SEATTLE NEWS ARCHIVES & FEATURES
Sound Transit 3 a ‘boondoggle’ if it passes, says Kemper Freeman
Oct 23, 2016, 12:00 AM | Updated: 7:05 am
Sound Transit 3 aims to build a light rail line to Ballard if funding is approved. (Sound Transit)
(Sound Transit)
For years, Seattle has struggled with finding a solution to its rapid transit problem. On Nov. 8, the $54 billion Sound Transit 3 proposition will head to ballot. With its record-setting budget and expected 25-year timeline to completion, ST3 has earned its fair share of opposition. One of those opponents is visionary developer Kemper Freeman Jr., who joined the “Dori Monson Show” to share his concerns.
Why Sound Transit 3 is a poor choice
“Not much good will ever come from this,” Freeman said. “If everything works as they think it’s going to work, this will produce a third of one percent of daily trips in the metropolitan Seattle area. One-third of one percent. That means that one out of 300 of us will be using this system 25 years from now if it gets done 25 years from now and if it works as well as they think.”
So, if the majority of the population isn’t going to be utilizing this new system, then who does it benefit?
Related: Could ST3 improve commute near JBLM?
“The people who engineer and design these things get paid well,” Freeman said. “The people who build it get paid well … And they’re perpetuating the same fraud all over the United States.”
Why do we keep coming back for more as taxpayers?
“I happened to watch the board meeting where they started their public relations department, which is now $8 million a year. They have 38 professional public relations people working for Sound Transit.”
What does Freeman think of this public relations expenditure?
“They’ve got an army out there working every day telling us how good they are when in fact there’s nothing good about what they’ve done to date,” said Freeman. “They should be embarrassed. I don’t know how they sleep at night. I don’t know how they get up and go to work.”
Related: Sound Transit 3 could cure Seattle’s transit envy, but will traffic improve?
Should the proposition pass and Sound Transit 3 begins construction, Freeman is less than optimistic that history will look kindly upon its implementation.
“One day, this will be independently looked at as one of the greatest boondoggles in the history of the world,” he argued.
The entire interview with Kemper Freeman can be found below.
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