Spokane Transit mulling a 7% service cut in 2011. There’s no talk of new taxes yet, but they’re at 0.6% so there’s room for that.
Seattle parking tax going up 2.5 points to 12.5%, Transportation Benefit District formed with $20 vehicle license fee is likely. Mayor McGinn to ask for more transportation taxes but the council probably won’t go for them.
The Mayors of Seattle and Portland will be at a Worldchanging event on October 1 to “dialogue about the Cascade Region’s most pressing issues,” with a focus on climate neutral growth.
Virginia man murdered after he got a speed bump installed on his street.
Not really transit-related, but this map of race and population in Seattle is really interesting. See also this map of tourists vs. locals. The author’s photostream does have some good transit content, and will wre ck your productivity.
New York City-based field operations was widely seen as the flashier of the two leading contenders for the contract to overhaul more than 20 acres of waterfront space when the Alaskan Way Viaduct comes down [...]
During his public presentation last week, Corner—a native of Manchester—said he wanted to integrate the waterfront’s “gritty” industrial feel into his waterfront design. “We found the work James Corner did to be compelling and relevant to the waterfront,” said SDOT central waterfront project manager Steve Pearce.
JCFO is probably best known for designing New York City’s Highline, and has a history of delivering beautiful and innovative urban park projects. We hope they do something great with the waterfront once the Viaduct is torn down.
We continue to question how an unactivated section of town is going to be activated by just a park. Jane Jacobs, author of The Death and Life of Great American Cities, wrote in the early sixties that urban parks that aren’t surrounded by diverse uses will inevitably have problems; they are “volatile places.” A park along the waterfront may face these problems if the only commercial activity along its edges are daytime tourist traps — every Cal Anderson needs its Capitol Hill, after all. PubliCola asked about commercial development, and the response isn’t great:
Asked whether the city’s current waterfront “guiding principles”—which say that city-owned land that will be opened up on the waterfront must remain public—will inhibit development (and effectively force the design team to propose a linear park), DPD director Diane Sugimura said, “That’s one of the challenges: How do you make this a real urban area for all the people of the city … and something that’s not just a big park.” However, Sugimura said, “At this point we’re not looking at private development per se,” although the waterfront design could include things like pavilions with restaurants inside.
Perhaps a pavilion for all the quality restaurants that want to sit on city-owned property? Right.
Unless the city, and JCFO, recognizes that people must live, work, and play on the waterfront for it to really click, the waterfront will no doubt be visually impressive but still fall short.
Although details will have to wait until staff are done with the October 2 service change, Metro is going to change service in Sodo and downtown for several years, until the viaduct sorts itself out, and various other construction projects happen:
Desmond said the construction projects are expected to be disruptive for all traffic, including buses. Although the road closures and construction projects will be phased over many years, Metro thinks it is best for bus riders if their routes change as few times as possible.
With that in mind, starting next February Metro will divert much of its downtown service away from First Avenue between Edgar Martinez Drive and Broad Street. Most of these bus routes will move to Third Avenue. It will also result in some changes for bus travel on Second and Fourth avenues, as some routes are moved there to accommodate the bus changes on First and Third.
Pacific Central Station in Vancouver – Photo by Discovery Institute
The extension of Amtrak trains 513/516 to Vancouver B.C. will end on October 31st, indefinitely truncating the trains back to Bellingham. The Canadian Border Services Agency was unwilling to relent upon their demand for roughly $550,000USD in annual border clearance fees, and neither WSDOT nor Amtrak is willing to pay the fee. WSDOT issued a press release criticizing the decision and has urged CBSA to reconsider. The Bellingham Herald reports that the B.C. government wished to see the trains continue without a fee but was overruled by CBSA on fiscal grounds. Approximately 73 people per day rode 513/516 between Vancouver and points south over the life of the extension, with the Olympics and the summer months averaging roughly 100 per day.
If three hours is too much for you, you can peruse the PowerPoint here, although the slides are professional enough to be hard to follow by themselves.
The City of Seattle will announce the lead designer this morning at 11:00.
Update 11:40: Via SDOT’s Twitter feed “We are pleased to announce James Corner Field Operations as the lead designer for Seattle’s Central Waterfront. ” Their presentation here.
Detail of Oran's frequent service map. Colored Lines have <= 15 minute headways, light gray are worse or peak-only
One reason I moved to the Rainier Valley was the promise that it would eventually become a dense and walkable neighborhood, so I was gratified to read that the economy has turned around enough to get some of these projects started again:
But demand for apartments is rising across the region — rents are up, vacancies down — and new construction is starting to look more attractive to developers.
The neighborhoods around the Mount Baker, Columbia City and Othello light-rail stations offer an added lure to prospective tenants: the possibility of a quick, carless, cheaper commute.
We get a fair amount of mail criticizing projects in the Southeast for not fitting an ideal notion of TOD, in particular by having too much parking. Although I’m often irritated by insufficiently dense uses and the zoning restrictions that continue to drive them, I think it’s best to be relaxed about the former problem.* First of all, there are far too many empty pits by rail stations to complain that the people aren’t being packed in densely enough.
More importantly, I don’t think the current configuration of service along MLK really encourages people with an option to go car free. There isn’t a ton of activity and housing along MLK itself, so both the Rainier Avenue and Beacon Avenues are important as places for MLK residents to go to and for MLK businesses to draw from.
A quick glance at Oran’s (unfinished) frequent service map shows why this requires parking in the near future. With a few partial exceptions, no choice riders are going to travel by bus from arbitrary points on MLK to arbitrary points on Beacon or Rainier, and vice versa. There are simply too few frequent East/West routes and too many transfers. I don’t think it’s an accident that a project in Mt. Baker — where everything meets and these problems are mitigated — is the one place where a parking-free building is going in.
* To be clear, we should absolutely be upset when regulations require more parking than the market demands, but relaxed when developers, at this stage, choose to build parking due to demand.
For the first time since 1976, today the City of Tacoma begins charging for parking in the downtown core. The city will charge an introductory rate of 75¢/hour with a 2-hour maximum, a fee significantly lower than either Seattle ($2.50) or Portland ($1.60). In addition, today the city introduces a 90-minute buffer zone adjacent to the paid parking area in which parking will remain free but will for the first time be subject to time limitations.
Rates will be effective 8a-6p Monday through Saturday, with Sundays and designated holidays free, and Tacoma will use the same coin/card meters used by the City of Seattle. Sources at the City of Tacoma admit that the 75¢ rate will not cover administrative costs, making it likely that rates will rise once drivers have adapted to the new scenario and the city analyzes ongoing parking availability.
The change is expected to to increase parking availability in the core, markedly increase parking demand at Tacoma Dome Station (which for now will remain free parking), and boost ridership on Tacoma Link.
KOMO news is reporting that Bellevue city councilmember John Chelminiak was attacked by a bear in Chelan County:
The Wenatchee World reports that John Chelminiak was walking his dogs at his vacation home near Lake Wenatchee when he was attacked. He was first taken to Central Washington Hospital in Wenatchee for puncture wounds to his face and head, but was soon taken to Harborview so he could be treated by doctors who specialize in reconstructive surgery. Chelminiak’s family said in a statement that he is currently in stable condition.
Chelminiak is one of the three Bellevue city councilmembers that support Sound Transit’s B2M alignment. We wish him a full and speedy recovery.
Weather expert Cliff Mass prognosticates, with some lighthearted political advice:
It also turns out that there is a greater probability of lowland snow west of the Cascades during La Nina years. Now, if Seattle’s Mayor McGinn knows whats good for him he would be sharpening those snow plow blades, securing lots of sand and SALT, establishing rational plans for plowing the city, and telling all snow plow operators to avoid his neighborhood. We lost one Mayor to snowappocalypse [sic], two would be an embarrassment. I offered to build a SNOWWATCH web page for the city…no bites yet.
If you’re a renter, it might be a good year to seek some housing near either a freeway station or light rail station, or at least on flat ground. The switch heaters that went in this spring, combined with running trains all night to prevent accumulation, should keep the trains running in the event of another snowpocalypse.
Also, we have two reports from the waterfront beauty pageant Wednesday. Cienna Madrid was fairly impressed, but Roger Valdez really wasn’t. A roundup of reactions here.
Darrel Bryan (Clipper Vacations CEO and PVA Chairman) with Governor Gregoire, David Mosely, and Paula Hammond -- WSDOT Photo
On September 9th the Passenger Vessel Association released its recommendations report for improved operations on Washington State Ferries. Governor Gregoire had requested that the panel conduct an informal audit and make preliminary suggestions. While many of the suggestions are sensible, such as replacing in-state bidding for capital projects with national bids, they also included a frustrating suggestion for cyclists. From page 88 of the report:
The Panel recommends that vehicles be unloaded ahead of bikes.
Safety is of the paramount importance with efficiency second. The Panel recommends that a trial project be undertaken to change the loading/unloading sequence with bicycles being loaded last and unloaded last. This allows better separation of vehicles and bicycles and gives the Mate more control over the space allocated to bikes. Bikes are also slower than cars and can slow the disembarkation of those they are in front of. By holding back bikes, it also avoids the need for bicyclists to move through the car deck with their bikes in order to get to the front of the vessel. By off loading after the vehicles, bikes will not be sharing the road at the same time as the disembarking vehicles, allowing for a margin of safety.
Forcing cyclists to wait an extra 10 minutes would significantly disincentivize the mode when foot passengers and vehicles would remain able to disembark immediately. Would Metro buses at Fauntleroy or Vashon wait the extra time in order to accommodate cyclists? Would the extra waiting time cause Bainbridge cyclists to switch to walking or driving? Beyond these inconveniences, cyclists would have to be on the vehicle deck breathing poorly-ventilated exhaust, posing a significant health risk and significantly diminishing the rider experience. For these and many other reasons, let’s hope that this is one suggestion they ignore.
Park(ing) day is all about re-imagining what our cities can look like. There are parklets spring up all over the city. Find one near you and check it out during your lunch break or after work. Hopefully the rain will hold off.
[Amalgamated Transit Union Local 587 president Paul] Bachtel said Metro isn’t like United Airlines, which needed wage concessions to stay in business. “They [drivers] don’t expect to give up wages, benefits, working conditions, when the transit agency could cut some of its services, and not take away pay.”
It should be noted that the issue really up for discussion isn’t outright wage cuts, but rather keeping minimum “cost-of-living” raises of 3% even when there is nearly no inflation, nor meaningful movement of the consumer price index, due to the recession. In other words, it’s expected that the cost-of-living will not increase much in coming years but the union president wants so-called “cost-of-living” increases — automatic pay raises — while tax revenues remain flat. It’s the union’s right to ask, but certainly the county has an obligation to get a good deal for the public. That’s balance is reflected in the spirit of the quote above: the ATU is asking for pay increases at the high cost of reduced bus service.
It’s about here in the discussion where we would usually choose our loyalties based on the question “Are bus drivers overpaid?” Or, are they paid too little? I don’t like to answer such leading questions, but a first answer has to be, “compared to what?” Do we look at peer agencies? Do we ask ourselves what a living wage is? And does a “living wage” include a house and a stay-at-home spouse? Or is renting an apartment still “living?” Those are complicated questions that no one, including me, is suited to answer for any other. I’m unprepared to make a value judgment about who “deserves” what pay. Most of us know, of course, that pay is earned; its first-order approximation is probably opportunity cost [1].
A small technical note: we’ve switched our comments systems to WordPress’ default threaded comments system, after a long time of using a plug-in.
We’re experimenting with the exact look of the comments, as well as the depth of threading we want to support. The goals are to make comments easier to follow and read.
Any suggestions in the comments are welcome.
Edit: Commenter may have to refresh the comments page a few times to see the appropriate styling.
$4.6m for S. 200th St. Station design passes the ST Capital Committee, because Julia Patterson is there for the vote this time. If more money materializes ST can finish the station by 2015.
ST doing public outreach on Northgate-Lynnwood mode and routing. At this point the options are wide open.
The Kemper Freeman et al lawsuit to kill East Link headed straight to the Washington Supreme Court, hearing today. Ben’s take from last year here. You can listen today here (scroll to noon).
City looking at BAT lanes on Aurora in Phinney/Greenwood, which would do great things for RapidRide E.
Weekday Link ridership declined slightly in August. The weekday average of 23,771 boardings was down 1.5% from July’s record count of 24,145. Sunday ridership declined a significant 7% (from 17,127 to 15,893) , while Saturday ridership was up by 4% (from 22,098 to 22,979).
While perhaps disappointing, most of us expected an August lull of just this sort. The cruise ship and general tourist markets were on the wane, and schools had not yet begun in earnest. Looking into the autumn, the smart money is on increased ridership in September and October to be followed by another leveling-off or decline in November.
It’s hard to nail down a specific definition of TOD, mostly because it can be so many things. However this video (part of a 1 hour show) from Arlington County (via GGW) shows development that without a doubt is TOD. Seattle needs to get over it’s fear of height if real TOD is ever going to be built here. I’m not saying we need skyscrapers around every Link station, but the fact the Beacon Hill station overlay zoning only called for an additional two floors over an area of four blocks is absolutely pitiful. That is not TOD.
The Design Refinements and Transit Connections Draft Recommendations Report was released to the public on Monday along with the white papers explaining how the ESSB 6392 Workgroup’s Technical Coordination Team came to their conclusions on each aspect. The final version of the report along with public comments will be submitted to the Governor and the Legislature on October 1. The public comment period runs from September 13 through September 24.
Today marks the twentieth anniversary of the Downtown Seattle Transit Tunnel. On September 15, 1990 at 5 am, Metro commenced bus service through the newly completed Downtown Seattle Transit Tunnel. The first routes to use the tunnel were the 71, 72, 73, 106 and 107. The 1.3-mile long tunnel with 5 unique stations was conceived in 1983 as an alternative to a 3rd Ave electric transit mall and cost $486 million. Construction began in 1987. 236 Breda dual-mode buses were purchased for the service. $1.5 million (1989) worth of public art was installed at stations.
In June of the same year: Trolleybuses returned to 3rd Ave after three years on 1st Ave during tunnel construction. The extension of the Waterfront Streetcar to the International District opened on June 23rd.
Not all routes served the tunnel from day one, it took almost two years for most of the routes that we know today to join the tunnel. In its first anniversary in 1991, the tunnel had 28,000 commuters a day and an estimated 6,200 additional people ride the buses during the day just to get around downtown. Ridership increased by 25% on Routes 71, 72 and 73, and by 22% on Route 150 between downtown and Auburn. The tunnel reduced travel times through downtown by more than half. A trip from Royal Brougham Way to Howell St used to take 20 minutes on the surface, now takes only 8 minutes through the tunnel. Later that year on December 8, the SODO busway opened, constructed for $4.5 million with federal funds from the I-90 project. On the February after, direct access ramps from the I-90 Express Lanes to the tunnel opened. These surface extensions to the tunnel allowed quicker and more reliable access from the south and east.
In September 2005, the tunnel closed for two years to prepare for light rail service as the original rails installed were not usable and with advances in light rail technology, namely low-floor cars. New signage, public address, and lighting systems were also installed.
According to Rochelle Ogershok with Metro, the tunnel now has 1,193 weekday bus trips, 725 Saturday bus trips, and 497 Sunday bus trips. Because of extended tunnel hours, there are now more riders and trips through the tunnel than before Link light rail opened. For most of its life, tunnel hours were 5 am to 7 pm on weekdays and 10 am to 6 pm on Saturday. After 2007, it was open weekdays only to 7 pm.
Metro doesn’t have any special event planned for this occasion but you can reminisce about the early days of the tunnel right here.
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