No New Monorail for Seattle- But the Old One Survives

This article discusses the failure of the proposed 14 mile long monorail in Seattle in 1997, and the restricted use of their existing monorail and monorails throughout the U.S.. The existing monorail, while useful for tourism to connect the Seattle Center with the Space Needle and, in a more limited way, for residents, would have been obsolete if the new monorail had been built. The major problem the author finds with the proposed monorail is the high cost- $11.4 billion in financing and real cost spread over 50 years. When coupled with the source of local funding, the annual 1.4 percent motor vehicle tax, not meeting its projected goals and a failed reduction in length to ten miles, the author sees the Seattle monorail as characteristic of the national trend of poor performance for monorail practicality.

• Availability:
  • Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://worldcat.org/oclc/1794668
• Authors:
  • Wilkins, Van
• Publication Date: 2006-2

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: Print
• Features: Photos;
• Pagination: p 16
• Serial:
  • Mass Transit
  • Volume: 32
  • Issue Number: 1
  • Publisher: Cygnus Publishing, Incorporated
  • ISSN: 0364-3484
  • Serial URL: http://www.masstransitmag.com

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Costs; Monorail transportation; Regional transportation
• Geographic Terms: Seattle (Washington)
• Subject Areas: Finance; Operations and Traffic Management; Public Transportation; Railroads; Society;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01020165
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: UC Berkeley Transportation Library
• Files: BTRIS, TRIS
• Created Date: Mar 15 2006 8:26AM