KSDK News Published December 19th by Susannah Frame
Two weeks before a high-speed Amtrak train derailed near Dupont, Lakewood Mayor Don Anderson warned the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) that the route could be deadly without additional safety precautions. On December 4th Anderson attended a city council meeting that featured a presentation by representatives of the WSDOT providing an update on the new high speed rail service, known as the Point Defiance Rail Bypass.
After hearing the WSDOT presentation Anderson issued a warning that now, two weeks later is a haunting one. He urged WSDOT to provide more safety measures before they had a catastrophe on their hands by saying "It's virtually inevitable that someone is going to get killed that wouldn't be killed otherwise. Come back when there is that accident, and try to justify not putting in those safety enhancements, or you can go back now and advocate for the money to do it, because this project was never needed and endangers our citizens for very, very, very little highly subsidized, transportation enhancements".
In 2013, the city of Lakewood sued WSDOT to halt the project. A year later a Pierce County Superior Court Judge ruled against the city. Anderson did not want to conduct interviews Monday. A city official said they didn't want to put out an "I told you so message" on such a tragic day. But the representative did say, "I think the city's past actions speak for themselves. We did sue WSDOT and made it clear we thought it wouldn't be a matter of it, but when." Anderson's plea was the latest in many different efforts by citizens and leaders of Lakewood and Tillicum who fought against having high-speed service run through their neighborhoods.
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