Hi Jarrett. Great post! I know you're particularly Seattle-savvy, but you never cease to impress me with your knowledge of cities around the world. Being sandwiched between Lake Washington and Puget Sound does indeed have the benefit of making a nice linear corridor for light rail. I can hardly wait until the line is extended up through Capitol Hill and on to UW. Express busses seem to go very quickly and frequently from UW to downtown, but are often filled to capacity or a bit beyond. I hadn't thought of things in quite these terms, but you're right about the opportunity that choke points present. The ability to go point to point anywhere, anytime in a city was a large part of why cars were so popular in the first place. As route choice is constrained, cars lose that comparative "advantage." I'll also echo Dan's assessment of the light rail. I too had the opportunity to ride from SEATAC to Westlake. The Link was fast, smooth, quiet, and easy.