In the 1980's, as a street reporter in Seattle, I attended too many public meetings, hearings and news conferences to count, regarding the future of transit in the city.
Light rail was brought up all the time, voted on frequently, and was always voted down. People laughed at it, thougth it was, at more than 200-million dollars, a HUGE waste of money.
Then Portland opened its' Max System. San Francisco expanded the MAX system. And Light rail finally made it through.
Last Saturday, I got to do THIS:
Finally, the train was at the station, and I got to get aboard with a few hundred of my closest friends.
I spent hours Saturday riding the train, experiencing the stations first hand, talking to riders, phoning in live reports, and really getting a flavor for the new light rail system.
Then I went back to the radio station and recorded two reports with natural sound, interview clips and me stringing it together.
That sure brought back some memories.
Good to know I still have the skills, but I'm also glad I don't do this full time.
But it was kind of a full-circle experience to be able to report this story from the many hearings on light rail, to telling about the many times this was voted down by the public, and finally to be a part of the grand opening.
1 comment:
I remember riding Max as a kid spending summers at my grandparents house and assuming it was the way of the world...
then we moved to the Seattle area and I was told 'buses are better' ... and I tried, I honestly did... but nope, they just aren't better. A train with a designated track that comes every 7 minutes no matter what...THAT is better.
You can toss in some buses too, but a real mass transit system at its core MUST center around trains.
PS. you did a fab job on Saturday...loved your reporting!!!
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