The quiet zone is entirely for the benefit of the Obies and other downtown/EWEB property developers. One need look no further than who was given seats on the citizen committee that city staff used to pretend they were listening to the public to know who was behind this.

If it's going to be done, it should only involve the crossings on the east side of the station. Those can be done alone and can be funded with the riverfront renewal district (slush) fund. Spending an additional $4.5M to do the stops west of the station, where the residents mostly don't want it, would be hugely inappropriate. That money will come out of our general fund, so it will be felt in ever-diminishing services that we actually need like traffic law enforcement (those of you who don't walk or cycle may not notice, but it's getting quite deadly around here), fire and ambulance service, and even drug treatment. What a waste!