Gregoire

Posted on by Frank Chiachiere

This post originally appeared on Orphan Road.

Brewster writes:

Complicating the Ladenburg situation is his race for state attorney general, in which incumbent Rob McKenna, long a rail skeptic, is expected to wrap a yes vote by Ladenburg around his neck. Gregoire expects the same from gubernatorial challenger Dino Rossi, which is why she is said to be determined to block the vote in 2008. Nickels, still estranged from the governor over the Alaskan Way Viaduct, is paying her no heed on this score.

Gregoire’s strategy of cowering under the covers and praying for an Obama wave to sweep her into Olympia is looking more embarassing by the minute. America is awash with bold, progressive politicians in states far redder than WA (Kaine, Schweitzer, Sebelius, etc.), and Gregoire acts like it’s 1994 and Newt Gingrich is still running the national agenda.

Good to be Back

Posted on by Frank Chiachiere

This post originally appeared on Orphan Road.

Ok… this is weird. Before I left town, I wrote, quite sarcastically:

I expect that when I return, Sound Transit’s board will have come to their senses, a solution will be in place for the viaduct, and David Brewster will stop publishing juvenile anti-rail screeds in Crosscut.

Well, two out of three ain’t bad. Sound Transit’s trumpeting that the big dogs on the board of directors are endorsing the new 15-year hybrid plan for 2008. And Crosscut acutally published a sweet pro-rail piece from Big Media Ben. Nice!

Maybe I should skip town more often.

Sierra Club for ST2

Posted on by Andrew Smith

Or at least for going to the ballot with it this year. The Cascade Chapter of the Sierra Club’s transportation chair Tim Gould and chapter chair Mike O’Brien make the case for letting the public vote on transit expansion this year:


Last year voters turned down Proposition 1, a package that included 50 miles of light rail and 182 miles of highways. The Sierra Club opposed that package because the additional highway lanes would swamp all benefits of increased transit and worsen global warming. Today, the Sierra Club supports Sound Transit presenting the best possible transit-only plan to voters in November.

They continue to highlight the major arguments for transit expansion, first the environment:

Transit alternatives will help reduce global warming pollution, half of which comes from vehicles in this region. Scientists say we need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions 80 percent by 2050 to avoid the catastrophic effects of global warming. James Hansen of NASA says carbon in the atmosphere has passed the critical level of 350 parts per million and we must act immediately to reduce it.

and the affordibility issue.

With gas prices soaring, demand for alternatives to driving is surging. Around Seattle, the average household spends 53 percent of its income on housing and transportation costs. Transportation costs alone account for more of our income than food and health care combined. And it is getting worse; this data is from 2000 when gas cost $1.59 per gallon compared with Washington’s recent average of $4.37.

And then rebute a few of the major arguments against transit expansion, ie, we could do things sooner with buses, we should wait, and that we should try to find a pancea ballot measure that will solve everything.

It’s a good piece, and it’s better to see the Sierra Club on the our side this time around.

Phase I Complete!

Posted on by Martin H. Duke

Here’s the press release:

Sound Transit Board chair, vice chairs endorse 2008 mass transit measure

July 17, 2008

The top three governing officials of the Sound Transit board today announced their support for putting a mass transit ballot measure on the November ballot. The full Sound Transit board may vote July 24 on the 15-year proposal, which will offer expanded bus, commuter and light rail in Snohomish, King and Pierce counties.

“This plan provides a mass transit package that is faster, better and cheaper than last year’s Proposition 1,” said Sound Transit Board Chair and Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels. “We can’t afford to wait when we have the solutions to our transportation crisis right now. For the price of one tank of gas per year, we move forward with a regional mass transit network in three counties that gives people what they need most: an alternative to paying high gas prices. The best way to avoid the high cost of gas is not to buy it in the first place.”

“The new plan before the Board gets light rail to Snohomish County while increasing and speeding up ST Express regional bus service expansions,” said Sound Transit Board Vice Chair and Snohomish County Executive Aaron Reardon. “It responds to Snohomish County commuters’ immediate needs, and at the same time, it delivers a light rail connection to Lynnwood while positioning us for a future extension to Everett.”

“This 15-year plan turns the nearly $1 billion we would lose to inflation over the next two years into rapid progress toward better transit connections for people in Pierce County and around the region,” said Sound Transit Board Vice Chair and Lakewood City Council Member Claudia Thomas. “It delivers significant Sounder commuter rail and ST Express expansions while moving forward now with planning and property purchases to set the stage for getting light rail to Tacoma in the future.”

Nickels, Reardon, Thomas and other Sound Transit Board leaders will discuss the merits of the plan on July 24, when the Board plans to decide whether to move forward with a package this year. The package’s capital projects would cost $13.3 billion in year-of-expenditure dollars that include inflation estimates, or $9.1 billion in 2007 dollars. Funding would come from a 0.5 percent increase of the local sales tax, or 5 cents on a $10 purchase. The approximately $69 annual cost of the increase for each adult is around the cost of a single tank of gas.

The transit-only package would deliver projects significantly faster than last year’s Proposition 1 measure. The construction costs are 50 percent lower than Proposition 1, which included both roads and transit projects, and 23 percent lower than the 20-year transit package that was part of Proposition 1.

The new plan responds to public input received in May and June, which showed strong desire to see light rail extended further north and south than was proposed in 12-year options identified in April. Details of the 15-year plan include:

  • Northward expansion of light rail from the University of Washington to Northgate by 2020, with a further extension to Lynnwood by 2023, five years earlier than last year’s Proposition 1 measure.
  • Eastward expansion of light rail to Bellevue and onward to Overlake Transit Center in Redmond by 2021, seven years earlier than Proposition 1.
  • Southward expansion of light rail to Highline Community College by 2020 and Federal Way’s South 272nd Street area by 2023, five years earlier than Proposition 1.
  • Major ST Express bus service improvements, including a first phase delivered prior to completion of a new maintenance base and a second phase afterward. The plan provides service increases of 10 to 30 percent in key corridors and bus rapid transit service on State Route 520.
  • Sounder Commuter Rail service expansions remain unchanged from the 12-year options, including longer trains and more trips on the line between Lakewood and Seattle.

Improved station access: Funding to increase access to transit facilities in Auburn, Edmonds, Kent, Lakewood, Mukilteo, Puyallup, South Tacoma, Sumner, Tacoma and Tukwila. Projects will be tailored to the needs of each location and may include expanded parking; pedestrian improvements at or near stations; additional bus/transfer facilities for improved feeder service to stations; bicycle access and storage; and new and expanded drop-off areas to encourage ride-sharing.
Partnerships for expanded transit: Partnership funding for Eastside passenger rail on existing freight tracks; as well as for potential extensions of Tacoma Link light rail and projects in Bothell and Burien.

More information on the 15-year plan and other options is available at www.future.soundtransit.org.
Sound Transit’s system of regional express buses, commuter rail and light rail currently carries about 55,000 riders each day, a number that will more than double following the 2009 opening of light rail service between downtown Seattle and Sea-Tac International Airport. Construction of that light rail line is moving forward on schedule and is more than 90 percent complete.

Expansion of Link light rail between downtown and the University of Washington is slated to begin this year and be completed in 2016. University Link is projected to increase the regional light rail system’s ridership to more than 114,000 a day by 2030.

Pass-buying Tip

Posted on by Martin H. Duke

If the March fare increase is any indication, buying a three-month Puget Pass now (August-October) will allow you to dodge the October fare increase until November.  Quoting from the previous post on the matter, crediting Seattlest:

According to the Metro rep we just got on the phone, you can either keep the old pass and pay an extra quarter each time you get on, or go down to the Second and Jackson office (201 S. Jackson) to pay the difference. (You’ll get a new pass.) Lucky holders of a three-month pass for the months January, February and March will not be liable for that extra quarter until their passes run out.

Metro can do whatever they want, so your mileage may vary.  That was then, this was now, and they might not even approve the fare increase.

But I’m buying a three-month pass.

TOD Demonstration Project

Posted on by Andrew Smith

The Seattle Weekly brings up a Futurewise argument that zoning restrictions near the “Central Link” are too restricting to attract the sort of TOD that is necessary to create walkable neighborhoods (the post’s title about gentrification is a little bit misleading). Futurewise’s with several other agencies are encouraging the city council to create “demonstration projects” near Link stations that will allow for taller buildings and faster design reviews with taller heights. Land-use blogs have been calling for taller buildings near rail stations for some time.

It’s true that most of the zoning near the stations is still four stories max, and that really isn’t enough. The worry I have is that the area near the stations gets built to the current max very quickly, and that after the taller heights are proposed, it’ll be too late for the taller buildings to get constructed; there’s little money to be made tearing down a three story building to construct an eight story building. It does look like at least one huge piece of land near a link station could be available in the next few years, the Loews site on Rainier Ave near the Mt Baker station. According to the Central District News Loews might move into the Goodwill development on Dearborn and Rainier, which could open up about ten acres for possible TOD a block and a half from the station that is supposed to be the South End’s hub for transit. What would be a better test than that?

What do you think, do we need higher zoning near light rail stations?