buildthemonorail | whymonorail

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Tell The City Council You Want Monorail

The usual well-funded monorail opponents are giving one last try to stop us from building a new monorail in Seattle. The last step is for the Seattle City Council to approve the use of city streets for monorail tracks. It is crucial that you let your voice be heard and tell the City Council that we've voted 4 times for monorail and you want it built. more...

We Must Build The Monorail

There are times where communities face critical tests: do they build for the future, or retreat to the past. This is one of those times for the citizens of Seattle. more...

Monorail MVET Growth Analysis

The SMP says the monorail tax will grow at 6.1% per year. The mayor has a more pessimistic view of his economic policy and says it will be 5% per year. We've got the details on the actual difference between the two.

Help Build the Monorail Message

We'll be publishing some print-your-own flyers and brochures here on the site. Help out by adding your suggestions to the comments in this thread. more...

We Must Build The Monorail

There are times where communities face critical tests: do they build for the future, or retreat to the past. This is one of those times for the citizens of Seattle. more...

Mayor and City Council Defy Will of the Voters

Once again the denizens of Seattle City Hall are trying to kill the monorail. more...

Monorail Wins!

The monorail has won its 4th election!! Now let's go Build The Monorail! more...

Equity Office's Anti-Monorail Activity Causes Employee to Resign

There's a triumvirate of wealthy property owners downtown that are bankrolling the anti-monorail campaign. One employee has had enough of her employer's questionable ethics and has resigned her job. more...

More Endorsements for the Monorail

The campaign to save the monorail from greedy landlords and corporations continues to rack up endorsements. The anti-monorail campaign is stuck at 0. more ...

WAMU Hit Hard By Boycott

Last week's protest against Washington Mutual's anti-monorail activities was a huge success, resulting in the removal of ~~twice~~ 10 times as much money from the bank than what they've spent to fund lies about the monorail. more ...

Boycott WAMU

Although the anti-monorail campaign is late as usual with their public disclosure filing, reliable sources indicate that Washington Mutual has donated $85,000 to the effort to permanently ban the construction of a monorail in Seattle. It's time to boycott WAMU. more...

Monorail Grassroots At Work

The monorail has won 3 elections due to the combination of a great, common sense idea and the dedicated efforts of ordinary, inspired, grassroots volunteers. See how they're back at work this campaign season. more ...

Get a Break From High Gas Prices

Analysts say that the age of cheap oil is over. If that is the case, why would we approve an initiative that will ban the construction of rapid, electrically powered monorail anywhere in the city? more ....

Anti-Monorail Campaign Breaks Copyright

The anti-monorail forces have made another ethically questionable, if not downright illegal move. Their recently launched television commercials feature video that was stolen from a monorail supporter's website. more ...

WAMU Turns To The Dark Side

A buildthemonorail.com exclusive: It appears that another billion dollar downtown business has turned against Seattle and the monorail. more...

Anti-Monorail Campaign Gets Extreme Makeover

In the last several weeks this website has cataloged the distortions, outright lies, and right-wing agenda of the wealthy forces working against the monorail. It looks like that may have had an effect. more...

More Ethics Problems for Monorail Opponents

The anti-monorail campaign has been characterized by two things: distortions of the facts and deceit about who is actually behind their efforts. buildthemonorail.com has filed an official ethics complaint that alleges further illegal activity. more...

Monorail Winning the Endorsement Race

A surprising thing is happening so far in the campaign to save the monorail from right wing extremists. Many of the groups that opposed the monorail in 2002 are now supporting it in 2004. more...

Are Monorail Opponents Simply Anti-Transit?

Monorail opponents say that they oppose the monorail because of their distaste for taxes and elevators. Is it possible that they're also opposed to all forms of mass transit? There's some interesting new data that could answer that question. more ...

Another Recall Lie Exposed

The Seattle Times recently quoted Tim Wulf as saying that his involvement started with his registration of their website domain last year. A simple internet search has revealed that it was actually registered by the chairman of the King County Libertarian party. more...

The Truth About Selig

The monorail opposition is almost entirely funded by a single wealthy property owner. Who is Martin Selig and why does he hate the monorail? more...

Pro-monorail Campaign Launched - Funding, Volunteers Needed

The official pro-monorail campaign has started up to defend the Seattle Monorail from its attackers. It's crucial that you send them any funds you can to run the campaign and any time you can give to help win in November. more ...

What would I-83 do?

Curious about what the anti-monorail initiative would actually do? Get the facts here. more...

Don't Let Tim Eyman Style Anti-Tax Politics Kill The Monorail

Do monorail recall leaders really represent Seattle? Or are they in fact nothing more than local versions of Tim Eyman? more...

I-83 Is An Illegal Initiative

Why vote for something that will only be thrown out after the election due to it's blatant illegality? more...

Monorail Opponents Lie about "Grassroots" Campaign, Fined by Ethics Commission

Remember back in the summer when the monorail opponents such as Liv Finne were collecting signatures and claiming the work was done by their "grassroots volunteers"? Turns out it was a huge deception campaign. more...

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Why Seattle Needs the Monorail

For years Seattle has topped the on the list of most congested cities in the nation. This is largely due to our unique geography: the sound, lakes, rivers, and hills make it impossible to build freeways on the scale seen in other places such as LA, Denver, and Houston. However, that has also given us a huge benefit in terms of our standard of living. We've been able to avoid a huge network of freeways that would divide up our neighborhoods and pollute our unique environment.

One thing we've failed at is to keep pace with growth by providing high-capacity rapid transit to connect people's homes to their jobs and recreational opportunities. Various proposals for heavy subway type systems were defeated in the 60's and 70's. The result was that we were left only with a bus system that had to compete with cars for the increasingly scarce space on our highways and arterials. At peak times it's difficult to drive in almost any part of the city. Buses get stuck in this traffic and make a long trip even longer with frequent stops, and a chronic lack of funding from the county leaves them packed to the gills with standing-room-only conditions.

In the late 1990's Seattle voters saw the light and on three separate occasions voted to support a unique vision: an elevated monorail system that would travel up above traffic and serve to connect our various neighborhoods with the clusters of jobs and entertainment options around town.

Monorail's strengths are:

• Speed

• Convenience

• Cost

The key to each of these are the way monorail is constructed: simple concrete rails travel above the traffic and separate monorail vehicles from the congestion below. Light rail can be elevated, but it results in a huge freeway-size chunk of concrete overhead (see Sound Transit construction at 6th & Forest for example), vs two thin monorail beams that allow light to get through to the street. The only other transit technology that can achieve this grade separation is a subway. However, tunneling is prohibitively expensive. In fact, at $1.6 billion the new 14-mile monorail will be much less expensive than the much slower 14-mile light rail system being built by Sound Transit ($2.4 billion). As we've seen from the attempts to connect downtown to the UW with light rail, a fully tunneled option would be many times more expensive than monorail.

Monorail will provide the equivalent of several new freeway lanes into and out of the narrow part of Seattle where downtown is squeezed by I-5 and the water. By 2020 it will move 68,000 people per day and take almost 20,000 car trips off of our roads. This new capacity will allow businesses to continue adding high-quality jobs into the city even as road and parking space becomes more scarce. And, this new capacity is provided in an extremely environmentally friendly manner: electrically powered trains that won't belch toxic fumes or add to our growing problems with global warming.

Let's face it: Seattle citizens have neither the space, desire, or funds to expand freeways such as I-5. We need a smarter way to move people around the city, and monorail provides that. Ask the opponents what their solution to our traffic problems are. Their only answer is to build more roads. That should be more than enough to cause any reasonable Seattle voter to vote a huge NO on I-83 in November.

Have something to add? Leave your comment

Monorail by Jordo on 9/28/04	Reply
The monorial may not be the best overall option to relieve traffic congestion, but its the best at the moment. Regardless of the issues on either side, it needs to be built.

	RE: Monorail by Tim on 10/25/04
	Actually, you're wrong. The ETC's own projections have at least 80% of monorail riders coming from EXISTING bus lines. The Monorail doesn't relieve congestion. It makes it worse, by removing entire lanes of traffic from city streets.

Monorail will be built by Marcus on 10/14/04	Reply
We will vote NO to I-83 and build the Monorail Green Line, the first truly rapid land transit in Seattle history. Seattle needs all the truly rapid transit it can get.

	A simple plan ... by Jeremy Modjeska on 10/12/04	Reply
	A simple plan. No that's not what the monorail project is - it's actually a rather complicated plan. But that's OK, it's a monorail, nobody ever said building a monorail was easy. The simple plan was what the founders of this country had. It was called democracy. OK, democracy wasn't simple either but dammit, it was a good idea. And we've bloody well exercised it now three times and we want our monorail. People with too much money wielding political power to offset the will of the people might be the hip new American way for Washington DC, but here in Seattle I'd like to think we're above that. For the reasons you've articulated here, and for the good of the people and for democracy - Build The Monorail! Jeremy www.spaceneedle.us

	RE: Monorail will be built by Tim on 10/25/04
	It does -- except, not from Ballard to West Seattle. What a shame that the monorail planners were so shortsighted!

	RE: Monorail will be built by Marcus on 10/26/04
	This isn't shortsighted. West Seattle and Ballard are very important parts of the city for resident livability and for visitor/tourist dollars. Note the links and districts that will be helped. - Ballard Locks/Fisherman's Terminal/Shilshole Bay - Magnolia (get to monorail for quick ride to downtown or West Seattle instead of slow ride from Magnolia to destination) - Lower Queen Ann/Seattle Center - Beltown - Downtown Seattle/Waterfront - Int'l Dist./Stadiums/SoDo - West Seattle/Alki Beach The Green Line is part of the left part of the 'X' that will cover the city. First Hill & Capitol Hill will benefit with better connection to key spots of the city that make Seattle great. Later monorail routes can go from Green Line east in North Queen Ann or Phinney/Wallingford area to the UW and Sandpoint and north.

	RE: Monorail will be built by Dorien on 10/29/04
	West Seattle and Ballard ARE important neighborhoods in the Greater Seattle Area and I know this being born and raised in Ballard. But let's be reasonable, the commute from Ballard to West Seattle takes no time at all, even during peak periods. Rarely does it take me longer than 20-25 minutes and the monorail now says the ride will take 19 minutes. I agree Seattle desperately NEEDS a transportation solution, but the monorail line is not it. SR-99 and I-5 need so much more help and the monorail will do nothing to alleviate these problems. I would gladly pay $175.00 a year toward a transportation solution that works. But for the over $4,300 I'm putting toward the monorail over the next 25 years, the cost is not even close to worth it. At least I live in Ballard, too bad for those residents in Madrona, Seward Park, Magnuson, U. District, Ravenna, Beacon Hill, and Rainer Beach that will have little use for the monorail system at all but have the high license fees over at least the next 25 years. Our city deserves a transportation solution, not a simple novelty that will only benefit a small percentage of the Seattle.

	RE: Monorail will be built by Jimbo on 10/30/04
	To Dorien: I would love to know what planet you are living on because a rush hour morning drive from West Seattle over the bridge and in into downtown rarely ever takes a mere "20-25 minutes"... and never ever could one go from West Seattle to Ballard in rush hour in "20-25 minutes". Besides, its more than simply an issue of time, its a quality of life matter. Maybe you enjoy sitting in your car for an hour a day bumper to bumper, but I would prefer reading a book, listening to my ipod or looking at the Cascades during rush hour.

	RE: Monorail will be built by Dorien on 11/1/04
	Jimbo, you obviously aren't driving the speed limit on your morning drive then. Four of my co-workers living in West Seattle who work near the Locks concur the drive is only 25 minutes at the most (maybe 1/2 hour when weather conditions are poor). Fact is, the monorail ride would save only 10 minutes at the most. If the cost of looking at the Cascades is worth your vehicle license tabs and putting a choke-hold on any other future proposed transportation improvements, more power to you. Personally, riding the public bus suits my travel needs just fine as I listen to my CD player and check out the City without worrying about driving. I would like to see an improvement to the city-wide transportation system, not a route that benefits so few. Try driving from Northgate to Downtown Seattle along SR-99 or I-5 during rush hour and you'll see REAL traffic congestion. An elevated track system running through my neighborhood and along the Seattle waterfront does nothing to assist the quality of life for adjacent residences.

The Monorail by Alex on 11/1/04	Reply
Even if its not bad now it's going to get worse, because with the massive growth of local hitech companies like Microsoft and Nintendo of America, the rough beginnings of a financial sector in Seattle, growth of the Aluminum industry elsewhere in our state (though it does not produce the aluminum in Seattle, it will undoubtedbly do its banking in Seattle), the growth of Alaska and the inevitable growth in Seattles shipping industry that will result, and the growth of the tourist sector, it will not be more then ten years that we start having troubles. When I was doing a heartwalk in downtown Seattle, I noticed a massive number of new buildings going up, including a skyscraper. Build it now, so that we may have it then.

	RE: The Monorail by Marcus on 11/1/04
	Exactly, I'm amazed that a so-called smart city is even thinking of killing the monorail. Do they not remember the grand X rapid transit coverage of this hour-glass city? Do they not see the dots starting to connect? Besides, we need to start building the access alternative now for when the viaduct is removed or closed by damaged?

	RE: The Monorail by John on 5/29/05
	So if there is going to be incredible population growth and every one rides the monorail where are those folks who need to drive to the monorail going to park thier cars? In my neighborhood? What about the bus service along 15th NW? The monorail will serve no purpose for those of us that work along the 15th ave corridor. And what about bus transfers? I don't think I like what I think I'm beginning to see...

Outsider's Perspective by Tommy on 8/10/05	Reply
I am writing from Vancouver, Canada. In Vancouver we have 2 Skytrain lines (same idea as a monorail) yet we have a much smaller population than Seattle. Later this month construction will begin on a third line and funding has been secured for a fourth line (I guess it helps that our federal government has a budget surplus so we just needed to ask for the money). Long term plans call for a fifth line. It is shocking that such a major city like Seattle has absolutely no rapid transit. How can that be acceptable to the citizens of Seattle? Every major city needs some kind of rapid transit system. I don't really know much about the political details but it seems as though this debate has been going on in Seattle for years. Isn't it time to just get on with construction already, especially given the high price of gas? If you can't get this off the ground then I think the people of Seattle need to re-evaluate the political process because it will seem to be ineffective at getting things done. There is one aspect of the project that does give me some concern, however. Apparently the project calls for only elevators to carry people to the stations. I've been on many rapid transit systems in North America and I have never seen that so I am doubtful as to whether that can work. Unless they're state of the art elevators I think you'll need escalators and stairs. What if the power goes out or there's a fire? People need to be able to walk out of the station on their own power without having to rely on elevators. Also, if you're trying to get away from a weird person on the train, now you might have to share an elevator with them too. Even if the elevators are transparent and highly visible, I think there is a lot of opportunity for robbery and intimidation in an elevator. Also, homeless people will sleep in the elevators. Anyways I hope the project goes through because Seattle really needs it.