Letters

<< Previous   of   Next >>   ADVERTISEMENT   HAVE YOUR SAY Feel strongly about something? Share it with the community by writing a letter to the editor. You’ll need to include your name, address and daytime phone number. (We’ll only publish your name and hometown.) We reserve the right to edit letters, but if you keep yours to 250 words or less, we won’t ask you to shorten it. If your letter is published, please wait 30 days before submitting another. Send it to: E-mail: letters@heraldnet.com Mail: Letters section The Herald P.O. Box 930 Everett, WA 98206 Fax: 425-339-3458 Have a question about letters? Contact Carol MacPherson (cmacpherson@heraldnet.com or 425-339-3472).   Published: Friday, May 9, 2008 Monorail would be perfect for Everett If one has the courage to look to the future, beyond the "nostalgic" streetcar, a monorail system could work well for Everett's future transportation needs. Courage will be needed because of the negative publicity given the recent failure of the monorail organization in Seattle, due to factors beyond the monorail system. Consider that monorails have been in use, successfully, in other cities all over the world. These are viable mass transit systems, not just for amusement parks. Also, consider that: Monorails do not require every inch of soil or streets to be torn up to lay tracks. Monorails have never been stopped, delayed, or damaged by vehicles parked on or near their rails. Monorails have never been stopped because of debris, ie: a steel ball wedged into their rails. Running on elevated rails, ever-increasing vehicle and pedestrian traffic below flows unimpeded by slow moving street cars/trains. Elevated rails above the traffic congestion allow for higher speeds, increasing passenger capacity and decreasing travel times. Will you increase the speed of buses or streetcars to handle more passengers, or just add more and more vehicles to the congestion? Production of rails, support structures and even passenger stations could be made as modular units, standardized and mass produced, speeding construction and reducing costs. Standardized passenger stations could be produced in modules easily transported to their locations, reducing costs and speeding construction. Each neighborhood could personalize the façade of the station to reflect the history of the area. One would hope Everett's leading politicians and influential citizens have the vision to look beyond the failures of Seattle and into the future of mass transit. Monorails are for free soaring spirits, looking up into the future. C'mon Everett, let's show them what we can do! Paul Olson Marysville

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