All posts by Frank Chiachiere

WSDOT opened the SR 520 direct-access ramps to Montlake on Monday, allowing buses between UW and the Eastside to jump the queue at the Montlake Blvd exit.

I dropped by to watch them work in the afternoon and, though traffic was relatively light on a Monday, buses and HOV 3+ vehicles were staying on the HOV all the way to Montlake Blvd.

The bus stops on the lid itself are currently not in use, but Metro says they’ll start using them “at a later date.” There’s still quite a bit of fencing on the lid so it may be some time before it’s fully open.

Before lid construction began, the popular Montlake flyer stop allowed riders to catch an Eastside bus directly from 520 by walking down a flight of stairs. The ADA-inaccessible stop was closed in 2019 for lid construction. Now that connection is restored and improved.

Transit access in Montlake has come a long way from some of the early renders we were seeing in 2009. Prior to Monday, buses were often spending a good 10-15 minutes idling on the exit ramp. It often took longer to exit the ramp than the entire ride from Bellevue to Montlake. The reliability improvements should save service hours and improve ridership.

In my last post a few weeks ago, I argued that Sound Transit is uniquely exposed to changes in regional commute trips caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, that it has yet to pivot the ST3 package of investments in a meaningful way (aside from the wrong-headed proposal to consolidate the Madison and CID stations), and that this pivot should occur sooner rather than later. I also presented some principles for what should guide this:

• Respond to the new transit ridership market
• Focus on frequent service, not commuter service
• Less intense peak periods are an opportunity
• Re-invest in existing assets that no longer match their need

In this post, I’d like to share some specific ideas of how ST3 projects could pivot guided by these principles. I understand there are political and maybe even some technical challenges to this proposal, but as I’ve looked back over my many years of writing on this site, I realize I haven’t spent enough time articulating the thing I think ought to happen. So here it is, for what it’s worth.

My goal is to deliver a regional high capacity transit system that results in a better system and more riders given changes caused by Covid-19. As I alluded to earlier, I also think some of these changes present better solutions to the construction impact and cost issues that the ST Board is currently debating for the West Seattle and Ballard Link project.

Like many people in the Puget Sound region, Covid has changed my commute patterns and my use of transit. As a result – and perhaps not surprisingly – my posting here has gone down dramatically as well. But one thing I have been thinking quite a bit about is how the ST3 package could pivot for the post-Covid era. While the world has changed permanently, Sound Transit still seems to be planning for an era that is unlikely to ever arrive. 

Outside the US, transit ridership is rebounding. Maybe not all the way back to pre-Covid levels, but in many places where transit has always been integrated into daily life, ridership is approaching a sustainable “new normal.” Domestically, transit ridership has rebounded to varying degrees, with commuter-focused services seeing the smallest return of riders. So how does this relate to ST3?

Cast your mind back to the Summer of 2021.  Vaccines were finally available en masse (for adults, at least).  There was optimism that some kind of normal might be around the corner. This is the time when companies were still putting out “return to office” dates.  Against this backdrop, Sound Transit engaged in realignment planning.  While Covid may have been the initial impetus for hitting pause on the projects, the main problem was surging construction costs that put many ST3 projects over budget.

Sound Transit is collecting feedback on the Chinatown-ID station for ST3 starting with an open house tonight. Much has been written about the various options, but it seems clear that the only option even remotely acceptable to the neighborhood is “4th Avenue Shallow.” Even that may be a bridge too far, per Naomi Isaka’s reporting in the Times:

The slightly less destructive path would be on Fourth Avenue, but even that option would create havoc for about 10 years by redirecting traffic through the neighborhood and constructing a massive staging area there. Advocates fear displacement of businesses and residents would inevitably follow.  

Shallow 4th is also $500M more expensive than Shallow 5th. If the extra money and construction impacts resulted in a better rider experience, it might be worth it. But making people walk a block and 80 feet below ground to transfer isn’t a very rider-centric outcome either (although it’s better than some of the other options!).

Still, since the Sound Transit board has made it clear that they are open to studying more options and everything on the table has a serious downside, I’ll make one more plug for putting the station at Rainier & I-90 on the edge of the CID. This opens up a possible First Hill station for Midtown and preserves the primary benefit of a second transfer location.

When I last presented this concept there was some legit concern about a Beacon Hill shuttle. Based on some suggestions from readers, I’ve thought about how it might work as a branch line instead.

If this sounds appealing to you, now would be the time to let Sound Transit know.

Sound Transit:

However, on both the east and west sides of the bridge, the contractor’s work to fix problems with cast-in-place concrete plinths supporting the tracks has led to the identification of further challenges. These include issues with mortar pads, rebar placements and track fasteners, which the contractor has agreed to fix by re-casting the plinths to ensure the long-term reliability and safety of the extension. Details of the East Link issues can be found in the below-linked memo.

Continuing work is required to identify new project opening timelines for the four projects, which must include time for activation work once construction is complete. While the East Link extension was planned to open in mid-2023, construction challenges are currently projected to delay the completion by at least a year. An upcoming programmatic review will assess rail activation sequencing and time requirements to support the identification of new opening timeframes.

This confirms what we heard back in May, but without any new update on the actual opening schedule. You can see some images of the cracking in the agency’s presentation to the board. Landslide issues have cropped up in Federal Way as well. The Times has more.

Mayor Bruce Harrell:

“We are now hearing many community members questioning whether there needs to be a new station in the community at all – and as a matter of good government we need to answer that question. “To be clear, looking at alternative location options in addition to those currently proposed does not mean we don’t expand transit capacity downtown – it just means we assess a broader range of options. Let’s let the process figure that out, with the community fully at the table.”

Via today’s informative Seattle Times article.

Time to put First Hill back on the table?

From the mayor’s office:

Seattle (July 27, 2022) – Today, Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell announced that he will appoint Greg Spotts to be the next Director of the Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT), pending confirmation by the Seattle City Council.

…

Spotts currently serves as the Executive Officer and Chief Sustainability Officer at the Los Angeles Bureau of Street Services, which oversees 1,500 staff positions, an annual budget of $230 million, and a capital program of more than $350 million. He has led the delivery of over $600 million in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act projects as well as efforts to make Los Angeles more walkable, bikeable, transit-friendly and sustainable. 

Coverage: Seattle Times, The Urbanist

The Seattle Times rightly asks why Seattle has been so eager to get a station at 130th but so reluctant to add zoning capacity

Vancouver’s 16km SkyLink extension to Surrey to open in 2028, cost $4B

Related: Translink’s ridership is at a remarkable 72% of pre-Covid levels

SDOT rolls out a safety campaign to try and slow down drivers. 🤔

Seattle City Council selects a preferred alignment for WSBLE, punts on many of the thorniest questions

CityLab looks at Luxembourg’s free transit program. The pandemic makes it hard to say for sure, but it doesn’t seem to have done much to get people out of their cars.

Yes, this is an open thread.

• Seattle Transportation Plan is seeking input; “one plan to rule them all,” instead of the modal plans of years past
• So is the Seattle Comprehensive Plan (land use & zoning)
• The Urbanist: speeding up Route 36
• SDOT: Bus lanes going in (finally!) on Rainier Ave.
• Seattle Times: Amtrak service to B.C. is coming back sooner than expected
• Speaking of our neighbors to the north, Vancouver’s TransLink is making a big investment in Bus Rapid Transit

• Seattle Times‘ Mike Lindblom has a long dive into light rail crashes on MLK. It’s too in-depth to summarize but well worth reading.
• Meanwhile, Times Columnist Naomi Ishaka argues for more gates in the Rainier Valley to protect pedestrians
• U-PASS is now fully-subsidized for all UW employees. Good on TRU for organizing around this effort
• The Urbanist: Sound Transit opening back up the idea of skipping Paine Field to get to Everett on time
• PubliCola: Josh Feit looks at ways to get small employers on board with transit passes