Seattle TOD Bill Needs Work, Critics Say

"Rob Johnson, executive director of Transportation Choices, and Sara Nikolic, urban strategies director of Futurewise, said station-area planning can't really wait.

'I know the bill had people alarmed, and we talked to them and responded. And part of the reason we made the amendments is because Seattle neighborhoods raised the biggest concerns -- Roosevelt and particularly Southeast Seattle -- and that's because they realize light rail is here, it's really coming,' Nikolic said.

Service from Seattle to Tukwila is slated to begin in July.

'We spent a lot of time listening to the communities,' Johnson said. 'The bill is a living document, and we expect more changes to happen.'

But Johnson also pointed out that federal funding to boost the economy -- signed into law Tuesday by President Barack Obama -- is in part aimed at improving transportation public transit."