Light Rail News, 31 Oct 2003

Sims vows to forge ahead on light rail (Puget Sound Business Journal) - Sound Transit Chairman Ron Sims said Friday that the agency will break ground on the Link Light Rail system within two weeks despite the state Supreme Court's decision Thursday that the initiative lowering car-tax tabs to $30 is constitutional. Much of the local funding for the light-rail system comes from a 0.3 percent motor vehicle tax collected in King County. Though the initiative makes that collection illegal, the transportation agency sold bonds secured by that tax, and will continue to collect it until the bonds are paid off, Sims said.

Tucson, Houston, Kansas City to vote on light rail plans (Miami Herald) - Tucson isn't alone in asking voters next month to pave the way to a better transit system. Voters in Houston and Kansas City, Mo., will decide whether to approve funding for plans that include bolstering or building a light rail system.