The-Ave.US

As someone who takes the bus pretty much everyday, I can see that students, staff and and faculty alike strongly rely on Metro.

Yes, you are correct that many students live near campus and/or can bike, but I also suspect that these are typically wealthier students who can afford to live away from home. I have students who come from as far away as Puyallaup and Tacoma every day on transit. Their parents cannot afford the high costs of accommodation in the U district or in the new flashy student dorms.

Note also how the wealth gradient in this city broadly runs from North to South Seattle, and the UW is in the north, making it a longer commute for those from the southern part of the city.

The bottom line is, that when you look at the truly great cities of the world, most all of them see a working transit system as essential to their lifeblood

and functioning. I hope that Seattle may join this league one day.

Regards

Rob

My response

Dear Rob,

I am a proponent of mass transit and will vote for the initiative.

That is also why my wife pointed out the bizarre paradox of Seattle’s liberals supporting more high density housing without imposing parking requirements on builders who, after all, are pretty much the limited audience that supports the Times.

Back here at the UW. the issue ought not to be just transport for students to campus but the accessibility of this city tp students who will be living in the new dorms.  That was the intent of my crack about the bike racks!  I actually have met students who live in the U district and have never explored any of the rest of Seattle much less the nearby communities of our State.

Finally, this issue is yet another example of the lack of a voice for our community in Seattle. Politicians do not have any way of knowing what the community … the faculty, students, and staff want because “we” have no voice.  The transportation issue is only one example, here are others where “we” are invisible:

1. Development of the U District itself to be more of a university neighborhood.
2. Development of housing resources appropriate for students, staff  and faculty who soon will be connected to campus by light rail.
3. Development of Eastlake.
4. Representation of the UW … our community, traditions, etc along the new waterfront.
5. Academic standards now the Bellevue CC and Seattle Central have taken unilateral action to create themselves as colleges rather than community colleges.