By Gwen Davis

The West Seattle Transportation Coalition's (WSTC) meeting on Wed. evening was chocked full of goodness. Most notably, Melanie Mayock, field director of Yes for Seattle Transit was replaced at the meeting by Abigail Doerr, campaign manager at Yes for Seattle Transit, presented to the coalition about the upcoming Nov. 2014 in-city ballot funding measure to save Metro service on the city level. The meeting also hosted a discussion with Thomas Linde about a proposed idea for utilizing the area around Terminal 5 of the Port of Seattle.

Takeaways:

--> Libby Carr talked about the Monorail and how the plug was pulled on the project but how people want it to come back. "Now it's almost 10 years later. Why is it going to be on the ballot again?" she said. "After doing research in this subject, revisiting the monorail makes sense." It will be funded by a car tab fee. "It's 10 years later, we're still sitting in traffic, and how has that worked out for us? I'd urge you to vote yes," she said.

--> Regarding the Metro proposal: "This is a Seattle-only measure to preserve bus routes," a representative said. There will be a $60 vehicle tab fee and a one percent sales tax increase. It will raise $45 million dollars a year. Low-income people will receive reduced fair and reduced car tab fee. "We want to make sure we're keeping our buses running and serving people who need it the most," she said.

--> Scott Kubly, the new executive director at SDOT took the floor. "I just moved here from the city of Chicago," he said. Kubly has years of experience in transportation project management in multiple cities. "I think at a high level, a high priority is going to be safety. Seattle is a safe city to travel in, but we've had several fatalities, seeable from my office," he said. "We want to protect the most vulnerable. Everyone's a pedestrian at some time, and they are the most vulnerable people."

--> There is a special meeting tomorrow at noon at the Seattle City Council. It will be about impact fees. It's a lunch-and-learn, 60 minutes, and will be available on the Seattle channel in the afternoon.

Meeting Summary:

The meeting began with the usual welcome, introductions, community news, updates and new business from the membership.

Amanda Kay Helmick, co-chair of the organization welcomed everyone back from summer break.

Helmick asked everyone to go around the table to introduce themselves and say their favorite color if they choose (which produced a few laughs).

There will be an open house about the Fauntleroy Way SW Boulevard project, soon, it was announced. The West Seattle Land Use Committee meetings will be held once a month. It will be a "fun group and pretty in-depth and please come," the committee member said. Another committee member encouraged everyone to participate, as there is strength in numbers. "Land use and transportation go hand-in-hand," a participant said.

A couple small updates: "If you ever come to High Point on the back way, SDOT put in some speed humps, which are different than speed bumps," a council member said. Speed humps are better for emergency vehicles. The local precinct near High Point is also cracking down on reckless drivers in the area, who could especially hurt kids in the school.

Next year, as many as 45 bus routes in Seattle could be cut or revised. The exact routes and the resources available have not been figured yet. "We want to spend the money from the proposal wisely if the voters choose to vote for it," said a participant involved with the process. There is flexibility with how the money will be spent. However, there will also be caps on certain projects. "Everyone is looking to what Seattle does," the representative said.

It is a six-year measure. However, it will be reevaluated once a year.

There was a motion to discuss the proposal. One coalition member said the sales tax is problematic. It will negatively impact low-income people.

However, "regardless of what should have been done, this is what we have," another coalition member said. "I don't want the buses to cut. I could never say no to buses."

"I violently agree [with the latest," said coalition member Ray Krueger.

The motion to accept the proposal was rejected. However, the coalition has a month to input amendments to eventually endorse the proposal.

But the endorsing conversation was wearing on participants. "If we don't support transit, we don't accept transit and that's bad," said a coalition member. People were concerned that by not endorsing the proposal, the coalition was effectively tabling it. "We need to vote tonight," she said.

More about Scott Kubly: "People who walk to work are the happiest people," Kubly said. To that end, giving people many choices on how to get around is important. "In cars, people yell to each other in ways they would never would in person. A lot of what that boils down to is not having a choice. If you give people a choice, they'll choose modes to make them happier."

"Why do people get frustrated with government?" he asked. "I think a lot of that has to do with choice."

Kubly answered questions, including classic concerns about the notorious Rapid Ride program.

Thomas Linde presented his "(A Modest) Mobility Proposal" which stated that the current way West Seattle was developing transportation infrastructure was insufficient. His new thought includes building ramps at various places in West Seattle that would create travel expediency and save in cost.