A recap of the Ballard Link controversy that boiled over at the forum Monday. These videos are from three months ago.

Light rail to Ballard shouldn’t be this hard. (The House of Transit)

Why is building transit so expensive anyway? (Yet Another Urbanist)

I’m reaching the end of the video backlog again. Do you have suggestions for other videos or channels to feature?

This is an open thread.

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Ballots for the November election have been sent to voters in King County. One item on the ballot for voters in Seattle is Proposition 1: Seattle Transit Measure. This renews and expands the Seattle Transit Measure that is set to expire in early 2027. The 0.3% sales tax is expected to generate $138 million per year that will fund 280,000 bus trips in Seattle each year for 10 years, 100,000 more bus trips than currently funded. It would also fund 22,000 free ORCA cards for low-income, elderly, and families with young children, maintain support for Seattle’s streetcar lines, fund spot improvements to keep buses moving, and help expedite permits and inspections for Link expansion projects in Seattle. Vote Yes to help fund transit in Seattle.

Continue reading “Friday Roundtable: Vote Yes on Prop 1 for More Buses!” | 65 comments

Much like route 550 was to Bellevue, route 545 has been Redmond’s workhorse route. Redmond has a diverse set of transit options fanning out in every direction, even before it had the distinction of being a Link terminus. But the main regional service has always been route 545, which connects downtown Redmond to downtown Seattle. However, as with many ST express corridors, route 545 was intended to be an interim service until rail reaches Redmond. Route 545 was always planned on being discontinued with the start of East Link service to Seattle, with the 2 Line taking over the entirety of both routes 545 and 550. The original plan (developed as part of the first iteration of King County Metro’s East Link Connections plan) deleted the 545 and 550, with some of the freed up service hours being used to make the 542 frequent and replace 545 service to Bear Creek P&R. Route 554 (later renumbered 556) was also planned to be moved to Bellevue to fill a gap in service on Bellevue Way left by the removal of route 550. Former riders of these routes either take a more frequent bus to connect the 2 Line, or can just take the 2 Line on its own.

Continue reading “Route 545 doesn’t save as much time as you think” | 87 comments

Dan Strauss invited Sound Transit board members, city officials, and state officials to a Ballard Link Extension (BLE) Community Forum Monday to provide the public with information on the Ballard Link extension plans. The Nordic Museum’s auditorium was packed with residents from Ballard and along the route as well as from the Eastside and even Tacoma. After short opening remarks from the officials, Sound Transit CEO Constantine introduced Brad Owen (acting Chief Delivery Officer, former Los Angeles Metro), Lauren Matthias (who joined the BLE team as Project Director from Vancouver’s Broadway SkyTrain) and Dan Turner (long time BLE Project Manager). Then Dan Strauss took questions from the audience.

While many aspects were discussed, it became clear that Sound Transit does not envision any major changes but is focusing on reducing the cost of the project as envisioned. They are hoping Olympia will enact increasing debt allowance (by borrowing for 75 years instead of 40, which effectively reduces debt burden by $1b) and a better federal funding environment (faster grants).

Continue reading “Ballard Link Community Forum” | 82 comments

News and commentary from the past week or so.

Survey: Community Transit wants your input on Swift Gold by November 15.

News:

• Despite Pushback, Updated RapidRide R Plans Include Scant Changes (The Urbanist); meanwhile, Metro Matters’s headline is “Executive Zahilay Moves to Accelerate Metro’s RapidRide R Line“.
• State Lawmaker, SDOT Director Clash Over Aurora Avenue Overhaul (The Urbanist).
• RapidRide I Line construction updates (Metro Matters).
• Metro receives national award for innovative paratransit map (Metro Matters).
• Get ready for major changes at Canyon Park Park & Ride in Bothell (CT News).
• Another option to pay for parking coming to Seattle with new “text to pay” feature (SDOT Blog)
• Housing Accountability Act Puts Tiny Beaux Arts Village in the Spotlight (The Urbanist).
• Seattle Social Housing Developer Advances First Construction Project (The Urbanist); also in The Stranger, on KUOW, the Capitol Hill Seattle Blog, and The Seattle Times ($; free via SPL).
• Addressing the Growth Management Hearings Board Decision and Creating a Livable Seattle for All (The Daily Plan It Blog).

Continue reading “Midweek Roundup: clash over Aurora” | 56 comments

“Neighborhood Residential” (previously called “Single-Family”) is the most common zoning type in Seattle. It makes up about 2/3 of the land zoned for development in the city. This is where we have the greatest potential for improving population density and affordability in Seattle. Here is a proposal for simple changes that could make a huge difference. This zoning type used to be three minimum lot sizes. Now there’s only one: 5,000 square feet. Along with lowering the size limit for new lots, other rules are now a bit more liberal. While these changes are laudable, they are still complicated and aren’t as liberal as what Spokane has. I believe we can do better.

Continue reading “Changing the Zoning for most of Seattle” | 68 comments

In 2004 California released an excellent service-led plan to expand its state rail network, both the high-speed rail projects and other corridors and a few BRT connectors. This video by nandert goes in-depth on why service-led planning is an important paradigm all agencies should use (5:33), the benefits of California’s plan, and how the governing boards would need major structural changes and reforming their priorities to actually make it happen this well.

He defines service-led planning as “Start by determining where the transit demand and need is, and tailor the plan to meet that demand.” In other words, determining how much of what kind of service each corridor needs. Then draw up cost estimates for the resulting lines to operators (agencies). The California plan specifies the rail/bus mode and frequency, but you could also leave the mode for a later step before assigning them to agencies, as Jarrett Walker does.

The difference between this and most transit planning is, corridors are chosen to meet the bulk of mobility/trip needs, without certain city/county jurisdictions having undue influence to override these for demands that contradict them. It also puts frequency first in the spec rather than leaving is as an afterthought, so the public can see what minimum frequency the entire network or each project will have so that they can see what their experience will be like.

This is an open thread.

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The 2 Line will be replaced by shuttle buses Saturday and Sunday between South Bellevue and Chinatown/International District. The shuttles will run every 10-15 minutes and serve every station. The link has the bus stop locations; the Judkins Park stops are on Rainier Avenue under I-90. The 1 Line will increase to every 8 minutes to mitigate the loss of westside 2 Line service. The shuttles will run every 10-15 minutes and serve every station. The link has the bus stop locations; the Judkins Park stops are on Rainier Avenue under I-90.

Mike Lindblom in the Seattle Times got some background information on the work:

Sound Transit has operated at reduced speeds of around 40 mph at Mercer Island…, spokesperson Henry Bendon said.

This weekend, crews will install additional supports for overhead power rails, that are attached to the underside of Mercer Island lids (commonly called tunnels), to make those parts more stable. Last winter in test runs, electric arcing appeared between power rails — which serve the same purpose as the familiar overhead catenary wires throughout the network — and the trains at high speed, Bendon said.

Despite that anomaly, project staff chose to open the cross-lake and Mercer Island tracks on schedule, and finally they’re reinforcing the overhead equipment.

“We would like to get the speed back up to a full 55 mph,” Bendon said. He cautioned it probably will take one more weekend of work to get the job done.

I-405 will also be closed in downtown Bellevue, so expect more traffic on I-5 and the bridges.

No Kings will march on Saturday at 1:15pm from Cal Anderson Park to Seattle Center. The focus this time is on increasing voter turnout. This will likely fill Link trains between noon and 3pm, with only a few standing spaces available if that. A lot of people come from the Eastside: they’ll have to take the shuttle or other bus routes like Metro 255 or 270, or ST Express 542 or 545. (Yes, the 542 runs on Saturdays.) Hint: from Judkins Park station you can transfer to Metro route 8 to both endpoints of the march.

There will also be the usual sports and events events like the Sounders on Saturday at 7:30pm.

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On Wednesday, King County Executive Girmay Zahilay transmitted RapidRide R Line alignment legislation to the King County Council. The R Line will travel between Rainier Beach station and downtown Seattle on Rainier Ave when it opens in 2032. In August, Metro asked the public for feedback on an initial alignment proposal. While many support the project, the planned removal of several existing Route 7 stops drew widespread criticism from Rainier Valley residents, transit advocates, and disability advocates.

In response to this feedback, the latest plan restores the stops on Rainier at Bayview St and State St/Grand St. The King County Council will discuss and vote on the R Line’s alignment over the next few weeks. This will establish the route’s path and general station locations. Additional project components, such as transit priority infrastructure, new crossings, and sidewalk improvements, will be finalized in later project stages. Executive Zahilay has proposed front-loading the project’s budget in an effort to potentially move up the R Line’s opening date.

Continue reading “Friday Roundtable: Two RapidRide R Line Stops Restored” | 97 comments