As a former Kirkland Transportation Commissioner and chair of the Regional Monorail Board, I was pleased to see the Reporter’s in-depth transportation coverage. Understanding transportation policy in this region is daunting, and understanding the players and special interests almost impossible.

While the articles in Navigate the Future are clearly authored by Reporter Newspaper staff, the ads are not listed as paid advertisement, even those by King County Metro Transit and Sound Transit. While Sound Transit and Metro are agencies that our tax dollars fund and have household recognition, The Washington Traffic Institute and

Washington Policy Center, both privately funded organizations with a road-only agenda, do not have clear name recognition. The layout of the paper could easily mislead readers to believe that the full page center ad, carrying the Navigate the Future banner and Web site, was an article promoting “the solution.” It leads me to wonder if in fact the cost of the special edition was not in some way funded by these organizations.

Mobility 100 is Kemper Freeman’s roads only plan, in sheep’s clothing. Both Washington Traffic Institute and Washington Policy Center are mouthpieces for Freeman who sits on the board of the Washington Policy Center. The ad itself is also deceptive: The Number One Priority is listed as Improving Public Transit and the number one bullet in this

category is to expand Bus Rapid Transit. However, the costly infrastructure required for bus service to become Bus Rapid Transit, the building of dedicated lanes and freeway flyover ramps, is not listed in the funding proposal. Rather, it is pushed off to Sound Transit to come up with the funds. Missing again from the funding proposal is the

additional bus service that would need to be implemented to get a bus system anywhere near the service levels that a built out rapid transit system could deliver. Who pays for this?

However, Mobility 100 does list the addition of 1050 new highway lane miles in the form of widening existing highways at the cost of 31.8 billion dollars to taxpayers. The whole budget for Mobility 100 amounts to $36.8 billion. Ironically, the “small things (that can make a huge difference!),” which are by and large road and highway improvements, take up the bulk of the remaining $5 billion in the budget. Not much left over for the No. 1 point (in the their deceptive propaganda) to “Improve Public Transit.” Smoke and mirrors I would say.

Can you imagine a 16 lane 405 someday? The noise alone would be deafening. The adage “if you build it they will come” has been proven true in transportation as evidenced in Los Angeles where ever increasing highway capacity has done nothing to reduce congestion. Fourteen lane freeways and still building! Make no mistake, Mobility 100 is a pure roads-only plan, with a few items like bike lanes, taxi’s and jitney’s given lip service to gain wider appeal (though they will be privately funded or are funds that this group felt could be taken from Sound Transit or other governmental agencies). Mobility 100 is a simplistic Libertarian, auto industry backed initiative. An internet search for Washington Traffic Institute links me to truthabouttraffic.org. Truth about Traffic lists Mobility 100 as its solution for Puget Sound traffic problems. Nowhere on this site could I find an “About us” or a list of board members. However, very clearly displayed are the sponsors: Reason Foundation, American Dream Coaltion, Cato institute and the Washington Policy Center, all with a Libertarian agenda to advocate in one way or another “a free society by developing, applying, and promoting libertarian principles, including individual liberty, free markets, and the rule of law.” The same documents come up on each Web site: promoting the use of the automobile and Mobility 100.

Are you getting the idea? All roads in this proposition lead to Kemper Freeman Jr. and his push to maintain the American dream as he sees it: Freedom to drive your car. Mobility 100, the group Freeman commissioned, states that the American Dream encompasses the freedom of personal travel and mobility. My children, one of whom can now drive, say to me that public transportation gives them maximal personal freedom and mobility. Mobility 100 would have us believe that those who seek other transportation choices than single occupant automobile trips are seeking a “socialistic-based transportation policy”. Tell that to those who cannot drive, do not wish to drive or own a car, and those who are unable to afford the expense of individual car ownership. Where is the freedom of personal travel and mobility for these sectors of the population? It is the individual being moved freely, not the individual vehicle moving freely, that seems more relevant and important in this day of congestion and carbon emissions.

We presently have the choice to get in our car and sit in traffic; we can even sit on a bus that may or may not be stuck in traffic, but what other choices do we have? A thoroughly built out mass Rapid Transit System, independent of roadways and pedestrians, a dedicated connected bike lane system (much like dedicated BRT), and a connected pedestrian trails system would give all of us the greatest freedom to choose our means of mobility.

Heidi Schor, Kirkland