A letter to the editor (“It’s time for us to bow out of scam”, May 28) incorrectly claimed that Snohomish County residents are paying for Sound Transit projects in King County.
In fact, the voter-approved Sound Transit plan clearly states that transit taxes raised within Snohomish County only pay for services benefiting Snohomish County. The same is true for Pierce County and King County. Each of those areas is receiving a fair share of new transportation investments.
The letter also claimed that “bus service is going away” and that Snohomish County residents will never benefit from Sound Transit.
That too is wrong. Sound Transit ST Express buses have been running in Snohomish County since the fall of 1999.
Snohomish County routes connect Everett to Northgate, Everett and Lynnwood to Seattle and Everett and Lynnwood to Bellevue. Snohomish County ridership accounted for 18.4 percent of the nearly 4.5 million passengers carried on ST Express buses last year.
Sound Transit is also helping build the Ash Way HOV Direct Access project, the Everett Mall Transit Center, the Lynnwood Transit Center, the Pacific Avenue Overpass and the South Everett Park-and-Ride/Direct Access project.
In addition, Sounder commuter trains running on the freight tracks between Everett and Seattle with stops in Mukilteo and Edmonds should begin service in 2003. Eventually, there will be 12 trains running every weekday between Everett and Seattle – six in the morning, six in the afternoon.
Far from being a “scam”, Sound Transit, along with its partner transportation agencies, is providing valuable options to Snohomish County residents.
Sound Transit Acting Executive Director
Seattle
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