What’s the matter with King County Metro’s service alerts?
Simple and clear. Even though I don’t know French I know something is up. A banner might work just as well.
More below the jump…
Metro Service Alerts
All posts by Adam Bejan Parast
Adam B. Parast currently works for the Transpo Group in Kirkland doing non-motorized transportation planning. Former work experience includes ITS design and TMC operations at WSDOT. He currently lives on Capitol Hill, formerly living in Fremont, U District, Kirkland and Factoria. Commute: 255, most other trips are walking or biking
The Biggest Loser: WSDOT?
It’s probably a bit early to draw broad conclusions about this election, but please indulge me.
If McGinn holds his lead and wins, this election will be a significant setback for WSDOT’s three largest projects. Together totaling over $13 billion dollars, the deep-bore tunnel, SR-520 bridge and the I-5 Columbian River Crossing (CRC) will all face significantly altered local political landscapes. One that is not entrenched in the establishment like the former mayoral incumbents of Seattle and Vancouver, as well as one that is hostile towards key aspects of WSDOT’s projects. The establishment knew this, and that is why they lined up behind Mallahan. Not because they liked him, but because they knew he was malleable or pragmatic, depending on your point of view. Not so with McGinn.
While Seattle’s mayoral election was epic, there are other cities in Washington. In Vancouver, transportation also pushed its way to the forefront, dominating a contentious, $400,000 dollar mayoral contest.
More after the jump. Continue reading “The Biggest Loser: WSDOT?”
On Environmental Impact Studies
To follow up on Martin’s post I just want to make sure we are all on the same page when it comes to Environmental Impact Studies. This has yet to be done for the deep-bore tunnel, with the draft EIS to be released in February of next year and the final EIS completed in the spring of 2011.
As defined by the International Association for Impact Assessment
Environmental Impact Assessment can be defined as:
The process of identifying, predicting, evaluating and mitigating the biophysical, social, and other relevant effects of development proposals prior to major decisions being taken and commitments made.
Emphasis mine. Furthermore from the Washington State Department of Ecology;
Q: What is SEPA?
A: SEPA is the abbreviation or acronym for the State Environmental Policy Act, Chapter 43.21C RCW. Enacted in 1971, it provides the framework for agencies to consider the environmental consequences of a proposal before taking action. It also gives agencies the ability to condition or deny a proposal due to identified likely significant adverse impacts. The Act is implemented through the SEPA Rules, Chapter 197-11 WAC.
So when is a SEPA review process needed?
Q: When is SEPA environmental review required?
A: Environmental review is required for any proposal which involves a government “action,” as defined in the SEPA Rules (WAC 197-11-704), and is not categorically exempt (WAC 197-11-800 through 890). Project actions involve an agency decision on a specific project, such as a construction project or timber harvest. Nonproject actions involve decisions on policies, plans, or programs, such as the adoption of a comprehensive plan or development regulations, or a six-year road plan.
More below the jump.
Viaduct Tolling: Tailored for the Tunnel?
A few weeks back McGinn held a press conference where he asserted that WSDOT’s tolling figure are inflated. He released this folio.
I did a little more research and dug up a 2002 tolling study as well as 2008 draft study. Both studies were done by Parson Brinkerhoff (See Publicola’s article). The 2002 study estimated that the optimal toll rate (i.e., toll rate that minimizes system delays) could cover between $35-$95 million (2009 dollars) in construction costs. This study showed that on average drivers would pay 31 cents during peak periods, and 16 cents during off-peak periods (2009 dollar).
The 2008 draft study, which was released several weeks after the announcement of the deep-bore tunnel, however, estimate that tolling could support roughly $330 million (2009 dollars). Toll rates were set at a predetermined level to maximize revenue, with peak rates at $1.50 to $2.25 and off-peak rates at $1.10 to $1.25 (2007 dollars).
The 2008 results represents an approximate 4- to 10-fold increase over the 2002 study.
This shows that WSDOT is significantly “over pricing” the tunnel in order to generate the revenue it requires for the deep-bore tunnel. However the additional revenue comes with a significant side-effect, diversion. The high toll rates will cause an estimated 40% of traffic that would otherwise use the tunnel to divert to other routes such as Alaskan Way, downtown streets and I-5. In very rough figures the viaduct carries around 100,000 cars a day, so that works out to roughly 40,000 diverted cars a day. That’s nothing to cough at.
This is yet more evidence that the impacts of the tunnel have been poorly vetted due to WSDOT’s expedited and politically motivated choice of the tunnel.
UPDATE: I want clarify the take away of this post. I’m not disputing the tolling model, rather I’m arguing that the models themselves show that tolls will be significantly higher than what the optimal toll should be. The 2002 study describes the toll rate methodology as;
Assuming that users have perfect information about pricing, that toll revenues are used to make cost-beneficial highway investments, and that pricing is ubiquitous, then short-run marginal cost toll pricing allows the road network to operate with maximum net social benefits from the resources used to build and operate roads. In this case, the economically efficient toll rate maximizes travel time savings, which for a given volume of traffic, minimizes total network travel time.
This means that using the toll rates from 2008 will significantly change travel patters, destabilizing the system, and resulting in increased delay on city streets and I-5 while not fully utilizing tunnel capacity.
The Tunnel: Strategically Misrepresented?
Erica Barnett over at Publicola has a lengthy and somewhat scattershot article with information that she uncovered due to the Seattle Citizens Against the Tunnel public-disclosure request. The group, which is also suing the state for SEPA violations, has hundreds and hundreds of pages of internal WSDOT e-mails, memos, and notes on their website.
Has the state “strategically misrepresented” the viaduct? Erica sure thinks so. I have not had time to read through the documents, so I won’t weight in on that but at the very least this revelation shows how important the SEPA process is for creating open and accountable decision making.
Go here to read her article.
Smarter Highways
WSDOT is starting to ramp up it’s public information campaign for Active Traffic Management Systems (ATMS). It was a good choice on their part to re-brand ATMS, and other associated ITS technologies, as Smarter Highways rather than the super nerdy acronym speak that engineers love. Continuing this theme, rather than fixating on the technology, WSDOT has chosen to focus on the driver experience, explain why this technology is needed and how it will improve drivers lives.
As part of this WSDOT has released information about Smarter Highways including the video above. I like the video but think that the interactive website does an even better job of stepping drivers through what to expect and how they should react. WSDOT also has a wordy folio, and a slick card.
More after the jump. Continue reading “Smarter Highways”
2+1 > 2+2
File this under mundane, but nevertheless important. Both Martin and I have an oddly intense passion for how Metro can improve circulation on it’s buses by strategically removing seats, which is why I was floored when I saw this photo by STB Pool contributor VeloBusDriver over the weekend. Click on the photo above to see several more photos.
Everyone has had the annoying experiences of squeezing past other riders, getting hit in the head by backpacks, having butts in your face or even the occasionally funny human tetris game played at every stop. Wider aisles will alleviate these problem by giving standees more space to move.
Metro has retrofitted one of its 40-ft trolley buses with 2+1 seating, after the initial inward-facing 1+1 seating area just behind the driver. This alternative seating arrangement doubles the width of aisles, allowing riders to stand two or possibly even three wide. Additionally, forward facing seats mean that the effective width of the aisle for standees is actually wider than that of the area with 1+1 inward-facing seating, because the legs and bags of seated passengers do not protrude into the aisle. As an added bonus 5 lucky passengers get a private seat by the window. More below the jump. Continue reading “2+1 > 2+2”
The Transport Politic: Vote for McGinn
Not much new news here but it still interesting to see such a nationally focused and highly regarded blog commenting on our mayors race.
» Candidate Mike McGinn presents strongly pro-transit platform, while opponent Joe Mallahan’s interest in new capital investment is limited.
The Seattle political establishment was shocked by the failure of Mayor Greg Nickels to make it past primary elections in August. Mr. Nickels faced strong competition on both his right and left, from executive Joe Mallahan, who promoted an efficient, business-friendly platform, and from environmentalist Mike McGinn, who argued that the mayor hadn’t done enough to ready the city for a greener 21st century. The city’s inhabitants will vote again in early November to determine which of the two candidates will lead America’s 25th-largest city; their choice will be elemental in determining the municipality’s future transportation options.
Read the rest of the article here.
Rapid Ride: F Line
[UPDATE: More info on the revenue source at the bottom.]
Earlier this week, while reporting on the 2010 King County Transportation Budget proposal, Martin reported that Metro is in the early stages of planning a sixth Rapid Ride route, the F Line. Information on the five other lines can be found here. We followed up and got some basic details, discussed after the jump.
Real-Time Arrival Information: It Really Pays Off
While services like OneBusAway might seam to be a nicety a 2006 study commissioned by the Federal Transit Administration shows that real-time arrival information systems produce significant and quantifiable benefits that exceed project costs. The paper, Real-time Bus Arrival Information Systems Return-on-Investment Study (I highlighted and added notes to the interesting parts), documents how a comprehensive Return on Investment (ROI) study should analyzes the costs and benefits of real-time information systems. For demonstration purposes part of the ROI study was applied to Portland’s Transit Tracker system. Not all benefits were quantified and extremely conservative user rates were assumed (ex. Transit Tracker usage for MAX trips were not included).
To summarize the results of the paper see the graph above. The white area show when the annualized cost of the system exceeds the annualized user benefits of the system. In contrast, all non-white areas indicate where the system pays off. The horizontal axis shows the average reduction in wait times and the vertical axis shows the annual number of trips that Transit Trackers is used for. The darker the shading the large the ROI. By finding the intersection point of reduced wait time and annual transit tracker usage you can see when it yields benefits. As you can see the report conservatively estimates that as long as users of the system on average save 30 seconds a trip this system pays off.
Continue reading “Real-Time Arrival Information: It Really Pays Off”
Columbia River Crossing in Brief
Columbia River Crossing : Alternatives from Nick Falbo on Vimeo.
Sound familiar? While I know that most of us at the blog literally spend all of our waking hours reading and writing about transportation there are only so many multi-billion dollar projects one can keep track of. So in that sprit here is very well produced and interesting video about the Columbia River Crossing. I can’t vouch for some of the statements but it certainly sounds like a Viaduct/SR-520/I-90 Express Lanes hybrid to me. Watch this video for a more general introduction.
I can vouch for this video that Nick Falbo also made about induced and latent demand and the affects of significant network changes on travel behavior.
H/T to bikeportland for linking to the videos.
OneBusAway Needs Feedback
OneBusAway, or OBA for those that like acronyms, is looking for feedback about their service. They have created a web survey that can be accessed here. It took me less than 10 minutes to complete and I wrote a lot so it will take less time for most people. Those who take the survey will also be eligible to win a $25 dollar iTunes gift certificate.
Besides the money this is also a chance for you help OBA quantify the benefits that real-time transit information provides. Remember OBA was created and developed for free by Phd students at UW so the least you can do to support OBA is take the survey.
Bike Share Expo Today, Tomorrow
Bike sharing is slowly coming to North America, and King County is kicking off the conversation in Seattle with a Expo today at the SLU Discovery Center (10am to 6pm) and tomorrow at Redmond Town Center (noon to 8pm). DC had the first bike sharing system in North America, but it failed to deliver due to a small and dispersed bike station network. This summer Montreal unveiled the first real bike share system in North America. Called Bixi, the system has 3,000 bikes and 300 stations. Bixi is similar to Paris’ Velib and other bike share systems in many ways. Hallmarks of the most successful systems are:
- Electronic, subscription based systems that make riders accountable for bicycles while they are checked out (see Copenhagen’s city bike program for why)
- Fare structures that encourage short rentals and thus high turnover (rentals shorter than 30 minutes are typically free)
- A large, dense network of biking sharing stations (Paris’ stations are spaced at internals of 1000 ft)
- Privately operated by advertising companies that are given adverting monopolies in the city (two big companies are Clear Channel and JCDecaux)
- Unique, well maintained and theft determent bikes (Bixi won several design competitions for their bikes)
- Real time management of the number of bikes at each station (from personal experience I know Barcelona does this very poorly while Paris does much better)
- Implementation accompanied by significant investment in bicycle network infrastructure
Metro has already sent out a Request For Information so hopefully this event won’t just be a tease and something will come of it. Stop by today or tomorrow and check it out.
Rainier Valley, Charlotte, Copenhagen and London: Informing East Link Design
Bellevue needs to take a second look at its station area planning. Stations similar to those in Rainier Valley are what Bellevue currently envisions for the Bel-Red corridor. However, cities like Charlotte, Copenhagen and London are where Bellevue should really be looking for inspiration.
NE 16th St ROW
I like the Rainier Valley stations, and I think that Sound Transit did its best to make a primary arterial pedestrian friendly. However, median island stations are not conducive to true transit oriented development and the associated public realm that makes them so attractive. Currently, Bellevue envisions a new NE 16th St for the Bel-Red corridor. This street would require significant ROW acquisition, running roughly halfway between Bel-Red and SR-520.
On page 20 of Bellevue’s Ordinance 5858 it says:
“Discussion: The expansion of NE 16th Street is a lynchpin project for Bel-Red. The extended corridor will be the key east-west arterial connection, tying together much of the new Bel-Red land use. It is also the City’s desired location for light rail and high capacity transit, and for major new pedestrian and bicycle access across the Bel-Red area. The vision for the corridor is ambitious, incorporating all these transportation modes, and including a “linear park” series of open spaces spanning the corridor…”
While LINK needs ~25ft ROW or ~45ft with station platforms, the envisioned NE 16th St would need a minimum of ~96 ft. At intersections this could increase to ~140 ft, including station platforms and turn lanes. Both of these widths leave no accommodation for bicycles or parking, which would add another 24-34 ft. The “linear park” would I hope add at least another 30 ft. This is isn’t chump change, we are talking about a ROW with roughly the same width as the Alaskan Way Viaduct. This is hardly appropriate for pedestrian scale development and would create an unnecessary desert-like expanse of concrete between buildings. These types of intersections are nothing unusual for Bellevue, but that doesn’t make them acceptable.
While center-running light rail and island stations were the only realistic option for MLK, Bellevue is free to imagine to its heart’s content. Yet its current vision is uninspired and painfully backwards, an exact copy of what was done downtown years ago. For a city that has done such a good job on the land use side of East LINK, this is extremely disappointing. Bellevue is missing a significant opportunity to create vibrant pedestrian oriented, or even pedestrian only station areas that are good for people, the city and developers alike.
Continue reading “Rainier Valley, Charlotte, Copenhagen and London: Informing East Link Design”
Opening Day Postmortem
It still hasn’t sunk in yet. Seattle finally has mass transit.
Just like the streetcars of a generation ago this system will forever shape Seattle’s urban form. It will connect the region like it has never been before. Unlike the streetcars of the past I feel confident in saying that this system will never get ripped out. Just like the New York subway or the London Underground, LINK will over the next few decades become an inseparable element of the city.
Lets not fool ourselves, there is lots of work to be done. University LINK is just getting underway and ST2 will be built out over the next 15 years. Development near stations has yet to occur, leaving the station areas feeling desolate and empty. It will be interesting to watch the neighborhood plan updates. In many ways while yesterday was the end to what so many people have been working towards for longer than I have been alive, it is the beginning of so much more.
I know that all of us at STB learned a lot yesterday. Hands down Beacon Hill was our favorite station. The artwork at the station was great and the station entrance was pleasant and pedestrian scaled. I love the seating and bamboo. Actually, the artwork all along the line was amazing. The only other system that I know with comparable public artwork is Stockholm’s Tunnelbana. The artwork transform the stations from a simply utilitarian places that you pass through, to a place that constantly surprises. This really shows why 1% for art is important.
What a weekend. We won’t have anything like this for years to come.
Transportation 2040: Be Bold
Transportation 2040, the update to Destination 2030, is a major decision point for the region. We have a choice to boldly move forward to reduce congestion, better fund transportation, and reduce CO2 or we can shy away from controversy and choose a business as usual alternative that hardly fixes these issues.
PSRC has been working for over two years on this update and it is currently soliciting public feedback on five different proposal alternatives. PSRC uses a scenario based planning process that emphasizes how a particular policy objective or decision will affect the region. These alternatives often fill out the full array of possible policy directions and are compared to a single “baseline” which includes current conditions plus funded projects (Nickel, TPA, ST2, RapidRide, Swift). I began to outline the alternatives myself, but I think these slides from a PRSC presentation to the Quality Growth Alliance will give you a better overview. I have included key slides but it is probably best if you download the presentation here. If you would like to learn more about the alternatives read the 42 page Plan Alternative Chapter (5.9 MBs) or the 38 page Executive Summary (16 MBs).
PSRC titles the alternatives one through five as follows.
- Alternative 1: Emphasize the Efficiency of the Existing System: This assumes limited new transportation funding. It emphasizes system and demand management through great ITS and HOT lane tolling. ($165 Billion)
- Alternative 2: Emphasize Roadway and Transit Capacity Expansion: This is the business as usual alternative (i.e. Destination 2030) and essentially is a capacity improvement alternative. ($201 Billion)
- Alternative 3: Toll Revenues Expand Capacity and Improve Efficiency: This alternative is where we are currently. All major freeway improvements will be tolled for management and funding purposes. ($188 Billion)
- Alternative 4: Combine Traditional Revenues and Tolls to Maximize Efficiency: This alternative explores the use of freeway wide tolling, traditional revenue sources, and strategic capacity expansions. It includes high bus service increases and ST3 level rail investments. ($192 Billion)
- Alternative 5: Reduce Emissions with Limited Highway Investments and Regional Tolling: This alternative uses system wide tolling to manage demand and invests extensively in transit and non-motorized transportation. It is the only alternative that attempts to reduce CO2 emissions. ($196 Billion)
Ray LaHood Gets It, Gregoire Doesn’t
Yesterday, an assortment of federal, state and local elected officials welcomed US Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood to Seattle. LaHood, who has been something of an unknown quantity when it comes to transportation, is maturing into what I believe many progressive transportation advocates have been dreaming for. This comes as a surprise, due to his background as a Republican Congressman from the relatively small city of Peoria, Illinois.
The first sentences out of his mouth praised Seattle for creating such a livable city and limiting sprawl. Unlike what the name of his official blog, The Fast Lane, suggests, he has been surprisingly vocal in his support of livable, walkable, and bikable communities as well as high speed rail and all modes of transit. Last month, under his leadership, the USDOT, EPA and HUD formed an interagency partnership for sustainable communities which will coordinate and align efforts of all three agencies to improve the livability of our cities.
All of this has attracted the scorn of Newsweek’s George Will after LaHood implied that the federal government should encourage and support less auto dependent lifestyles. Obviously, George thinks that’s a bad thing:
LaHood, however, has been transformed. Indeed, about three bites into lunch, the T word lands with a thump: He says he has joined a “transformational” administration: “I think we can change people’s behavior.” Government “promoted driving” by building the Interstate Highway System—”you talk about changing behavior.” He says, “People are getting out of their cars, they are biking to work.” High-speed intercity rail, such as the proposed bullet train connecting Los Angeles and San Francisco, is “the wave of the future.” And then, predictably, comes the P word: Look, he says, at Portland, Ore.
The Perfect Storm: 520 Tolling
On 10/10/10, WSDOT will be the first state DOT in the country to toll a existing facility that is currently untolled. A few months ago the state legislature passed ESHB 2211, authorizing the tolling of SR-520. The writing has been on the wall for a while, but still the fact that it passed is no less amazing. For comparison’s sake, not even NYC has stepped up to toll previously untolled bridges or tunnels into Manhattan. Toll on SR-520 has significant, and I believe overlooked implications for tolling in our region.
Background
WSDOT in partnership with KC Metro and PSCR won USDOT funding, and due to the Legislature’s actions will receive a $154 million dollar Urban Partnership grant. The Urban Partnership program aims to reduce congestion through the four T’s:
- Transit ($41 million for buses and P&R expansion, $27 million or ferries)
- Tolling ($63 million for installation and construction of tolling system)
- Technology ($23 million for ATMS)
- Telecommuting ($0, build off of existing TDM program)
During the 2008 legislative session, the state tasked the partner agencies to go out to the public, propose tolling options, and report back. The work, documented here, surprisingly showed that 60% of those questioned (statistically significant phone interview) support tolling SR-520 to pay for a new bridge. This support went up when respondents were told that tolls would be collected electronically and that it would reduce congestion on the bridge. A majority of users also supported tolling I-90, however I-90 users strongly disapproved. Stated differently, a majority of users support tolling existing cross-lake travel on multiple facilities to pay for a new bridge with zero new general purpose capacity. Almost feels like the outer limits right?
Implications
I can’t overstate how significant I think this will be for tolling in the central Puget Sounds. SR-520 is at the focal point of forces that until now have not come together. In my opinion this will set a precedent, serving as a perfect example of the benefits of tolls while hinting at how system wide tolling might become a reality. Continue reading “The Perfect Storm: 520 Tolling”
STB Flickr Account
I wanted (and no one objected) to getting at STB Flickr pro account. From now on any photos we don’t want to post on personal accounts will be posted on the Seattle Transit Blog Flickr account. I have uploaded photos from this weeks O&M tour as well as the LINK media ride from a few weeks ago. I have also added some transit related photos from a recent trip to the east coast. Please continue to contribute to the Seattle Transit Blog pool. Thanks to the over 70 people who have already contributed 2,000+ photo to the pool. Keep on adding and tagging! Below are a few of the flickr sets that we have already uploaded to the new account. This is an open thread. Enjoy!
358 Bus Stop Plazas
Some great news from the Aurora Seattle blog. SDOT is looking at creating mini plazas along Aurora Ave N by reallocating side street ROW to transit riders. The project, which is funded by Bridging The Gap, will improve the waiting environment at 3 locations (104th, 84th, and 76th) for transit riders, especially in areas where existing sidewalks are narrow and ridership is high. This is an innovative (I have never seen this anywhere before) example of how street ROW can be put to better use. Aurora is one of the most hostile streets for pedestrians, and this is definitely a step in the right direction. I’m guessing this is a result of planning for the larger RapidRide station shelters. More information here, here and here. Thumbs up SDOT!
