April 2009 – Page 8 – Seattle Transit Blog

What is Light Rail?

April 13, 2009April 15, 2009 by Andrew Smith

Route 48 and Central Link — 48 and Link, photo by Oran

Cap’n Transit described diesel multiple units (DMU) as “light rail” in a post about the Federal Railroad Administration’s relaxing of safety rules that mostly prevented DMUs from operating on freight lines. A DMU is a passenger rail car with a built-in diesel engine, so it doesn’t need to be pulled by a dedicated locomotive. Similarly, an electric multiple unit, or EMU is a passenger car with a built in electric motor; all Link cars are EMUs. The Cap’n Transit post struck me as odd: I had never heard of DMUs describe das “light rail” before. It got me thinking: what exactly does “light rail” mean?

Continue reading “What is Light Rail?”

Why can’t I take a shuttle to the Mariners game?

April 13, 2009April 13, 2009 by Andrew Smith

You may remember that George Bush, Mary Peters, et al. implemented an immensely stupid rule that transit agencies cannot provide game-day service to sporting events if any private operator is interested in providing service. It doesn’t matter whether a private operator actually has a contract to provide service, as long as one is interested in bidding, public transit agencies cannot provide the service.

Fine, but Bush hasn’t been president since January, and there are still no buses for Mariners games. (H/T to Frank Friend) Hey Obama, LaHood, can I get a bus to a baseball game yet for chrissakes?

On a vaguely related note, I went to a game at Hiroshima’s brand-new Mazda Stadium. The Hiroshima Toyo Carp beat the Chunichi Dragons 2-0 (Kenta Maeda threw a shutout on his 21st birthday and went 3 for 4 from the plate). The stadium is beautiful, and what’s especially cool is that you can see Shinkansen, normal JR trains and Hiroshima’s streetcars all from the stadium, since it’s right next to Hiroshima station. Pretty cool! For some reason, in my mind at least, trains and baseball just go together.

What is Active Traffic Management?

April 11, 2009April 12, 2009 by Adam Bejan Parast

Active Traffic Management (ATM) is cutting edge (at least in the US) implementation of Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS). So then what is ITS? ITS is the application of technology (sensor, communication, processing, and dissemination) to the transportation field. It is an umbrella term that includes many specific technology such as Transit Signal Priority or Advanced Parking Management Systems.

Continue reading “What is Active Traffic Management?”

Pay Parking for Sounder?

April 11, 2009April 11, 2009 by Andrew Smith

This should make Martin happy. Sound Transit is soliciting bids for a study to determine whether park and rides on the Sounder South line could be pay parking. Many of the lots are full, and instituting a charge may encourage people to carpool, take the bus, or ride their bikes to the stations rather than drive. Via the DJC. H/T to Ryan.

Guest Post Series: Counting Down to Link

April 10, 2009October 23, 2009 by Guest Contributor

by GREG NICKELS, Mayor of Seattle and Chair of Sound Transit Board

bassett_lr_planning4

There are those who say the debate over light rail in Seattle began in November of 1851, with the landing of the Denny party at Alki. Most, however, point to the defeat of the 1968 and 1970 Forward Thrust mass transit bond issues (did you know Seattle’s federal match went to Atlanta to build MARTA?) as the time when political courage failed and mass transit first became political road-kill for a generation.

My involvement began in 1988, when two young County Councilmembers (Cynthia Sullivan and me) sponsored an advisory ballot asking King County voters whether we should plan for, finance and build a light rail system with construction to start in 1995 and the first stations to open in 2000. That November nearly 70% of the voters said yes and broke the political logjam created with the defeat of Forward Thrust in 1968 & 1970.

Following the 1988 election the Times ran a Brian Bassett cartoon showing a forlorn figure on a hand pump rail car with the name “Light Rail Planning”. The forlorn figure is saying “Well…It’s a start” – I purchased the original from Brian and have posted it here.

The long awaited (!!!) line that began with the 1988 Advisory Ballot opens this summer. Sound Transit opens Tukwila, Rainier Beach, New Holly, Columbia City, Mount Baker, Beacon Hill, SODO, Stadium District, ID, Pioneer Square and 2 Downtown Stations in fewer than 100 days!

To celebrate this history making milestone I will be posting frequently with facts, figures, a little history and a few photos (maybe even a map or two) as we count down to opening day.

House Funds R8A, Sets Stage for East Link Negotiations

April 10, 2009April 10, 2009 by John Jensen

Earlier this month we asked readers to reach out to legislators to make sure that Link light rail to the Eastside was able to be delivered on schedule. The proposed budget had stripped funding work on two-way HOV lanes across I-90 (called R8A), work which is necessary to build East Link on schedule. It looks like your emails worked!

The House came through today and funded R8A by an amendment (pdf) offered by Rep. Clibborn (D-Mercer Island). Clibborn, chair of the Transportation Committee, had earlier shifted funding away from this budget but told Seattle Transit Blog that her change of heart came about when she “found out that we needed to do the engineering in this budget in order not to get behind on the R8A ramp.”

Also adopted was Rep. Simpson’s amendment clarifying the negotiating process (pdf) for light rail use of the I-90 center lanes. This amendment was offered in contrast to dramatic language in the proposed budget which excluded Sound Transit from the valuation of those lanes. Simpson’s (D-47th) amendment brings Sound Transit in the process, states that negotiations on these lanes must conclude this year, and doesn’t prevent WSDOT from signing the final EIS. A much better piece of legislation is the result. (We’ll have more on these lanes in the coming weeks.)

This blog has long made the case that Rep. Clibborn has long been opposed to Link crossing I-90, so we hope that this is the first sign of a House that is friendlier toward transit — perhaps due to advocacy pressure. One legislator described our outreach campaign as “a deluge of emails set off by bloggers,” but we think it’s important that transit advocates let the state know how important voter-approved light rail projects are to the region.

UW Commuting Costs May Increase

April 10, 2009April 10, 2009 by Martin H. Duke

University of Washington Commuter Services is proposing a drastic increase in the cost of the ubiquitous U-PASS.

The monthly cost to students would nearly double from $16.67 to $33. For staff, cost would increase from $23.33 to $40/month.

As the U-PASS allows unlimited rides on Metro, Sound Transit, Community Transit, Everett Transit, Pierce Transit, and Kitsap Transit, this is still a tremendous deal. An equivalent PugetPass would cost $171 and not get you anything on Kitsap Transit. Of course, in practice most students and staff don’t take the Sounder all the way from Tacoma (maximum fare of any non-ferry transit trip), and therefore would purchase a cheaper pass. A peak-hour commuter within Seattle would pay $72 for his or her pass, and $80 after the scheduled February 2010 Metro fare increase.

SOV parking passes would also increase from $95 to $120 a month, and the daily maximum in the lots would climb from $12 to $15.

The proposed increase is a result of widespread fare increases, a higher payment to Metro based on ridership, city parking taxes, and an effort to manage demand due to the loss of some campus parking.

There will be a public hearing Wednesday, April 22, from 12:30-2:30pm in Room 310 of the HUB. There is also a web comment form.

Seattle Times Gets The Water Taxi

April 10, 2009April 10, 2009 by Andrew Smith

The Seattle Times has picked up on the fact that the West Seattle Water Taxi (aka the Elliot Bay Water Taxi) is one of the best and cheapest travel/outdoors recreation activities in the city, by putting information about the taxi in the “Travel/Outdoors” section of the paper. The water taxi runs from Pier 55 to Seacrest Park in West Seattle, a couple hundred feet from Alki Beach. It’s $3 or free with a Metro Pass. It’s an awesome activity to do with out-of-town guests, and an event better one to send your out-of-town guests on when you are at work or just want them out of your hair for a day.

I’ve got a couple of out-of-town guest groups crashing with me this summer, and I am definitely sending them on a trip to West Seattle via the Taxi.

Signs of Coming Linkpocalypse

April 9, 2009April 10, 2009 by Andrew Smith

Ticket Vending Machine in Westlake Station — Ticket Vending Machine, Westlake Center

Apparently, they have installed TVM’s at Westlake Station (I’m still in Japan so I cannot verify). Here’s photographic proof, via Brian Bundridge. The photo was taken with a cellphone, so apologies for the poor quality. Are you excited yet?

Michigan Central Terminal to Be Demolished?

April 9, 2009April 10, 2009 by Andrew Smith

Michigan Central Station — Photo by ...Wes

The Detroit City Council has voted to raze the along-abandoned Michigan Central Terminal in Detroit. Click here for more images of the beautiful Beaux-Arts building. King Street and Union Station – both beautiful – look like barns compared to MCT. Very sad. And people in Seattle get their knickers in a knot over a Denny’s.

Here’s a site full of photos of abandoned buildings, including glorious art-deco skyscrapers. Here’s a photo essay of 100 abandoned homes in Detroit (there are tens of thousands of them), including a couple of formerly lovely Edwardian townhomes.

Another great train station was destroyed in 1963, the Old Neo Classical Pennsylanvia Station in Midtown Manhattan (more photos here). That was under different circumstances, the train station was stilling being used, though ridership was down at the time. A New York Times Editorial lamented then:

Any city gets what it admires, will pay for, and, ultimately, deserves. Even when we had Penn Station, we couldn’t afford to keep it clean. We want and deserve tin-can architecture in a tinhorn culture. And we will probably be judged not by the monuments we build but by those we have destroyed.

I think this is one of those times for judgement.