November 2009 – Page 3 – Seattle Transit Blog

PNW Amtrak Thanksgiving trains update

November 21, 2009November 21, 2009 by Brian Bundridge

Those of you traveling via Amtrak this Thanksgiving weekend, be glad you purchased your tickets early!

If you want to take the train to see your friends and family, Wednesday will be your best bet, however, Seattle – Portland trains are starting to sell out very fast.

Those traveling between Seattle and Portland, the 5 Cascades trains and extra Ambus are all sold out on Thanksgiving day with the Coast Starlight still available for coach passengers only.

There are 2 trains available currently for Portland to Seattle passengers. Amtrak Extra #514 and the Coast Starlight. Train #514 will most likely be the last resort train since it arrives into Seattle at 11:15pm.

Trains are available in all directions on Friday and Saturday.

On Sunday, there will be 6 scheduled Cascades trains and the Coast Starlight. Most of these trains are starting to sell out now. Make your reservations soon in order to ensure you have a spot. Sleeper service on the Coast Starlight and both sections of the Empire Builder are selling out rapidly.

For passengers going to Vancouver, BC from Seattle, WA, all trains and Ambus’ service is available throughout the entire weekend.

For passengers going to Seattle, WA from Vancouver, BC, all trains and Ambus service is available throughout the entire weekend. Business class is sold out on Train #513 at this time however.

For passengers going East to Spokane, WA, both Empire Builder’s (Seattle and Portland Sections) are available throughout the entire weekend.

For passengers going West to Seattle, WA, both Empire Builder’s (Seattle and Portland sections) are available. Lower level coach seating is sold out on Train # 7 and #27 at this time however.

For those that haven’t made reservations, go to http://www.amtrak.com and follow the easy steps. It takes no more than 5 to 10 minutes and you can pick your ticket up at the station or have it mailed to you. It would probably be best if you pick it up at the QuikTrak kiosk at the station.

Extra train equipment will be a mixture of Horizon and Amfleet coaches with a snack car available. The cars will be later used for the Alki Tours Leavenworth Snow Trains.

McGinn Wants Your Ideas

November 20, 2009November 20, 2009 by Ben Schiendelman

Earlier this week, the Mayor-elect asked us to reach out to you for your thoughts on how they can succeed in the coming few months. He asked three key questions:

1) How can they build the strongest team possible?

The incoming mayor has strong values and a set of policy objectives that became clear throughout the campaign. McGinn noted when meeting with us that someone had compiled all of his policy papers into a list of 93 particular campaign goals – their work is cut out for them. So who can best help make these goals happen? What can the transition team do to ensure that the people they choose are successful at being inclusive and ensuring that the way these goals are achieved is best for the city?

2) How can they build public trust in the new administration?

This is an incredibly difficult question to answer concisely – but I’ve seen lots of comments about transparency and process that would be great to mention here. The new mayor’s office already has the trust of many, but how can they ensure that grows, and how can they ensure that their actions and policies improve it?

3) What do we view as their greatest challenge – and what should they do right away?

This is where I’m starting to think in a transportation mindset. The other two are more about process, and more high level – but here’s our opportunity to say “Here’s a big thing we’d like to see done better” or “here’s where money should be going immediately”.

Your responses don’t have to be transit-related, of course. We’ve been asked to compile the responses into a sort of executive summary, so there won’t be room for everything. With that in mind, if you like an idea, definitely reply to it to say so! On Sunday I’ll be putting them together.

Free Companion Fare on Amtrak Cascades

November 20, 2009 by Matt Gangemi

This post originally appeared on Orphan Road.

I noticed the coupon at the Fremont PCC grocery store. Travel by May 21, 2010, anywhere Cascades runs (Eugene to Vancouver BC). There are a handful of blackout dates – mostly at holidays. The discount code is H815, but it says you have to present the coupon when you travel. They had a pile of them at the checkout counter at PCC, or I’m sure you can call Amtrak to find out where else you can get a coupon.

Long News Roundup (II)

November 20, 2009November 20, 2009 by Martin H. Duke

Escalators, by Oran — "Escalators", by Oran

The constant rainstorms seem to have really slowed down the accumulation of great pictures in the Flickr Pool:

Metro offices closed on Wednesday for another furlough day; Sunday schedule on Thanksgiving Day and a “reduced” schedule on the day after.
Tacoma is including streetcar tracks in the reconstruction of Stadium Way in Tacoma. That would seem to indicate future Tacoma Link routing. (H/T: Alex Jonlin)
Bike restrictions at downtown bus stops.
Sound Transit and RCI Herzog go to arbitration over Rainier Valley Segment overruns. Take note that even with arbitration, Central Link still comes in underbudget overall.
Portland’s Fareless Square to become the “Free Rail Zone.” I suppose our ride free area should become the “Free Bus Zone.”
25% off Amtrak to Vancouver.
Toddlers on transit, locally and in San Francisco.
Water Taxi has 21% ridership jump.
Kitsap Transit may have bottomed out.
A harrowing experience, but perhaps the advice in the title is a bit extreme.
The Seattle Sketcher rides a Swift Bus. I think Community Transit left someone off the media invite list. (UPDATE: this is not meant in the churlish tone in which it came off.)

Long News Roundup (I)

November 20, 2009November 20, 2009 by Martin H. Duke

Stories we didn’t have time to get to or didn’t have anything to say about are below. There are so many that another installment is coming soon:

SDOT is planning to “act quickly” on Ballard Light Rail plans, not sure 2 years is enough time; Larry Phillips says a Ballard Sounder station is “is not justified by the projected ridership at this point.” (H/T: Gary Manca).
State Attorney General Rob McKenna is noncommittal as to whether Seattle will really have to pay deep-bore tunnel overruns.
Yet another Bellevue alignment. We’ve mentioned this in passing before. (H/T: Alex Jonlin)
King County bridges “not fully functional”, buses late.
Larry Phillips supports the 12th Ave/Broadway streetcar couplet.
5,000 American pedestrians a year killed by cars.
How Dow Constantine made the Water Taxi year-round, starting next fall.
Sound Transit plans for Green River flooding.
Grays Harbor Transit raises fares.
Footage of September’s Federal Way Transit Center shooting.
Pierce Transit’s “Not on Our Bus” claiming its first victories, getting its first complaints.
How the HSR stimulus money will be allocated. (H/T: Lloyd Adalist)
Ft. Lewis and McChord AFB to get Fuel Cell buses. (pdf, H/T: Mike Fisher)

Report: McGinn to Place O’Brien on ST Board

November 20, 2009November 20, 2009 by John Jensen

[UPDATE 9:36 am: McGinn staffer Aaron Pickus says McGinn would “like to see Mike O’Brien on the Sound Transit board because he knows transportation issues as much as anyone. Saying that, the mayor-elect thinks that the mayor of Seattle needs to serve on this board and plans to do so.”]

[UPDATE: For a more thorough breakdown of coming changes to the Sound Transit board, Andrew Villeneuve has the goods.]

Publicola reports that Seattle’s Mayor-elect Mike McGinn may skip taking a role on the Sound Transit board, instead giving his support to incoming city councilmember Mike O’Brien for the position. Richard Conlin, the city council president, plans to remain on the Sound Transit board. The Sound Transit board is the group of elected officials that makes most major and financial decisions for the agency.

O’Brien would be filling Mayor Nickels’ seat on the ST board. Nickels lost his bid for a third term in the August primary and is currently the chair of ST board.

O’Brien’s financial background (he has an MBA from UW) could be a strong asset on a board looking to scrounge every dollar from the projected revenue shortfalls affecting the Sound Transit 2 expansion plans approved during the worst recession in a generation.

O’Brien and McGinn have a close relationship after working together in a private law firm as well as the Sierra Club and it’s possible the Mayor-elect’s priorities could come through an O’Brien seat. (Publicola has a great article on their relationship.)

Seattle Transit Blog endorsed Mike O’Brien for office, in part for his honest and strong advocacy for transit. He’s a charismatic spokesman for the promise of mass transit and we’d be happy to see him serve on the board.

Streetcar Expedited

November 19, 2009 by Frank Chiachiere

This post originally appeared on Orphan Road.

I’m a few days late on this, but I’m very glad to see that the First Hill Streetcar is being expedited for a 2013 launch.

I’ve been bullish on the 12th Avenue alignment in the past, and I have reservations about the efficacy of streetcars on North Broadway (all it takes is one double-parked car to shut the system down), but even running along Broadway the entire time, the line makes sense. It will be good to have it here earlier.

Point Defiance Bypass Simulation Shows Little Impact

November 19, 2009November 19, 2009 by Ben Schiendelman

Last week, the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) held a public meeting on the future of the Point Defiance Bypass project. This project, as we’ve discussed before, would cut 6 minutes from Amtrak Cascades travel time to points south, reduce delays caused by congestion with freight traffic, and allow for more service by getting passenger trains out of the single track Nelson Bennett tunnel under Ruston.

Unfortunately, WSDOT’s outreach attempts appear to have fallen flat. WSDOT mentioned that some of the funding for this project could come from a high speed rail stimulus grant – and media has already claimed that these trains move twice as fast as Sounder. These trains would run at 70-79mph, just like other passenger rail, this project would just allow for a later, unfunded, project to increase train speeds in the corridor. There’s also been little explanation of what a six minute improvement, or the other benefits, really mean, and residents came away concerned that loud, fast trains were going to block traffic and cause safety problems for little benefit.

In reality, because Amtrak Cascades is already close to time-competitive with car travel between Seattle or Tacoma and Portland, a six minute reduction in trip time and an improvement in reliability would do quite a bit to increase ridership, and it’s required to create the capacity we need for more round trips. 70-79mph service is exactly the same as what runs through Sumner, Puyallup, Kent and Auburn already without incident. And because this track would only have lightweight passenger trains, noise would be reduced significantly relative to often under-maintained and very heavy freight equipment.

Thankfully, WSDOT has posted three YouTube videos that help demonstrate the planning that’s going into the Point Defiance Bypass project, and help dispel the biggest concerns. Have a look after the jump. Continue reading “Point Defiance Bypass Simulation Shows Little Impact”

Vision Line Comments and DT Bellevue Workshop Recap

November 18, 2009November 19, 2009 by Sherwin Lee

The C4A Preferred Alternative from Sound Transit

I attended last night’s workshop for the Downtown Bellevue segment of East Link. After the meeting, I talked to Kevin Wallace briefly about the Vision Line. I will be meeting with him on Friday to further discuss details about the plan. I’ll also compile a list of questions or concerns that you might have, so leave a comment below if you have a question you want to ask Kevin about this new proposal. As much as you may disagree with this proposed line or even the premise of it, keep the comments civil and practical. Avoid statements like “What’s with the circusy station? It’s ugly!” I won’t be able to ask him all of your questions, but I will bring forth the most pressing issues.

Below is a recap of the workshop written in real-time.

WORKSHOP RECAP

I’m currently at the Downtown Bellevue workshop for East Link at Bellevue City Hall. Like the three neighborhood workshops that came before this one, public comment booths for each downtown alternative are out with strip plots and maps detailing the plan and elevation of each alignment. Vision Line Coalition folks are aggressively lobbying outside the meeting area and handing out literature to attendees about Kevin Wallace’s proposed alternative. The turnout is fairly high tonight with at least 100, give or take, in attendance. The minutes of the presentation are below the jump.

Continue reading “Vision Line Comments and DT Bellevue Workshop Recap”

C9T to Cost $300m Extra

November 18, 2009November 18, 2009 by Martin H. Duke

[How’s that for a wonky headline?]

Thanks to intrepid reader and commenter Bernie, we have an account of Monday’s City of Bellevue “study session” on East Link alignments. The agenda is online and includes an information packet. Below, a synopsis of his notes. Consider this a preview of tonight’s East Link Workshop.

Sound Transit’s preferred alignment runs along the surface on both 108th and 110th Avenues to bracket the Transit Center, and is projected to cost $700m (in 2007 dollars, as all the figures below). Longstanding tunnel option C3T costs $1.175 billion. Sound Transit on Monday presented the first cost estimates for the relatively new C9T option, which travels under 110th Ave NE and comes in at $980m – $1.01 billion. As Sound Transit has committed to fund the surface alternative, this reduces the funding gap for a tunnel to about $300m from an earlier rough estimate of $500m.

ST is considering lowering the South Bellevue station below street level or moving it away from the street to maintain car and bus access to the lot.

The Sound Transit board will re-evaluate Segment C (Downtown Bellevue) in the first quarter of 2010.