Editorial | Navigate the Future

In today’s issue of the Mercer Island Reporter, readers will find a 40-page special report on transportation in the Puget Sound region. The focus of the section is on the residents of East and South King County, the areas served by 12 Sound Publishing newspapers. Our aim with this publication, to be delivered to more than a quarter of a million readers, is to begin an ongoing conversation about the changes ahead for all of us regarding how we get around, whether it is by highway, bus or rail. The stories about these different modes in “Navigate to the Future” concern a range of topics: from the personal experience of riding light rail to the stark implications about costs to a bit more about the people and agencies in charge of it all — all leavened with a bit of history and perspective.

September 22, 2009 3:12 pm

In today’s issue of the Mercer Island Reporter, readers will find a 40-page special report on transportation in the Puget Sound region. The focus of the section is on the residents of East and South King County, the areas served by 12 Sound Publishing newspapers. Our aim with this publication, to be delivered to more than a quarter of a million readers, is to begin an ongoing conversation about the changes ahead for all of us regarding how we get around, whether it is by highway, bus or rail. The stories about these different modes in “Navigate to the Future” concern a range of topics: from the personal experience of riding light rail to the stark implications about costs to a bit more about the people and agencies in charge of it all — all leavened with a bit of history and perspective.

Getting a handle on the particulars regarding transportation in our region is no easy task. It is a vast and complex topic and one that we have just begun to address in this special section. We hope to use this first issue as a foray into an ongoing conversation about transportation, not only in the region, but here in our towns and neighborhoods. In the coming weeks, more will be added to this discussion on our Web site and via our radio partner, KIRO. We wish to foster a platform to encourage understanding and empowerment in using these new networks or participating in their planning. We wish to serve our readers in ways that go beyond print, offering a portal to a set of tools that allows you to participate, track what is going on and even plan ahead on where you might live, work or shop.

An important piece of this discussion is to offer a way that different opinions and ideas concerning the future of our transportation network can be shared. Each solution has its own costs and benefits. As seen in the Forum piece on vanpooling, by Michael Ennis of the Washington Research Council, printed below, there will be as many ideas about the best way to go about improving commute times as there are about keeping costs low for shippers delivering goods to market.

It is the hope of the East and South King County Newspaper Group of Sound Publishing that you will find “Navigate to the Future” compelling and informative. For more, we invite you to go to our Web site at www.pnwlocalnews.com or www.mi-reporter.com.