'Forward Thrust'

I have been a resident of West Seattle since 1972. I was coordinator of the Forward Thrust Rail Rapid Transit ballot measure of May, 1970. I agree with your editorial of Oct. 12 that we need a Forward Thrust plan for this century.

The Forward Thrust campaign of last century failed in an atmosphere of economic uncertainty. Boeing was laying off thousands of workers and President Nixon was conducting an "incursion" into Cambodia.

At any rate, the Forward Thrust "steel wheels on steel rails" transportation mode could not have come to West Seattle. The grade is too steep. The monorail "rubber tire on concrete" can make the grade. Without it, West Seattle is excluded from the community rail system currently under construction and doomed to a future of totally inadequate transportation options.

Thirty-five years has transpired since the loss of the Forward Thrust ballot measure. There is no time to create another Forward Thrust before the vote on the fifth monorail ballot measure. (Although there are many other pending problems that Forward Thrust for a New Century can deal with after we sustain our decision to build a monorail.)

If that decision is not sustained in the upcoming election, we will have lost the opportunity for rapid transit in West Seattle for yet another generation.

We can't wait that long.

Allan W. Munro

Admiral