after the Seattle World's Fair in 1962.
Indeed, my older siblings could vouch that the people of Seattle missed a MAJOR federally funded opportunity when the voters turned down federal money for infrastructural improvements (I-5 expansion to the Peace Arch, British Columbia, Canada, etc.). I still agree with Catalina Vel-DuRay @3 and @9 here.

@8. @3 is correct unless you were living on the west cost in the 1970s, the 1960s or even the 1950s when President Eisennhower created and implemented the nations highway system to help with urban expansion, to get food on peoples tables quicker and “lifestyle products” that most people now just cant live without into your home expediently - then you really wouldnt know. Except maybe when you open your fridge or turn on your TV or computer or wipe that butt of yours with toilet paper. So really your article takes one point on a large subject twists it around to pretty much slam everyone, who subliminally is white - since race and penises is always a thing with you, and typically misses the entire big picture while lamenting the state of things to those who know better, both about themselves and their national history and industrial evolution. Please try again and do your research.

Which is why we need Communism, right, commerade? Because Democracy misleads the masses.

What is up with The Stranger hiring incessant career complainers...

Yes, Seattle is behind—even Salt Lake City of all places—in public transit. But we’re building, and it takes time. Don’t go throwing out Freedom and Liberty because you can’t have your golden goose noooowwwwww...

#13 You left out the rapist g of the daughter. Because, only white males rape their daughters...

The author of this article is a racist, and anti-Freedom & Liberty. He insists in every article that the white devil is responsible for everything, including not so good transportation systems. He forgets that I-5 made it possible to transport good, and grow Seattle into the economic powerhouse it’s becoming.

@3: "Yes, they lacked the "vision" of contemporary Seattle, but I'm sure in 48 years some navel-gazer will be writing about how we failed to see the future as well."

Exactly. They'll be thinking, "Why the hell am I still paying cost overruns for a $54 billion dollar light rail extension that's obsolete now?

I remember voting for the Monorail 5 freeking times, only the last vote we had the rich developers lie to the city claiming is was going to cost $11 Billion. For perspective, the longest bridge in the world, 3 kilometer bridge in Jiaozhou Bay, China, cost $2.3 Billion for 26.4 miles. But Seattle cannot manage to stick some pillars and rails up for under $11B. Corruption infests Seattle.

@13: For a century before the interstate highway system was even started, railroads had done a great job of keeping American cities fed, and their factories supplied with raw materials. The massive government subsidies given to private automobiles have resulted in endless traffic, sprawl and urban decay. We were better off with the railways.

@17 They're building the monorail! Only, they decided to put it underground rather than above ground through the city center. Also, they decided to use industry standard light rail train cars since Portland and many other cities are using that technology and it makes it cheaper to acquire and service the trains. The whole project has been delayed a bit, but we will have monorails in Federal Way, Everett, West Seattle, Bellevue, and Ballard pretty soon.