I read with interest Kemper Freemen’s latest attempt to hinder, if not eliminate, plans for expanding mass transit in our region. He’s correct that we are “woefully behind on transportation needs,” and $86 billion is a large price for more buses, light rail and trains.

However, his Mobility 21 plan will make a bad situation worse. It is fraught with wishful thinking, and misleading statistics. Longtime residents have seen additional lanes constructed on I-405 while commute times increase. Adding lanes on existing freeways or building new roads will make matters worse. Each lane is more expensive than the last. Build it and they will come, perpetuating the stranglehold single occupant vehicles (SOV) have on everyone’s life. A tunnel to bypass I-5 downtown? We’ve seen the cost overruns and technical problems with Seattle’s waterfront tunnel.

Mobility 21 is a “privately funded alternative.” How will the billions needed for his plan be raised? Will it come from donations from commuters and investors, or will it magically fall from the sky?

The statistics he touts are suspect and selective. Remember, “You can prove anything with statistics”. His plan demonstrates this by not factoring the cost to commuters and their employers in lost time and productivity. Who wants to give the boss their all after spending an hour or more in stop-and-go traffic?

Furthermore, there is no mention of the environmental costs for adhering to the SOV paradigm. The amount of CO2 released from thousands of extra vehicles our growing population will generate only exacerbates the threat of climate change.

Mass transit is here to stay. As our transit system grows, it will play a larger role in our lives. Expanding mass transit is not cheap, but continued dependence on the automobile has a far greater cost.

The future is here. It appears that with his plan, Mr. Freeman is not part of it.

Dan Olah

North Bend