At the start of the 20th Century, Seattle was crisscrossed by an extensive streetcar network reaching all corners of the city.

Like many neighborhoods, West Seattle was developed along these streetcar lines-with our familiar "Junctions" named to signify the meeting of streetcar lines, rather than roads. The link between transportation and development was crystal clear: streetcar lines concentrated growth and let people get to their jobs in a timely fashion.

During the 1940s, Seattle followed the national trend of ripping up or paving over streetcar lines. Compounding that mistake, we hesitated as a region to join the move back to rail three decades later. Visitors to Atlanta can see what we didn't get: that city's MARTA line was built using the federal funding Seattle voters rejected when they voted against rapid transit proposals in 1968 and 1970.

Metro Transit is recognized as a national leader in providing efficient bus service, but buses have limitations. They usually travel with the flow of traffic and don't provide rail's opportunities to focus growth around station areas. The Seattle Monorail green line would have added this rail component to West Seattle, but that system's financial problems proved fatal before a single track was laid.

What can West Seattle do to share in the benefits of genuine rapid transit?

The first step is to support the completion of Sound Transit's Link Light Rail line from downtown Seattle to SeaTac Airport. Although that system's first extension will probably be to Northgate (where it will serve a well-designed hub for North End bus routes), in other cities where rail has been built, voters have liked what they have seen and wanted more. Nearly all of those 1970s rail systems have seen significant voter-approved extensions. But in Seattle, we can't expand our rail system until we build it.

A second step is to give serious consideration to County Executive Ron Sims' "Transit Now" proposal, which would increase the county's sales tax by one-tenth of a cent per $1 purchase. This money would be used to add more than 700,000 new hours of bus service over the next decade. The Transit Now proposal would designate Route 54-which travels from Morgan to the Alaska Junction to downtown-as one of five "Rapid Ride" Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) corridors. While the proposal falls short of creating a true bus rapid transit line (which requires separate lanes and ramps to get buses out of mixed traffic), it could be a boon for many in West Seattle. However, we must tell transit planners to add at least one key element to their proposal: a separate ramp connecting the SoDo dedicated transit corridor and the Spokane Street Viaduct.

A third step is to back permanent county funding for passenger ferries through establishment of a King County Ferry District. Keeping the Vashon foot ferry going keeps cars off neighborhood streets and the West Seattle Bridge. A permanent, enhanced Elliott Bay Water Taxi would be able to quickly and reliably carry thousands of daily passengers to and from downtown.

Faster, more reliable transit service for West Seattle must be in operation before the Alaskan Way Viaduct is closed. We must also insist that ramps and lanes constructed for the West Seattle BRT line be designed to accommodate future rail use, such as a revived West Seattle streetcar.

Seattle's past failure to invest in rapid transit has left us 30 years behind many similar-sized North American cities, including Portland and Vancouver. It's time we started catching up.

Dow Constantine is a King County Council member. His district includes West Seattle. His views do not necessarily represent those of the West Seattle Herald or Robinson Newspapers. This column appears on the site as paid space.