Video by css903
The initial peak headways are a little under 8 minutes.
Route 8 will serve all the Rainier Valley stations, and provide local service along MLK.
Everyone’s publishing their “anticipation of light rail” piece. As the train becomes less theoretical (and the large costs remain abstract in most people’s minds), I think enthusiasm is building, at least among those who aren’t invested in hatred and/or distrust of Sound Transit:
- Knute Berger of Crosscut walks and drives along MLK, and isn’t as nasty as usual. I think he’s right about the general car-orientation of the area, and how long it’ll take to change.
- The previous day, Robert Ketcherside took the really long view of MLK in Crosscut.
- Larry Lange of the Post-Globe interviews a bunch of people in the Valley.
- Sound Transit has a new webpage telling you what there is to do in the Rainier Valley. We’re planning a more detailed post of our own on this subject.
- The P-I profiled some light rail operators.
- There was yet another media ride, on which our report is coming. Meanwhile, Andrew Villenueve of the Northwest Progressive Institute live-blogged it, and Goldy of horsesass.org made a humorous video. Perhaps Goldy won’t be blocking the tracks on opening day after all:
Wow. Great compilation of news and views.
And meanwhile, back at the dinosaur farm, self-appointed doom-and-gloomsayer John Niles is spreading as much desperate fear as possible.
And, in typical passive-aggressive fashion, Niles couches his “death train” manifesto in terms of a kids safety PSA.
Pedestrians dodging cars on a daily basis is perfectly normal. Grade separation and crossing gates should never be required for cars, buses, trucks, motorcycles, humans, etc. But, trains require special treatment – at least, according to people who hate trains.
Trains being more massive (as in weighing more) and running on slicker surface, steel wheels on steel track (which is more efficient when moving) have a lower coefficient of friction. Which means they take more distance to stop. And being on the track cannot dodge objects on the track.
So for humans, they have only to get off the tracks to not be hit, but trains cannot avoid humans. Which is why we put up gates around the tracks.
This whole issue could have been avoided if the tracks had been elevated.
I saw the results of a bad car accident on Martin Luther King Way today. (no train involved)
Accident score:
With Trains: 3
Without Trains: 1 (But will we ever really know?)
Just in time for light rail: a replacement for Old Trusty. A motorized chair with table big enough for my laptop, yet still small enough for fitting on a standard bus
My fellow transit junkies here on my team at Microsoft are counting down the days and are ready to ride
DC Metrorail operators caught on video napping and texting:
http://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/Latest-Metro-Fail-Sleeping-on-the-Job.html
We’re in Washington State, not Washington DC.
Agreed. But everyone, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE always be clear whe you write here, there or anywhere exactly to which you are referring!
“State” or “D.C.” ?!?
P.S. it is acceptable to refer to the former swamp in which our nations capital was built as “The District”.
umm..does Sam’s post not say “DC Metrorail…”?
It was a joke. I couldn’t think of anything else to say in response to his off-topic fear mongering.
That video actually give a little bit of shivers. At-Grade Light Rail is the way to go. I am going to get flack for that, but it’s true. It’s an efficient use of roadspace.
Actually, what the video shows is just how safe Link LR is (unless of course you are intent on doing something illegal).
What I found interesting is that cars pacing Link benefit from the same signal prioritization as the LRV – an unattended benefit for SOV’s!!
On to the 18th!
According to King County, there were 43 accidents per million service miles in 2007. 10 of those 43 were preventable.
There are 33 million revenue miles (a bit less than service hours, surely), so I’m not surprised I’ve been on buses that have dinged, dented and scraped by cars. I wonder if most of the accidents are rural or if they’re on heavy urban routes?
Somewhat related, but I remember in NYC that ambulances sported “cab juice” which is where cabs have rubbed against the bumpers of ambulances on emergency calls. The cabs used the opportunity to get through traffic by drafting the EMTs…
So if we use the 43 accidents/million service miles as a benchmark, we can figure that Link has 27.5 miles (13.9 each way). Of those 10.2 miles are at grade (4.2 each way for mlk + .9 each way for the busway). Using the posted schedule there will be 124 trips each weekday, 108 on saturdays and 100 on sundays, or 828 total trips/week, 43056/year. All told this boils down to 1,179,734 total service hours/year, of which 439,172 are at grade. Given the 43 accidents/million miles metric, if Link sees 18 accidents per year, it’s on par with the busses in the region.
I suspect it will be less than that, especially once drivers become accustomed to driving alongside the trains. But either way, this should be a good comparitive number to judge Link’s safety record by.
Really, we should be counting the entire length of the track, because all 27.5 miles are miles that would otherwise be ridden in a bus. Just by its design, if it has exactly the same incidence of accidents as buses do (per at-grade mile), Link has decreased accidents by 62.9% over the same trips by bus.
That means that Link would have to have 50 accidents per mile to equal the number of accidents that would happen on a comparable bus route.
Not to mention the Link has many times the passenger capacity of a bus, so Link theoretically has significantly fewer service miles than if it were turned off and replaced by buses.
Sorry, that should be 50 accidents per year, not 50 per mile. Damn my proofreading incompetence.
Colin,
I’d be most happy to use the larger number, but I don’t think the argument there is as strong. I originally calculated it on the entire route length for the same reason you stated. But I changed it to the at-grade portion, because I see this as more of a test for how safe Link is when it interacts with other vehicles. The 50 accidents/year that would happen if Link was replaced by busses seems to play more toward the call for grade separating the whole thing. What I hope the at-grade numbers show is that Link, even in a mixed environment, is still the safer form of public transit.
The press doesn’t report on the approx 1400 accidents that happen with Metro busses each year, but you can bet that they will report on every instance, no matter how small, that happens with light rail. Because of this I think the 18/year number is the most comparable, and the one to use when asking the press why they treat the reporting of Link accidents differently than they do bus accidents. But I’d be happy to hear further arguments toward using the 50/year number.
I understand where you’re coming from.
One issue with the 18 number is I believe Mr. N has claimed that the EIS said the Link would probably have a car vs. train accident once every 2 weeks. That’s going to exceed your number if it comes true. If we put all our chips on the table with the 18 accidents/year number, to paraphrase Grand Moff Tarkin, we’re taking a awful risk that our argument will be proven wrong.
Another issue is the bus tunnel. That’s technically a grade-separated bus lane, but i’m guessing that the accident numbers they came up with (43/million miles) include miles they travelled in the bus tunnel (and any other bus-only segment, like the busway next to the SODO station). So, if the busses are including the portions where they’re grade separated, why can’t the Link? Yes, the percentages are significantly different between link & buses, but the argument stands.
One compromise would be to use passenger capacity-miles at grade (rather than service miles). This would also heavily favor the Link, as the Link train has capacity of several busses. The math gets easier if you use bus equivalency service miles at grade, so each Link mile at grade is equivalent to say, 5 bus miles at grade. If you insist that the buses will be running closer to capacity than the Link, that’s fine. Maybe we only say a Link service mile is worth 3 bus service miles.
At 3 bus service miles per Link service mile, the accident rate would have to be 54 per year to equal what it would have been from buses, even on that short stretch of at-grade light rail.
If we extrapolate that number to include all 27.5 miles of the light rail, and the Link has accidents at only 26 per year (to match certain predictions), the Link has decreased transit vs. public accidents by 126 accidents per year.
At 1 minute & 15 seconds into the “Pacing” video there is a sign, adjacent to the “Market Gas” station, directing motorists to I-5 by turning left, placed just before a prohibited left at S. Webster.
Methinks the intention is to get traffic over to the left for Othello, but it takes only one lost and nervous (’tis the scary Ranier Valley after all) driver to plow into the train and then sue over the directional signage.
I think someone at ST or SDOT or WashDOT needs to re-design (add “at S. Othello St.” below the arrow?) or remove it.
Anyone got a contact?
Paging Oran!
During MLK reconstruction the sign was placed there by mistake by whatever reason. It’s even on the old wooden post whereas all the new signs on MLK should be on the Telspar (square metal with holes) posts. Relocating the sign 40-50 ft north of the intersection should be sufficient.
We’re on it and thanks for letting us know.
Come on up to the business district of QA if you want to see how fast change can happen. All it needs is a few dedicated developers (local prefered) and in 6 years you’ve got a world of difference. Though I’m sure some don’t like all the new multi-stories along QA Ave.
On all the whining about people having to walk up to 3/4th’s of a mile to catch a train. My step-grandmother during WW2, walked 5 miles each way to work. There was no gasoline to be had, she lived too close to rate a gasoline coupon. And no whining did I ever hear from her about it, expect the usual..”kids these days…”
We attribute in part her long life to the healthy heart she got from all that walking for those years of her youth.
Also all the whining about street crime. The more regular people are out and about on the street the less street crime we are going to have. Why? Because with a cell phone you can call in the cops as you see it going on right in front of you. If you walk by your neighbors after a while you’ll know them if not by name, at least by sight so you’ll know the kids who are in the gang and where they live. You’ll see them every day. So no getting away with being a unknown assailant. I suspect that these neighborhoods will improve and not decay from having this new rail line.
It’s only a 10-minute walk (0.5 mile) from the Viet-Wah on Graham St to Othello station. I walked it and was surprised that it wasn’t as far as I thought. Right now, the walking experience leaves much to be desired but I hope as more businesses come back and the walk gets more shade, it’ll be like a walk in the park with ice-cream.
Is there any signage to tell people what the shortest direction is to the next station? It would be nice if the poles along the tracks had arrows or something like that. Not everyone is going to know which station is the closest.
There are no signs along the route. The city might be responsible for installing such signs as they have throughout the downtown area.
The poles do have colored artwork that reminds riders that they are approaching a station. It’s a nice touch but they should have done basic wayfinding first.
ST couldn’t find any money to help do basic wayfinding?
It’s really, really not that expensive to do well. Feet First has done some great projects over in West Seattle, in Delridge and along the trail system, for very little money.
Seriously, it wouldn’t need to be expensive. Simple arrows would do the trick.
I think telling people to not to worry is dangerous. It’s giving people a false sense of security. Gangs and human wolf packs are real. Just ask this white family of three, who, while they were celebrating the 4th in their yard, were swarmed by 50 black youths, then savagely beaten for no reason, other than the fact they were white. Some in the wolf pack said “It’s a black world now,” while beating them.
http://www.ohio.com/news/50172282.html
People from the suburbs reading this, take great care when venturing into the Rainier Valley. This is an area I am very familiar with. It’s a dangerous place.
Never take the Link alone. Never take it at night. Do not talk on a cell phone, especially an iPhone, and do not listen to an iPod. Do not carry a laptop bag, or briefcase, or luggage. Do not wear jewelry or expensive watches.
These are just some of my tips to help you to stay safe if you venture into this high crime area.
I live in the suburbs and venture down to the Valley often with my iPod, a MacBook, and a Canon G9 camera. Oops, did I just say that? You should thank me for braving that area to bring you the photos and videos so you don’t have to.
Oh wait, I’m Southeast Asian, that changes everything.
Dude, the article you link to was about an incident in Ohio. Thinking that has any relevance to the Rainier Valley just shows your racism. “Those black people are all the same, they’re all out to get us.”
I bet he thought the “Beacon Journal” newspaper was from Beacon Hill, not Akron. ;)
I literally just laughed out loud. Oh, Sam, thank you for the laugh. It’s been a tough week, and I needed the comic relief.
People from the suburbs! Hear ye, hear ye! This young helpless white female has been riding buses in the Rainier Valley for almost three years now early in the morning and late at night, and walking up to half a mile from the bus stop to my house. I’m always alone. Sometimes I listen to an iPod. Sometimes I talk (quietly) on my cell phone. Let’s see…I carry a purse and sometimes a camera bag.
So far my worst experience was this one time when a schizophrenic old white lady yelled at me. It was truly harrowing. People from the suburbs, beware! Bewaaaaaaare! *waggles fingers spookily*
The article didn’t state that the human wolfpack was stealing any iPods, jewelry, etc. Just think, when East Link opens, all 50 of these rampaging youths will be able to ride directly from the Valley to Overlake – that is, if East Link goes as far east as the Ohio Valley.
I’m very interested in the safety tips – does anyone have tips for how to stay safe if I live in this high-crime area? Where should I leave my laptop and cell phone? How can I prevent being beaten on my own lawn by urban wildife accessing my home via Link?
“People from the suburbs reading this, take great care when venturing into the Rainier Valley. This is an area I am very familiar with. It’s a dangerous place.”
If you were that familiar with it you wouldn’t be spreading this FUD about it.
Kinda off-topic, but does anyone know if there any luggage racks on Link? I found an old PI piece quoting someone at ST who said they were considering have them installed on one of the two cars on each train, but I can’t find anything beyond that. Thanks.
There are no luggage racks on Link. You probably can use the bike rack space or folding seat area for luggage if their target users are not using it. The ceiling in the Link car is really high.
Thanks, Oran. I’ve noticed the high ceilings in various videos and that’s what got me wondering about luggage racks and potential space usage.
Just FYI, the Sounder cars that are running in greater Los Angeles (leased by Metrolink) have their overhead racks removed.
However the Caltrain Baby Bullet cars that were supposed to be delivered to Seattle but ended up in San Francisco, have the ST ‘Wave” on their overhead racks. Something to look for on your next travels to the Bay Area…
I hope someday we will see Route 8 running every 15 minutes during middays and weekends.
Walter, why?
The 8 will run every 15 minutes, midday, when the 194 goes away in February. Weekends may take a bit longer.