November, 2002

A citizen petition in Seattle, Washington, to create a monorail

system passed by a narrow margin, according to final election

results. Out of nearly 196,000 votes cast, the monorail measure

passed by only 868 votes.

With passage of the measure, a Seattle Popular Monorail Authority

will now be formed to build and manage a $1.75 billion monorail that

will run along a 14-mile corridor, running along a generally north-

south route from Ballard, through the city's Central District, and

ending in West Seattle. It will be paid for through a motor-vehicle

excise tax of $140 per $10,000 of value, except during the first

year when buying a new car. The measure follows two previous

initiatives that helped to shape the plan for the monorail. For more

information about the monorail plan, see the Seattle Monorail

Project Web site at: <http://www.elevated.org/>.

Although monorails date back to the 1800s, and are popular in Japan,

they have seen limited use for mass transit in the United States.

For more information about monorails, see the Monorail Society Web

site (which includes additional details about the Seattel election) at:

<http://www.monorails.org>.

Last modified: November 21, 2002