It seems like it’s figuring it out based on my email address?
Okay, that’s a bit weird. So anyone can post using my email address, and it’ll show up with my picture?
Hey Aleks, what’s your email address?
Is there any possibility that ST will run longer trains or boost Link frequency before U-Link opens in 2016?
It’s certainly not every trip, but I’ve had a few recent (off-peak) Link trips where all the the seats in my vehicle were filled, and around 1/2 of the standing room was filled as well. I’ve yet to be on a Link train as packed as the 71/72/73 get, but it seems possible that on some trips, the current 2-car trains will reach their capacity before U-Link opens.
Does ST have any published guidelines for how high ridership has to be before they go to 3-car trains or negotiate for higher frequency?
From what I understand, they will be able to go to three-car (or four-car!) trains when they can turn them at the north end of the line, which is to say when they finish up construction on the Westlake end of the Capitol Hill tunnel. Which one imagines they could actually do fairly soon, if they considered it a high enough priority, but it’s definitely not purely driven by load factors.
I think after they open U-Link, they would have to up the car count in order to handle the extra load. Think about it: when they open the U-Link, this will probably be accompanied by the discontinuation of several Metro routes that go to the U-district, like 197, 167, 271, etc., which will create a massive demand for service between UW and Downtown Seattle.
They can do three-car trains now.
I love the video. We should do more to make ‘waiting’ ‘enjoyable’.
One often overlooked feature of New York that you can see in the background is that they are very hard core about not closing sidewalks for weeks on end to accommodate construction. Often, the construction crews will set up temporary scaffolding over the sidewalk that allows them to work while the sidewalk itself remains open. When that doesn’t (for example, when repaving the sidewalk itself), they make a temporary sidewalk by installing a concrete barricade and taking a lane of traffic.
In Seattle, on the other hand, you almost never see any effort during construction to accommodate pedestrians beyond a “sidewalk closed” sign.
One of the most maddening problems with the way the City of Seattle issues street use permits. ALL sidewalks should be covered and open during construction unless for a temporary undermining, off-loading of a truck, etc.
Yes, and our state laws, mandate that they provide an alternative path for pedestrians.
I’ve researched it and it’s state law that applies everywhere (I was arguing against a situation here in Kent where they regularly close off sidewalks for work without providing an alternative pathway).
I contacted state authorities, etc, etc, etc. Nothing changed.
Here they phrase it as a guideline, but I believe if you dig deeper RCW mandates they do these things:
Sidewalk Closure
During Construction
It is undesirable to close sidewalks or
pathways during construction. If
unavoidable, consider:
• using barricades and cones to create a
temporary route
• clearly defining any detoured routes
• maintaining a minimum width and smooth
surface for wheelchair access
• protecting pedestrians from vehicle traffic
• protecting pedestrians from hazards, such
as holes, debris, dust, and mud
If a temporary route is created in the roadway
adjacent to the closed sidewalk, the parking
lane or one travel lane may be used for
pedestrian travel,
Depends where you live, I’ve rarely seen closed sidewalks around construction sites in Belltown and QA (including Lower), the sidewalks are usually protected by scaffolding/shipping containers or part the of the street is taken over. Maybe steeper slopes and traffic loads make some areas more difficult to do it at?
I’ve seen closed sidewalks on Lenora between 5th and 6th recently; on 5th in that area a little before that. And of course there’s the mess of sidewalk closures for the Mercer project.
It wouldn’t surprise me if during some part of public review there’s a stage where if enough people complain they can get a promise not to close sidewalks, causing the variance from project to project.
The U-district station construction has some sidewalk closures. However, they can’t set up a temporary sidewalk on the roadway because the space to put on it is instead taken up instead by barricades with “no parking” printed on them.
If only we could find a way to make “no parking” signs more space-efficient…
The Artificial Leaf…an award winning (General Electric Focus Forward) short documentary reviewing the work of Nocera and his invention for generating hydrogen fuel from sunlight.
Let’s test this new Gravatar thing…
It seems like it’s figuring it out based on my email address?
Okay, that’s a bit weird. So anyone can post using my email address, and it’ll show up with my picture?
Hey Aleks, what’s your email address?
Is there any possibility that ST will run longer trains or boost Link frequency before U-Link opens in 2016?
It’s certainly not every trip, but I’ve had a few recent (off-peak) Link trips where all the the seats in my vehicle were filled, and around 1/2 of the standing room was filled as well. I’ve yet to be on a Link train as packed as the 71/72/73 get, but it seems possible that on some trips, the current 2-car trains will reach their capacity before U-Link opens.
Does ST have any published guidelines for how high ridership has to be before they go to 3-car trains or negotiate for higher frequency?
From what I understand, they will be able to go to three-car (or four-car!) trains when they can turn them at the north end of the line, which is to say when they finish up construction on the Westlake end of the Capitol Hill tunnel. Which one imagines they could actually do fairly soon, if they considered it a high enough priority, but it’s definitely not purely driven by load factors.
I think after they open U-Link, they would have to up the car count in order to handle the extra load. Think about it: when they open the U-Link, this will probably be accompanied by the discontinuation of several Metro routes that go to the U-district, like 197, 167, 271, etc., which will create a massive demand for service between UW and Downtown Seattle.
They can do three-car trains now.
I love the video. We should do more to make ‘waiting’ ‘enjoyable’.
One often overlooked feature of New York that you can see in the background is that they are very hard core about not closing sidewalks for weeks on end to accommodate construction. Often, the construction crews will set up temporary scaffolding over the sidewalk that allows them to work while the sidewalk itself remains open. When that doesn’t (for example, when repaving the sidewalk itself), they make a temporary sidewalk by installing a concrete barricade and taking a lane of traffic.
In Seattle, on the other hand, you almost never see any effort during construction to accommodate pedestrians beyond a “sidewalk closed” sign.
One of the most maddening problems with the way the City of Seattle issues street use permits. ALL sidewalks should be covered and open during construction unless for a temporary undermining, off-loading of a truck, etc.
Yes, and our state laws, mandate that they provide an alternative path for pedestrians.
I’ve researched it and it’s state law that applies everywhere (I was arguing against a situation here in Kent where they regularly close off sidewalks for work without providing an alternative pathway).
I contacted state authorities, etc, etc, etc. Nothing changed.
Here they phrase it as a guideline, but I believe if you dig deeper RCW mandates they do these things:
Pedestrian Facilities Guidebook. WS-DOT
http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/publications/manuals/fulltext/m0000/pedfacgb.pdf
Depends where you live, I’ve rarely seen closed sidewalks around construction sites in Belltown and QA (including Lower), the sidewalks are usually protected by scaffolding/shipping containers or part the of the street is taken over. Maybe steeper slopes and traffic loads make some areas more difficult to do it at?
I’ve seen closed sidewalks on Lenora between 5th and 6th recently; on 5th in that area a little before that. And of course there’s the mess of sidewalk closures for the Mercer project.
It wouldn’t surprise me if during some part of public review there’s a stage where if enough people complain they can get a promise not to close sidewalks, causing the variance from project to project.
The U-district station construction has some sidewalk closures. However, they can’t set up a temporary sidewalk on the roadway because the space to put on it is instead taken up instead by barricades with “no parking” printed on them.
If only we could find a way to make “no parking” signs more space-efficient…
The Artificial Leaf…an award winning (General Electric Focus Forward) short documentary reviewing the work of Nocera and his invention for generating hydrogen fuel from sunlight.
http://focusforwardfilms.com/contest/100/the-artificial-leaf-jared-p-scott-kelly-nyks
NYC’s BikeShare program test ride…video:
http://www.ubmfuturecities.com/video.asp?section_id=214&doc_id=525105&
NYC does it with an unlimited use annual subscription. Seems like it would be a natural for ORCA card, either as a subscription or per ride basis.
Infrastructure this!
In Copenhagen, building a hydrogen fueling station in 48 hours (time lapse):
Hyundai Motor delivers first 15 hydrogen-powered ix35 Fuel Cell vehicles in Europe
http://www.automotiveworld.com/news-releases/hyundai-motor-delivers-first-15-hydrogen-powered-ix35-fuel-cell-vehicles-in-europe/