14 Replies to “Win a Walking Tour of U-Link”

  2. Thanks, Gordon. Glad to see this opportunity, and will do my best to take advantage. Very good to see the transit system establishing close working relationships to businesses along routes- especially restaurants and cafes. For me, these places are an extremely important part of my traveling day.

    After much experience, I can plan out a trip so not only can I travel as fast as possible, but so that I can get also get max amount of laptop work, reading, and sleeping done. And more important, always have a good meal and coffee waiting for me every at every transfer point.

    Probably most important, I can plan so I hardly spend any time at all waiting out in the weather on a day like this one or worse.

    Does anyone know if there’s an “App” or any other source of information to make it easy for new passengers to learn how to live a life, as opposed to a stressed existence, built around transit, as I have? Like erasing subarea boundaries, the automobile and its related industries managed to do this decades ago- one reason they became such a formidable competitor.

    Even us former Chicago CTA and North Shore Electroliner passengers don’t miss most of the places we had to wait for our rides.

    BTW: “The Station Cafe”, half block north of Beacon Hill LINK. And right across 16th Avenue South, right by El Centro de la Raza, there are two Mexican food trucks, both first rate. Check out You-Tube.
    Know that the owner included both LINK and ATU Local 587 in his business plans. Excellent example.

    Mark

    1. That’s an interesting point, sometimes the shortest trip is important, sometime the most relaxed is. Other times, thinking about a court date or job interview, reliable arrival times are more important than travel time. I don’t think anyone has tried to optimise for that.

      Other parameters could be 1) attractiveess of view, 2) odds of traffic jam/extreme delays 3) proximity to coffee (for the morning) proximity to craft beer (for the evenings)

      1. I know in about 10 years, when I’m still living here in Shoreline, if I want to go to Bellevue Square, I will just take LINK all the way there. Sure it might take longer than if I transfer at Husky Stadium but having a few transfer points in the tunnel for another light rail train that (should) come within minutes will be very nice. If I want to to go to Kirkland, maybe I will still do that and transfer at Bellevue Transit Center instead of Husky Stadium, especially if bus service is still spotty at that time.

      2. Thanks, Andrew. I personally don’t think that there’s a permanent conflict between travel time and trip quality. We are still a very short time into this country’s revival of public transit as a travel mode that free people will use by choice. Needn’t mention how often passengers’ travel experience is both slow and unpleasant now.

        Based on my own experience of present conditions, I think service could be made both faster and more enjoyable without enormous capital expenditure.

        First of all, chief cause of both delay and discomfort is number of non-transit vehicles in the way of service. Chained 40 foot buses can handle snow. It’s the hundreds of stuck and crashed cars that stop them. I-5 and I-90 express lanes can become heavy-weather busways clearable for 60′ artics when the authorities close them to other traffic, as they sometimes do.

        For everyday service, every arterial through a commercial area should have lanes reserved for transit only at least at rush hours. With signal priority for transit. Politicians’ call, not civil engineers’ Meaning voters’ call, and therefore as subject to positive change as negative status quo.

        Question for the dark hours: Why not put every traffic signal the region to stay green or flash yellow for arterial through-traffic, and flash red for cross-streets? Excellent metaphor for contemporary government in the minds of its political enemies. And a trial to its friends, especially those riding affected buses. Should be ample public records to document dollar waste in both fuel and unnecessary wear on machinery for needless stops and acceleration.

        But I think right now the fastest, most effective measures have to do with detailed knowledge and information. STB can be very helpful here, and as IT savvy younger generation enters the ridership, info on best speed and also best experience will be spread by passengers themselves.

        Who will then, as passengers and voters, communicate what’s good so ridership and demand will increase on service that deserves them, and exert pressure for similar improvement elsewhere.

        Not happy how I just found this out, but ants find and communicate best routes exactly like this.

        Mark

      3. If I’m interested in the most relaxing route, rather than the quickest route, as long as the distance is reasonable, simply avoiding transit altogether and walking the entire way is best. No messing with schedules, pulling out OneBusAway, or worrying about whether a vehicle is going to show up.

      4. I absolutely optimize routes for comfort and pleasure. If there’s going to be a nice sunset over 520, I prefer a bus with softer amber light that preserves the sky’s rosy tones. And if it’s nice out, I’ll prefer the route that doesn’t put me in the tunnel; I’ll put myself into the tunnel (and newer, better-sealed bus) if it’s freezing out.

        But this sort of data is so multi-dimensional, personal, and hard to collect, that you’re probably best off raising a generation of problem solvers (do I do 550 -> 28/26/40/5/16 or 271 -> 31/32, hmm?) with patience and jaywalking skillz.

  4. Will definitely try out this restaurant and put my name in the drawing. Remember walking the entire length of the downtown transit tunnel with my daughter when we moved to this area in ’89– as far as I can recall the walk was held as fundraising benefit to purchase teddy bears for abused children. Still remember it felt a bit spooky and drippy like some sort of cave strange adventure.

  5. Glad I’ve been eating at Annapurna a lot lately :) Most recently a friend from the ‘burbs and I went to eat there. He was coming by car, so he picked me up and we parked in the lot next to Annapurna. And then we tried to walk there from the parking lot right next door. And ended up walking out in the street. In traffic.

    ST should have ensured that people coming from other neighborhoods by car, and people who might be trying to walk in from the South along that side of the street, should not have to endanger their lives and break the law to a. keep walking northward on Broadway on the west side of the street, and b. trying to get to a super awesome restaurant from the parking lot directly adjacent to it.

    1. +1

      I’ve always found it weird that Annapurna closes at 9 while Mirch Masala is open til 10.

    2. I agree. Doesn’t this violate one of those “rules” about not having to buy something to enter a contest?

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