Sound Transit has released their May Ridership Report and Link is still going strong, up 11.9%.
Average daily ridership for Link in May was:
Other weekday modal ridership stats:
My charts below the fold: [Read more…]
Another initiative by Tim Eyman
Eighteen years ago, anti-tax activist Tim Eyman decimated funding for public transit with his first $30 car tab initiative, which eliminated the motor vehicle excise tax (MVET).
His latest initiative, I-947, once again proposes to replace the current MVET with a flat $30 car tab fee. The initiative is estimated to cost Sound Transit between $6.9 billion and $8.1 billion. By Permanent Defense’s count, this is Eyman’s sixth attempt to kill funding for transit.
Currently, car owners pay several different fees depending on where they live when renewing vehicle tabs. The Department of Licensing provides a calculator to estimate vehicle tab fees.
If I-947 passes it would roll back the standard fee to $30 and eliminate all MVET. It would end weight fees imposed by the state government, transportation benefit districts fees and all car tab taxes helping to fund Sound Transit, according to the initiative’s website. Under the initiative, car owners would pay a $30 annual fee. Weight fees and TBDs could be restored by voter approval.
The initiative would also eliminate a 0.3% tax on retail car sales that funds the state’s multimodal account. This account provides grants for regional mobility, rural mobility, special needs, and vanpools.
Although I-947 eliminates the only MVET in the state, it also requires any future MVET to use the Kelley Blue Book value to compute the tax. As Rep. Joe Fitzgibbon explained on STB, this technique cannot be bonded against and effectively rules it out as a funding tool for major capital projects.
On August 3rd, SDOT is hosting an open house for the Northgate Pedestrian/Bike bridge project:
At the open house:
- See the latest Northgate Ped/Bike Bridge design and get a sense of what it will be like to use the bridge.
- Learn about the route for the Northgate Neighborhood Greenway.
- Get information on other transportation projects and programs in the Northgate area.
- Talk with project staff and share feedback.
Join us
Thursday, August 3
5:30 — 7:30 PM (drop in any time)
Hampton Inn & Suites
9550 1st Ave NE, Seattle
This project is a culmination of years work by transit and walkability advocates, elected officials around the region, and people who live in the neighborhood. It will directly connect the region’s transit spine to an a college, a park, a business district oriented around medical services, and a still-relatively-affordable neighborhood with lots of multifamily housing. If you live nearby, or will use this bridge, show up to show your support, and to make sure the design will work for you.
Photo by Oran
Beginning last winter, you may have noticed platform decals in the Downtown Seattle Transit Tunnel attempting nudge new-ish Seattle rail riders to follow the universal etiquette of not blocking the door as people exit. That experiment is over. ST spokesperson Kimberly Reason:
The decals at Westlake were temporarily installed on a six-month trial period to see if they would help separate the bus riders from the Link riders, as we were experiencing crowding and delays at the DSTT platforms from riders gathering at the forward ends of the platforms. Our goal was to create efficiencies around boarding/alighting to ultimately improve performance. Additionally, riders with low vision noted that the high contrast signs at the door openings may be beneficial. The trial period ended last week.
Here’s what we found:
· No real performance efficiencies in dispersing riders across the length of the platform from using the decals were observed.
· Instead, with the roll-out of three-car Link trains, we observed riders naturally moving away from the forward platform and toward the rear for the opportunity to ride on the third car.
· We anticipate any remaining crowding issues will be resolved when buses are removed from the DSTT and between-car Barriers are applied across all DSTT stations next year or two.
Although it’s easy to exaggerate how perfect the etiquette is in other cities, the battle to help riders speed up their own ride continues.
This is an open thread.
Buses moving slow Flickr: clappstar
State Legislators have already approved the use of automated traffic cameras to monitor speeds and discourage drivers from running red lights. Why not also use this technology to ticket cars using transit-only lanes?
The efficiency of transit-only lanes hinges on keeping cars out. All it takes is a one impatient car blocking a bus to delay hundreds of commuters. Today, keeping the city’s transit-only lanes car free is contingent on the communal cooperation of drivers. This doesn’t always work too well, especially during rush hour when any inch gained is a win.
“The only way you get consistent enforcement of either bus-only lanes or block the box is automatic enforcement,” Scott Kubly, director of SDOT, told the Seattle Transit Blog during a podcast interview. “If you can build a driverless car I’m pretty sure we can figure out automatic enforcement of any type.”
Currently, police officers have to actually see the violation occur before a ticket can be written. Periodically the city conducts transit-only lane enforcement events, ticketing drivers using bus only lanes or blocking the box at intersections. But manual enforcement, not always practical nor constant, is time intensive, often requiring 6 to 8 police officers plus an area for vehicles to park that doesn’t block traffic while tickets are being written.
This is a guest post.
Last week SDOT released new designs and introduced legislation seeking funding for Roosevelt RapidRide. A culmination of two years of process, the Locally Preferred Alternative SDOT is taking to Seattle City Council, and soon thereafter the FTA, represents some wins and losses for transit riders compared to the design shown at last year’s open houses.
The most exciting news is that Roosevelt BRT, now officially called Roosevelt RapidRide, gets a lot closer to rapid, especially through SLU and the Denny Regrade. In addition to using the existing Stewart BAT Lanes southbound as previously proposed, SDOT intends to invest in new Transit Only Lanes on Virginia St northbound, creating a transit couplet between the 3rd Ave Transit Spine and SLU. Unfortunately, it appears that the transition in the Denny Triangle between the couplet and SLU, such as the short southbound segment on Boren Ave, will have the route go through mixed traffic.
In SLU, the plan is for BAT Lanes in both directions along Fairview Ave, from Valley St to Denny Way. This shared bus/bike lane is a huge improvement compared to last year’s concept that had the BRT route fight through mixed traffic by the Mercer Mess. Continuing the good news into Eastlake, the line is now slated to travel on Transit Only street/car lanes on Fairview Ave between Valley St and Yale Ave.
North of Yale Ave N, the line continues in mixed traffic as previously proposed through the rest of Eastlake and into North Seattle, splitting into a couplet, with queue jumps at unspecified intersections, though presumably similar to the ones explicitly mentioned last year. Importantly, the funding proposal sets the terminus by the future Roosevelt Light Rail station, with no extension from Roosevelt to Northgate in the near future, and SDOT still intends to electrify the route. For bicyclists, the project invests in protected bike lanes throughout Eastlake through Roosevelt, such as along 11th/12th Ave, Eastlake Ave, and parts of Fairview Ave.
The legislation will be heard by the Transportation Committee on July 18th at 2pm. Should the Full Council adopt the Locally Preferred Alternative and accompanying funding measure (this is separate from Move Seattle funds which is already secured), the City can go to the FTA this fall to seek additional grants, with an outcome next summer. If federal funding cannot be secured, the Roosevelt-Downtown HCT project will have to go back to the drawing board for revision. In the mean time, now is the chance to learn more about the project and engage elected officials as they formally consider Roosevelt BRT.
Edited map of Lynnwood Link with new station names (by author; original by Sound Transit)
On Thursday, the Sound Transit Capital Committee passed its recommended names for Lynnwood Link’s four stations, until now known as NE 145th, NE 185th, Mountlake Terrace, and Lynnwood. The recommendation will be up for final board approval later this month, giving the public a chance to comment one last time on the names.
The proposed names are as follows:
| Temporary Name | Public Suggestion | Recommended Name |
| NE 145th | Jackson Park | Shoreline South/145th |
| NE 185th | Shoreline | Shoreline North/185th |
| Mountlake Terrace Transit Center | Mountlake Terrace | Mountlake Terrace |
| Lynnwood Transit Center | Lynnwood Transit Center | Lynnwood City Center |
This is the first year of the City of Seattle’s new Democracy Voucher program, created by the City and passed in a 2015 referendum.
You should have received in the mail four vouchers, each worth $25 to a recipient candidate.
You can give as many of your vouchers as you want to each eligible candidate, including giving all four to one candidate, which may make a lot of sense this year.
Only city council candidates and city attorney candidates are eligible to receive democracy vouchers this year. The mayor’s race will be covered by the program starting in 2021. There are two council races on the ballot, in which STB has endorsed Teresa Mosqueda and Lorena González. González is widely expected to win easily. Mosqueda is in a very competitive contest.
Mosqueda’s website gives an address to which you can mail your democracy vouchers.
Answers to questions such as how to request replacement vouchers are available at the City’s website.
You are still free to donate money directly to candidate campaigns, up to $250, if the candidate is partipating in the program, or $500 if the candidate is not.
The primary election is Tuesday, August 1. You should have received your ballot by now. Drop boxes are open 24/7 until 8 pm on election day at many locations. If you send your ballot through the US Postal Service, be sure to affix first-class postage worth at least 49 cents. Accessible voting centers (open to all voters) are open at various locations during limited hours.
STB has also endorsed Jessyn Farrell for Mayor and made endorsements in various other races.
University Of Washington Link Light Rail Station Image: Lizz Giordano
Eastside mayors want Metro and Sound Transit to relocate bus stops to improve bus-rail transfers before implementing service changes. The proposed restructuring would funnel Eastside bus commuters heading downtown to light rail at the University of Washington Station. That transfer requires riders to cross the busy streets of Montlake Boulevard and/or Pacific Street or use an out of the way walkway to switch between modes of transportation.
“Increasing commute times by 20 minutes while creating more mobility downtown will only incentivize single occupancy vehicles to drive to downtown Seattle rather than stick with public transportation,” wrote the seven Eastside Mayors in a letter to Metro and Sound Transit.
The Mayors want bus stops relocated to be adjacent to the light rail station and mobility improvements through the Montlake Hub. STB’s own Adam Parast showed one way to accomplish this in 2015 (pictured below).
“Sound Transit is supportive of improvements to the transfer environment at UW. King County Metro owns the bus shelters, and they are in active conversations about this with the City of Seattle and UW,” wrote Rachelle Cunningham, a spokesperson for Sound Transit in an email.
Metro estimates transfers currently take anywhere from 6-11 minutes, depending on direction and time of travel.
“The service concepts we’ve introduced would increase frequency on many Eastside routes, which would help reduce the time that riders would have to wait at the stop,” wrote Scott Gutierrez, a spokesperson for Metro in an email.
He said Metro is considering a range of changes, including relocation of stops, extending bus shelters, providing off-board payment and improving signage.
Unlocking a Spin bike Image: Lizz Giordano
Two new bike shares will soon be rolling into town, participating in a pilot program with the city. Trying to succeed where Pronto failed, Spin and LimeBike have adopted a dockless system allowing riders to park just about anywhere. Bikes with the dockless system are self-locking: not even a bike rack or pole is necessary to secure bikes.
Both companies pointed to the limitations of bike share programs that rely on docking stations to secure bikes when asked why they think their bike share will succeed where Pronto failed.
“Spin is a lot more accessible and affordable than previous bike share programs,” said Randy Tovar, a market launcher with Spin.
Dockless models can serve a larger portion of the city and scale up much faster than systems that use docking stations, he added.
Image: Lizz Giordano LimeBike
“Pronto never got as broad as it should have,” said Gabriel Scheer, a bike commuter and director of strategic partnerships for LimeBike. He said many neighborhoods lacking Pronto docking stations made it inconvenient for riders to use the system.
With the dockless system, riders will no longer have to search for a nearby station at the end of rides to lock bikes, eliminating the geographical limitations Pronto faced.
“I’d love to see someone ride to Portland,” Scheer said. Spin was more cautious when asked how far riders could take the bikes, saying the bike share program was permitted by only the City of Seattle. But nothing will stop riders from leaving the city, except maybe cost.
Both companies charge $1 for a thirty-minute ride.
Setting itself apart, LimeBike, designed for specifically for Seattle, will give riders eight speeds to tackle the city’s hilly terrain, rather than Spin’s three.
“We had to go bigger,” Scheer said, “The bike was built for Seattle’s hills.”
This is an open thread.
These are Seattle Transit Blog’s endorsements for the August 1, 2017 primary elections outside Seattle. The primary is only relevant in races with more than two candidates, so we restrict our attention to those. As always, we choose candidates entirely based on their positions and record on transit and land use.
Manka Dhingra
45th Legislative District, Senate: Manka Dhingra supports the continued expansion of the regional transit network. Her main opponent, Republican party operative Jinyoung Lee Englund, is focused on “skyrocketing car tabs” and familiar but ill-defined promises to reduce traffic congestion. Lee Englund is likely to continue the current Senate majority’s attacks on Sound Transit if elected.
King County Executive: Dow Constantine.
Dow Constantine
It would take several pages to list all of Constantine’s accomplishments, and we would still have missed most of them. But just to be brief: ST3, ORCA LIFT, the multi-agency U-Link restructure, the end of Metro’s 40/40/20 rule that kept it from rolling out new service in Seattle, getting ST into the transit-oriented development and affordable housing business, … and the list goes on.
Constantine has no serious opposition, but we would be remiss in not honoring one of the most effective public servants King County has ever had.
Nancy Backus
Auburn Mayor: Nancy Backus is running for re-election. Sound Transit, Burlington Northern & Santa Fe, and the City of Auburn have been working together to build a third track in the BN&SF right-of-way (on which Sounder runs) through Auburn. Auburn and other regional commuters should be grateful Auburn has a leader at the helm who rolled out the red carpet for a third track instead of blocking it with red tape. Her main opponent is opposed to ST3.
Kirkland City Council, Position 7: Jon Pascal.
Pascal, having been appointed to the Council one year ago, is now running for a full-term. Pascal previously served a total of fourteen years on the city’s Transportation and Planning Commission. In private life, Pascal is a principal of a transportation planning company. He has been a leader on transit issues while on Council. Among his opponents, the more credible is Uzma Butte, who laudably advocates for more affordable housing and transit-oriented development. That’s welcome in increasingly unaffordable Kirkland, but we’re not sure any of the candidates would materially accelerate market-rate development. With complex transportation and transit implementations ahead, Pascal’s knowledge and experience will serve the city better.
Jeralee Anderson
Redmond City Council, Position 7: Jeralee Anderson emphasizes making Redmond safer and more accessible for pedestrians, bicycles and transit. Andersen is the co-founder of a company that works with government and private industry on green transportation projects. In sharp contrast, Jason Antonelli, her main opponent, has focused on auto traffic issues, viewing bike and pedestrian improvements as a distraction from faster car commute times. Predictably, he also opposed ST3 and has complained Downtown Redmond’s bike lanes and street grid repairs are not moving cars more quickly through city streets. Roy Captain, while less adamant than Antonelli, also puts too high a priority on “protecting” neighborhoods outside downtown and moving auto traffic.
by REP. JOE FITZGIBBON
Rep. Joe Fitzgibbon
The 2017 legislative session was a difficult, defensive session for transit. None of the Legislature’s transit advocates expected this after the unequivocal mandate for Sound Transit 3 in November 2016, but the combination of MVET sticker shock and inaccurate vehicle valuations forced us into difficult positions as we fought to fulfill the promise of a regional transit system. The battles often felt like losses at the time. But thanks to the intransigence of Senate Republicans dead-set on damaging Sound Transit, and the end of wasteful sales tax exemptions, we ended the session with more funding for core transit services, not less.
The debate over Sound Transit’s Motor Vehicle Excise Tax (MVET) authority was one of the most challenging parts of the session. Our exceptionally difficult vote disappointed many transit advocates back home. But by constraining that inevitable debate to a rational but hard bottom line, we managed to end the session with more wins for transit than losses.
The House passed HB 2201, which required that Sound Transit revise its MVET collections to reflect the vehicle values adopted by the 2006 Legislature (RCW 82.44.035), instead of the earlier valuation table from the 2015 transportation package. HB 2201 passed the House twice in a bipartisan 64-33 vote, including a “yes” vote from every legislator who represents the Sound Transit district.
The Republican Senate passed SB 5839. Rather than use RCW 82.44.035, it required the lower of either Kelley Blue Book values or the National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA) values. The catch is that a government agency cannot issue bonds against a revenue stream that is determined by a private party. The House bill used RCW 82.44.035 so it could still be bonded against – and the Senate used proprietary valuation schedules because Sound Transit couldn’t bond against these streams, impairing project delivery. Their bill also cut Sound Transit’s MVET authority from 1.1% (up from 0.3% before ST3) to 0.5%. This expressly sought to overturn the will of 717,000 voters in central Puget Sound, 54% of the total, by forcing drastically lower revenues and making the completion of the regional transit system impossible. This bill passed three times in a strictly partisan 25-24 vote. It only passed because of overwhelming support from eastern Washington Republicans whose constituents were unaffected by the ST3 MVET.
We supported the House Bill for these reasons:
1. Even representing a district that overwhelmingly supported ST3 (59%) and will enjoy one of ST3’s marquee projects, I heard from a huge number of constituents alarmed by their new car tab fees. Some of this was sticker shock, but many had legitimate concerns when they received a car tab bill and saw that their car’s assessed value was unambiguously more than they knew it to be worth. Many House Democrats were concerned about this as a fairness issue. It is not accurate that legislators were unaware of the different valuation tables (indeed, even the Republican Senate defeated Sen. Ericksen’s amendment to the 2015 transportation package to reject the valuation table that Sound Transit ended up using). However, I was surprised by the vehemence with which my constituents rebelled against the higher valuation table in the law.
2. The lost revenue for Sound Transit from HB 2201 was estimated at about $78m per year. The lost revenue from SB 5839 would have been roughly ten times that. It was clear to pro-transit House Democrats that a bill without our support had the potential to contain a greater revenue loss than HB 2201. We made sure, in supporting the bill, that HB 2201 was a take-it- or-leave- it offer. The House would reject any bill that lowered the MVET rate below the voter-approved rate, required a valuation table that precluded selling bonds, or that cut revenue below what HB 2201 did. The House adhered to that promise, which wasn’t enough for the Senate.
3. The other condition of our support was to prioritize the completion of the regional light rail system. Legislators from end-of- the-line districts like me, including members from Tacoma, Everett, Ballard, and Kirkland, wanted to do everything possible to ensure that the MVET bill did not impede the completion of light rail promised to our districts in ST3. So we included a provision requiring that if Sound Transit had to cut any projects as a result of their decreased MVET authority, light rail projects would be cut last, and parking projects would be cut first. None of us were thrilled with this prioritization, because there are worthwhile parking projects in the package. However, the priority for us is the completion of the regional light rail system.
This is a sponsored post
Seattle Children’s nationally-renowned Transportation & Sustainability Department is seeking a Transportation Planner who specializes in data analysis, shuttle system design, and strategic planning. In conjunction with colleagues, this position is responsible for designing, planning, and implementing TDM strategies and programs that support the organization’s goal of reducing drive alone commute trips to Seattle Children’s main hospital campus and other CTR-affected worksites.
The ideal candidate is proficient with ArcGIS, has knowledge of TDM principals and strategies, has experience designing and implementing shuttle service, experience managing data and preparing data for decision-makers. We are looking for an individual who is able to work independently and as a member of a team, who is improvement- and performance-oriented. Proficiency with Tableau data visualization software and Stata or comparable data analysis software is a plus.
Read the full job description and apply online. The position will remain open until filled. More information below.
On a cloudless Thursday morning, Community Transit was joined by U.S. Senator Patty Murray, Boeing Vice President Elizabeth Lund, State Senator Marko Liias, representatives from WSDOT, and members of the press at a corner of the Boeing Everett assembly plant to break ground on the Swift Green Line. The groundbreaking happened at the future site of Seaway Transit Center, which will serve the Boeing plant and has been under construction for several weeks.
Teresa Mosqueda
Thanks to a districting initiative from 2013, both city council at-large positions are up again this year after 2-year terms, with the winners getting full four-year terms. The district positions are in the middle of four-year terms, and all come up at once again in 2019. Some voters will not see a competitive city election on the ballot again until 2021.
The open-seat race for Position 8 on the Seattle City Council has drawn several talented candidates. In this wide field, Teresa Mosqueda stands out as uniquely prepared to deal with the details around getting more housing, and more affordable housing, built.
Mosqueda is known as a union leader and lobbyist, so it was a refreshing surprise to see her push back against ideological and cynical anti-development calls to require 25% mandatory “affordable housing” set-asides in new developments. She knows where to find the balance. She will neither give away too much to neighborhood associations that have been historically adversarial toward renters (of which she happens to be one), nor to developers. This skill set is what is desperately needed on the council right now, while the City tackles the ever-worsening housing crisis brought on by draconian land use regulations.
While Mosqueda supports the recommendations of the Housing Affordability and Livability Agenda (HALA) advisory committee, she wants to go further, and allow ADUs and DADUs in single-family-zoned neighborhoods.
On transportation, Mosqueda supports more connected sidewalks, more protected bike lanes, using the city’s bonding authority to speed up light rail planning and construction, and getting more cars off the road. She correctly views this as a public health issue. Her emphasis on the public health aspects of transportation and land use is a wonderful way to transcend purely economic trade-offs regarding, for example, the cost of driving.
An honorable mention goes to Hisam Goueli. He accurately articulates the tradeoff between developer mandates and new construction. Understanding this tension is the key to making good policy going forward. At the forum, his initial statement on transportation read like a summary of Human Transit. He is not a joke candidate, having raised $30,000. However, our sense is Mosqueda is better positioned in this competitive primary, and somewhat more likely to be effective on the Council.
Lorena González
Lorena González is running for re-election to Position 9. While she has several opponents on the ballot, she has little real competition. González waltzed into office by backing HALA while her previous opponent attacked HALA on NIMBY grounds that the electorate apparently found distasteful. Traces of that debate may still flare up this time around, but hopefully we can move forward. González has moved forward, approving long-awaited upzones around light rail stations, with more to come. Throwing her off the council in favor of a neighborhood activist would put these desperately-needed upzones in jeopardy.
And, oh yeah, she supports promoting alternatives to the automobile, including sidewalks, bikes, and ST3.
The STB Editorial Board currently consists of Martin H. Duke, Dan Ryan, and Brent White.