Random Thoughts on the Downtown Transit Tunnel

Posted on by Frank Chiachiere

This post originally appeared on Orphan Road.

My commute patterns shifted a bit last month, with the result that I’m now riding from downtown to the UW two nights a week, using the bus tunnel and riding the 71/2/3/4 express to get there. This being the week that we break ground on University Link, it seemed like an appropriate time to reflect on the route, and some thoughts about the tunnel generally that have crossed my mind while riding:

(1) First of all, the tunnel rocks. Can we just take a minute and think about the awesomeness of a grade-separated, transit-only right-of-way through downtown? Infrastructure investments like this pay dividends for generations to come. Nicely done, 1980s Seattle.

(2) While the express trip from downtown to the UW is pretty snappy, it’s hampered by (a) the need to wind its way across Roosevelt Ave, and (b) the fact that the I-5 express lanes only run Northbound for part of the day. Obviously, light rail will make this better.

(3) Capacity is a problem. By rush hour, the express buses to the U-District are so packed they often can’t take on any more passengers at Westlake. They’re running as frequently as possible; the only real solution is higher-capacity transit. It can’t come soon enough.

(4) The lack of cell phone coverage (well, AT&T anyway) in the tunnel is frustrating. I’ve gotten so addicted to One Bus Away, that I feel naked and helpless waiting for a bus without cell phone reception. It should be pretty straightforward to post real-time bus arrival information in the tunnel. It would be nice to see that once the buses get true on-board GPS.

(5) It takes a while to get from the street down to the platform, at least at University Street and Westlake. I feel like I need to think more than I should, plot my route. There should be clearer signage and a more direct path down to the platforms. Obviously it would be easier if the platform was in the center and the buses came up alongside, but that’s not really possible given the location of the driver (one more disadvantage of BRT!).

Anyway — just some thoughts. I’m sure there will be more between now and 2016.

News Round-Up

Posted on by Andrew Smith
Tacoma Link at night
Tacoma Link, photo by Oran
  • WSDOT and the BC provincial government are back in talks about a second daily Amtrak Cascades run from Seattle to Vancouver. The sticking point is still who’s going to pay the CAD 1500 per day for border services in Canada.
  • Robert F. Kennedy Jr. spoke in Seattle Friday about a “green future” for the economy. He praised Mayor Nickels, saying “His leadership is unequalled among mayors across the country.” The article’s an interesting read, and even global warming deniers must admit that we’d be better off spending the $16 billion a year we psend on petroleum in this state on other things.
  • This awesome opinion piece praises President Obama for his investment in intercity rail and echos something I’ve been saying for a while, that transit makes great stimulus. I have been happy with President Obama on transit so far, though I think we need more long-term investment in both transit and intercity rail.
  • I don’t have much to add to this story about the attempts to build a transit center in Downtown Boise, but I think the way small cities like Boise deal with transit is going to have a huge effect on their long-term desirability: gas isn’t going to stay cheap forever.

Metro Unveils New Snow Information System

Posted on by Martin H. Duke
Image from SLOG
Image from SLOG

Metro is unveiling a new adverse weather alert paradigm.  A rollout during a weekend storm gives them a chance to work out a the kinks without the pressure of a weekday morning commute.

There will be a twitter feed, allowing low-bandwidth dissemination of information to a wide range of mobile devices.  However, in the past the bottleneck has been a lack of bandwidth for hundreds of drivers improvising reroutes to alert headquarters about these ad hoc changes.

To solve this problem, Metro is going to leverage the  King County alert blog for this purpose.  The idea is that riders can comment on blog entries, thus alerting other riders to what’s going on with their route.  After all, the bandwidth of commercial cellular systems far exceeds what Metro has, and it’s probably best to have a more official place for this than an STB snow day thread.

This is all a stopgap before the arrival of bus GPS, but with the budget situation what it is that might be a while.  This is a creative way for Metro to collect information, and I’m proud to say that this blog and its readers helped to point the way.

Baby Talgo

Posted on by Brian Bundridge
Mini Me?
Mini Me?

Going through my photos, I found a rather interesting item. While this has grown a few cars, this was a common site while being moved around in the then tiny Amtrak Coach Yard in SODO.

This was part of a set for a while that was a “double” talgo set when Amtrak was combining 2 train sets for extra service.

ST Link Testing and Updates

Posted on by Brian Bundridge
Link near S 133rd Street
Link near S 133rd Street

I managed to head out and get some photos of Link doing some testing today and uploaded it to my Smugmug account.

Link normally does testing starting on the mornings and goes until 8pm. As of late, the trains have been running between Tukwila Station and Rainier Beach Station. They are doing full speed testing and operator training. It does appear that the operators are now on their own. I don’t know if or when they will start testing between Rainier Beach Station and Mt. Baker Station but I would be safe to assume that this happens on certain days as all of the fencing was open which is normally closed and secured.

Today’s setup was One 3 car train, One single car train, and Two 2 car trains. The 8 LRV’s have been at Tukwila Station for the past couple of months.

Operator testing was also going on between the O&M and Stadium Station with single car trains. I’m not sure if this group goes into the tunnel after it is closed to buses. If you can’t make it to the South end of the line, definitely check out the North end of the line and you’ll see the LRV’s in action.

As for updates ;

The second roof truss has been installed at Sea-Tac Airport Station. They have been very aggressive with the construction on the station. OCS poles have been installed between Tukwila Station and Sea-Tac Airport Station. Wiring is all that is left between the 2 stations.

According to Adam, the great blue wall is down around Beacon Hill Station. I didn’t get a chance to confirm but I will check it out tomorrow before the snow hits.

The final bit of wiring on the initial segment is the Beacon Hill Tunnel. The Northbound wiring is almost completed but the Southbound hasn’t been started yet. Judging from my last update to now, its taken a little over 2 months to get the work done which is very surprising considering the Portland MAX Green Line has virtually all been completed already.

I am looking forward to seeing all of the answers to the incredible questions you all have asked!

University Link Construction Begins

Posted on by Eric Butler

University Link GroundbreakingPhoto by flickr user acencini

How’s that for “shovel ready”? Sound Transit broke ground today for University Link, the extension of light rail from Downtown Seattle through Capitol Hill to the University of Washington at Husky Stadium. Initial work involves utility relocation, making way for station and tunnel excavation scheduled to begin late this year and last approximately three years.

The groundbreaking marked the beginning of the end of the 1996 Sound Move plan, and was a day many who worked on this original plan thought would never come. Today’s milestone is certainly something to celebrate.

When completed, U-Link will offer a seven minute ride between Downtown Seattle and the University, and Sound Transit estimates the U-Link line alone will add an incredible 70,000 daily boardings to the system by 2030. Martin also mentioned yesterday that bringing light rail further north offers many opportunities to improve bus service for the area.

In the shorter term, University Link will generate an estimated much-needed 2,900 direct construction jobs and 22,800 other direct and indirect jobs as result of economic activity generated by the project.

Even though I’m extremely excited for July when Central Link opens, I already can’t wait for 2016!

Your Questions About Link Answered

Posted on by Andrew Smith
VIP_murray_10_08
Link Light Rail

Last year I asked readers for questions about Seattle streetcars and Rapid Ride, and with Link opening in just four short months, I imagine even the most regular reader of this blog still has some Link Light Rail questions. So if you do, leave them in the comments and I’ll get answers from Sound Transit.  I’ll ask the questions Monday morning, so you have until Sunday night to put questions into the comments.

University Link Groundbreaking Tomorrow

Posted on by Martin H. Duke

For those of you who have the time or hang out near the University, Friday afternoon holds a special treat for you:

University Link Groundbreaking

March 06, 2009
2:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.
Husky Stadium

Sound Transit
Sound Transit

The importance of starting to actually turn some earth is difficult to overestimate.  Once capital expenditures start being expended the logic of sunk costs makes it harder and harder for various public nuisances to stop the project.

The ridership on U-Link will be astronomical, and the increase in quality-of-ride over buses will be especially large.  University Link (and North Link after it) will also provide many opportunities for elimination, consolidation, truncation, or reduction in capacity of Metro bus routes, easing their long-term operating budget crisis.  This is a big moment for the region.

Clarification: Judy Clibborn’s Dirty Fingerprints

Posted on by Ben Schiendelman

Clarification: The funds for R8A have been taken out of the 2009 budget and moved into a far future budget. Ben in this post is discussing the removal of the funds from the 2009 budget.

R8A still does not have enough funding to be completed. This state project is necessary for light rail on the Eastside to open on schedule. Adding two-way HOV across I-90 will also immediately boost the speed of buses during rush hour. We implore Representatives Eddy and Clibborn to move money for I-90 Two-Way HOV Stages 2 and 3 back to the original funding time line.

Original post: Let’s have a close look at that economic stimulus bill from the state legislature, shall we?

Looks like it passed, great, that means money for all sorts of projects…

Wait just a minute. What’s that amendment (PDF)? It’s from Representative Judy Clibborn (D-Mercer Island), whose constituents voted for light rail over the I-90 bridge?

Oh, I see, it screws over light rail across I-90. Again. From section 304:

11 (3) Within the amounts provided in this section, (($1,895,000))
12 $11,363 of the transportation partnership account–state appropriation,
13 (($2,147,000)) $505,099 of the motor vehicle account–federal
14 appropriation, and (($10,331,000)) $11,031,179 of the transportation
15 2003 account (nickel account)–state appropriation are for project
16 109040T as identified in the LEAP transportation document referenced in
17 subsection (1) of this section: I-90/Two Way Transit-Transit and HOV
18 Improvements – Stage 1.

She doesn’t miss a beat. Apparently, for her, the interests of a few rich folks who have whispered in her ear overwhelms the interests of the majority of her district. That’s right, $2,825,359 suddenly gone from I-90 Two Way Transit and HOV improvements, or “R8A” – the one state project we’re dependent on to build East Link.

In fact, we’re ending up with almost $700,000 less than we had before the federal stimulus money.

Thanks, Judy! We appreciate that you’ve been bought and paid for by a few rich constituents – using the express lanes as single occupancy Mercedes lanes into the city is a great use of our infrastructure. Wouldn’t it be nice if you were replaced with a legislator who actually represented the district you’re supposed to represent, instead of taking money away from projects that help your constitutents? I wonder what, say, the Bellevue Downtown Association thinks of this?

And people blame Seattle for not being able to get anything done. Whenever we do, the state kneecaps us.