Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels calls out Kemper Freeman Junior's anti-transit gang

Recently Bellevue developer Kemper Freeman Junior and his gang launched a new radio ad campaign that attempts to convince the public we should not build rapid transit. Today Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels responded with this statement:

We know who is behind the curtain of the Eastside Transportation Association – the same people whose only answer to the problems of climate pollution and congestion are more freeways, more traffic, and more frustration.

Under Sound Transit’s new proposal, light rail would be extended to Bellevue, as well as Lynnwood and Federal Way.

Those who are lining up against this common-sense measure are stuck in their own personal Oz, a place where our most pressing challenges can be wished away by laying more asphalt.

This November, we look forward to presenting our bus, commuter and light rail solution – a way forward that will cost the average driver the equivalent of one tank of gas a year.

Because we know building a better future takes more than clicking your heels and hoping our gridlock will go away.

The Dino Rossi/Tim Eyman/Kemper Freeman Junior approach of building more lanes and more highways is not a sustainable solution to our transportation crisis. Their proposals would waste hundreds of millions, even billions, of dollars on miles of new pavement that will not improve anyone's commute.

Puget Sound needs transportation choices and a rail backbone. Kemper's distortions aside, we can't afford the staggering environmental and economic costs of a "more lanes good - me like more lanes" policy. The libertarian flying circus has some clever messaging...but it's all predicated on lies and myths.