The Reporter’s April 29 opinion column by King County Executive Dow Constantine and King County Councilmember Claudia Balducci says “at its peak, capacity light rail can carry up to 16,000 people per hour in each direction” and “no other option can add that kind of capacity.”

For years, that capacity has been in the 12,000 range including in Constantine’s pitch to the Legislature for $15 billion in new tax authority in December 2014.

Shortly after this consultant pointed out to the Sound Transit 3 Expert Review Panel this February that the Sound Transit 2 system would not have the capacity at the downtown tunnel to handle the Lynnwood Link extension volumes, Mr. Constantine made the comment on TV that the capacity was 16,000. This figure requires “crush loading” of trains (armpit to armpit), which is simply not practical or acceptable.

However, buses in New York’s Lincoln tunnel carry some 40,000 passengers per hour/direction in a single lane. Buses can run as closely as five seconds apart while light rail requires three minutes. Interstate 90 center roadway operating bidirectionally could carry up to eight times the maximum capacity of East Link and those buses can collect and distribute from/to multiple locations and operate in express mode, all of which Link can’t.

Sorry, “light” rail is not a high capacity system.

William Popp, consulting transportation engineer

Bellevue