Nick,

You have probably never been to the Seattle area or never driven across SR-520. The road is in desperate need of more lanes and/or public transit. Everyone knows this. A lot of Microsoft employees take public transit (bus) from Seattle to Redmond. There is even a major transit hub in the middle of their miles of campus. From what I know of the area, the A+ strategy is not a good option for the area because peak commute patterns are about 50/50 from east to west. Keeping the HOV lanes in the center of the roads will allow transit buses unimpeded travel across the bridge, satisfying Microsoft's needs but not everyone commuting into Seattle from the east side. I would encourage you do do some real investigative work on this and stop with the half-assed articles that really don't offer much. At least you linked to your source so I could see what they were actually talking about. 2 out of 5 stars.

"The Vole does not want the public transport plan to see the light of day, but this stance conflicts with Gates' calls to reduce vehicle emissions."

This is what is known to be a "progressive" stance on the issue. Tax the crap out of everyone (except me), demand conformance to strict regulation (except for me), and if anyone complains, demonize and discredit the source.

Basic politics, really.