You'll never work in this industry again - Hewlett Packard 1990
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Microsoft and Gates are at odds over green priorities
WHILE THE VERY RICH software mogul Sir William Gates III is banging on about climate change, his company is pressing for a new bridge that will increase traffic to the area.
Microsoft took out a full-page $40,000 colour ad in the Seattle Times today opposing any further "delay" on replacing the SR-520 bridge.
The advert said that the current bridge is 47 years old and state engineers warn that it could sink in a major storm or earthquake.
The Vole's employees rely heavily on the 520 bridge to commute to the software company's campus in Redmond. The planned replacement bridge is being pushed through as an "A+" option which means six lanes total, with two lanes for high-occupancy vehicles and buses.
The delay is due to local dithering over whether there should be a new 520 plan that would incorporate high-capacity transit (light rail or bus-rapid transit) as well as two carpool and two general-purpose lanes.
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.
Cars and trucks are responsible for more than half the smog emissions in the Puget Sound region and much of it comes from Microsoft's minions going to work across the 520 bridge. If many of them were forced to take public transport those emissions would be significantly cut. µ
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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.