All posts by Martin H. Duke

• 1.5 mile I-5 shoulder lane ($) opened Monday between Lynnwood and Mountlake Terrace.
• Bainbridge Island voters reject safer streets.
• Thurston County voters approve Proposition 1 for Intercity Transit.
• 23rd Avenue work moving along, though there’s no timeline for RapidRide.
• Kitsap Transit creates $4m rainy day fund, $5 day pass.
• Lime to enter the short-term car rental market.
• Sound Transit updates their website. The Stranger is a fan.
• Car tab hand-wringing seems not to have hurt suburban Dems.
• Seattle’s annual parking study underway.
• New bus lane at the Aurora/Denny onramp.
• New bus platforms in Bellevue.
• Tacoma in discussions with Lime about its scooters.
• Eyman’s going to try the $30 car tab thing, yet again.
• WSDOT switches vendors for its tolling projects.
• Uber and Lyft no longer fighting Seattle over competitive data, now fighting with Port ($).
• SDOT still working on employer shuttles.
• Island Transit names a new Executive Director.
• Don’t chase fancy apps and microtransit, just fund the bus and give it priority.
• DC decriminalizes fare evasion.
• Streetcars work way better when you kick out the cars.

This is an open thread.

[UPDATE:  To be clear, ST is not dismissing Sounder ridership. The author is.] One unexpected contention point in the ST3 plan is the precise location of Chinatown Station. The reference alignment places the station under 5th Avenue, steps from the existing station. However, Chinatown business that have already suffered through streetcar construction have no interest in disrupting business access yet again, although in the long run the neighborhood would presumably benefit from a closer station. SDOT thinks a 4th Avenue alignment may fund some work they already do there. Sound Transit, reasonably, is most focused on the easiest and cheapest way to complete the project. As usual, no stakeholder is primarily interested in the convenience of future riders.

This convenience matters: seamless transfers encourage ridership, and thousands of people will be switching between Link lines at this station every day. Indeed, this will happen as early as 2023 when East Link opens, but Sound Transit has already added an unnecessary escalator and flight of stairs (or two slow elevators) to that transfer experience to avoid a minor capital project.

Another consideration is Sounder, though about an order of magnitude smaller in ridership than Link by the time ST3 opens. Amtrak is probably another order of magnitude below that. But what is the right answer for riders? Sound Transit has four concepts for how these transfers might work: under 4th or 5th Avenue, either cut-and-cover or mined.

The 5th Avenue cut-and-cover station (above) creates more disruption for the neighborhood than the mined option, but it drops riders much closer to the surface. Northbound and southbound riders at the new station would be the same distance from the old station, though the lower one would have a longer ride to the surface. Sounder transfers are not a priority in this alignment. ST says the upper platform would be the northbound line, because it “best facilitates northbound-to-northbound transfers between the West Seattle-Everett line and the Ballard-Tacoma line, which is generally expected to be the highest volume transfer during the highly-concentrated AM peak period.”

ST fears that a side-by-side alignment, given the constraints of foundations under 5th, might not have the needed platform capacity.

The mined station (at right) plunges riders about 200 feet below the road, but construction would be less visible on the surface. This is deeper than Beacon Hill and much deeper than UW, implying elevator-only service. This may not be suitable for a high-ridership station. Transferring riders wouldn’t have to go all the way to the surface, although the complexities of emptying half of a crowded elevator are probably worse than simply taking it to the surface.

Continue reading “Chinatown Station Locations”

• TCC is hiring an outreach and engagement director.
• A sophisticated, even-keeled tweetstorm (!) about the politics of street space.
• Bike share expansion is stalled because of a complaint by Elizabeth Campbell.
• Meanwhile, Pierce County considers road improvements to enable more sprawl.
• Metro pedestrian fatality lawsuit ($) settled.
• Portland Chamber supports kicking cars out of the transit mall – but only as an alternative to a “bike highway” on another street.
• It’s a delicate balance to support electric cars while avoiding the trap of thinking they’re sufficient.
• CAHSR wins in court again.
• Jarrett Walker hiring a freelance cartographer, very quickly.
• Montlake freeway expansion is $30M over budget
• UPS adds bicycle delivery ($) in Seattle

This is an open thread.

Metro and Sound Transit have a new proposal to restructure bus service on the “North Eastside” in order to take advantage of new opportunities arising from University Link and improvements in the SR 520 corridor. Metro abandoned a previous effort to make similar changes right after U-Link opened due to a perceived absence of public comment. Riders interested in increasing the utility of the bus network to get multiple places in a short amount of time should be sure to comment this time.

While University Link was a squandered opportunity, three new stimuli are coming: closure of the Downtown Transit Tunnel to buses in March 2019, closure of the Montlake Flyer stop, also in March 2019, and Northgate Link opening in 2021. Beyond that, East Link and I-405 BRT will provide yet more options. Riders will have to deal with the immediate challenges using the existing network next summer, but in September 2019 there could be a restructure with the following ingredients:

1. Redirect Kirkland’s workhorse, the 255, to UW Station to avoid the 520/I-5 mess and Downtown Seattle surface streets, with operating savings going into more frequency.
2. Flush most of the network of low-ridership, zigzagging routes that serve Kirkland in favor of somewhat straighter routes.
3. Fix the Montlake Triangle bus stops, as advocates have asked Metro, Sound Transit, and UW to do since well before U-Link opened.
4. A new ST Express route from Redmond and Kirkland to South Lake Union.
5. New, Uber-ish  “Community Ride” service in Woodinville (weekend-only) and Kenmore. The vanpool-ish “Community Van” service would extend to Kirkland from its current scope in Bothell, Woodinville, and Kenmore.

Existing freeway peak expresses to Downtown Seattle would not change, so most people still have their rush hour one-seat rides into downtown Seattle. More on the changes below.

Continue reading “Metro Mulls a Kirkland Redo”

https://www.flickr.com/photos/40441865@N08/41569085810/in/pool-seatrans/

• 90s neighborhood plans are not sacred.
• The Senator from Maltby is showing the idle Seattle delegation how to build a city.
• As someone grappling with a parent’s retirement arrangements, I’m especially conscious of the human suffering that restrictions on ADUs cause. Blame the people filing nuisance lawsuits to prevent competition for their free parking on public right-of-way, but also blame the law for enabling individuals to block laws that could provide relief for thousands.
• Interested in a construction job? ST is hosting a forum in Tacoma tonight.
• Paine Field’s airport also hiring.
• NIMBYs veering into self-parody.
• Sounder helps spur Kent’s “renaissance.”
• Engineers puzzling over Link rail cracks.
• This transit “ideathon” ($) seems to be a bunch of ideas that are unworkable or expensive. But I guess that’s the outcome of a process that explicitly excludes experts.
• 35th Ave anti-safety activists ($) resorting to vandalism.
• Portland e-scooter riders attacked for being “disrespectful“; car murders continue without complaint.
• Beacon Hill road safety project gets business pushback.
• You can comment on Shoreline’s plan for 185th St.
• Also, comments accepted on reserved parking at the Tacoma Dome.
• Finally, comment on Pike/Pine bike lanes.
• Sound Transit has a new CFO.
• Puyallup may ban sidewalk biking because of… crime?
• Bremerton fast ferry hits log, no serious problems. Meanwhile, seven WSDOT ferries ($) are out of service.

This is an open thread.

I can’t wait till @SeaTimesOpinion rejects the 2018 climate initiative for not being the 2016 climate initiative they opposed at the time. It will be the latest in a long line of bad-faith arguments from the most intellectually dishonest group in Seattle.

— Martin Duke (@MartinDuke2) July 11, 2018

It was predictable that the Seattle Times would oppose the only measure ($) available to Washington voters to address climate change. However, it’s amazing that people that self-identify as journalists could be so intellectually dishonest in their endorsement. Besides simply lying to their readers — which a newspaper really ought not to do — they can’t manage to maintain a consistent argument from beginning to end.

For starters, the Times says we should wait and let someone else take the first steps:

Washington should coordinate its response with other states, to prevent cross-border job losses. It should also seek a national carbon tax.

Others have taken the first steps. 194 countries have signed the 2015 Paris Agreement.  Perhaps there might be national action if Democrats gain firm control of the federal government, but the Times editorial board is working hard to prevent that ($). In any case, Washington is coordinating its response with other states and provinces. But the region’s “newspaper of record” chooses to misinform its readers about the world.

The state should also strengthen regulations directly reducing pollution, and continue making strong investments in alternative energy, conservation and clean technologies.

Yes, the state should be funding those investments. This editorial doesn’t suggest where the money could come from. A carbon fee would work!

Now comes I-1631, repackaged as a carbon fee. In one key respect – accountability – it’s the worst of the bunch. It would collect more than $1 billion yearly. An un-elected board appointed by the governor would propose how to spend it. The initiative requires seats for powerful entities, such as labor and tribes, promising them large cuts.

The Legislature has the final say on appropriations. But the carbon board is structured to be a political juggernaut. Legislators might have difficulty mustering political will to change course.

The logic of this excerpt immediately collapses upon inspection. The measure isn’t “accountable” because it’s an “unelected board” that has to — report to the elected legislature. But the legislature won’t have the “political will” because the resulting legislation will be too popular! The Times is ultimately mad because a panel of experts and stakeholders will be able to propose legislation in Olympia.

Global warming is critical. But I-1631 is not do-or-die. Sponsors opposed the 2016 carbon-tax initiative. It aspired to be revenue neutral, by cutting other taxes, and didn’t fund their wish list.

My, that I-732 seems quite reasonable, with no grubby progressive politics or interest group spending! The Times hates taxes and would surely have supported using carbon proceeds for tax cuts!

Oh, wait.

Continue reading “Seattle Times: Intellectually Dishonest Yet Again”

• U District activists trying to shape neighborhood ($), appear to be constructive.
• ST needs someone from South King or Pierce County for its Citizen Oversight Panel.
• Yet another Times reporter “addicted” to transit ($). Maybe they will someday bubble up to the ed board.
• Pierce Transit avoids disruption after natural gas supplies falter.
• A deep dive on RapidRide H (Delridge).
• Auburn Station parking/access open house happening Oct. 30.
• The same thing in Kent, but tonight.
• E-scooters in Tacoma.
• 520 bridge experiencing cost overruns, too ($).
• UW and Seattle bargaining ($) over permission to grow.
• Delays in the new Mukilteo ferry terminal.
• A light rail bar crawl.

This is an open thread.

This season’s Trailhead Direct service is wrapping up on October 28th, as the weather worsens and parking demand at trailheads drops. This year’s innovation was to directly serve particularly carless neighborhoods like Capitol Hill, rather than forcing a transfer (or drive) to Issaquah.

Feel free to comment on your experiences with Trailhead Direct below, but better yet tell Metro directly by responding to their survey. Metro wants to hear from you, even if you didn’t use the service this year.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/40441865@N08/44793708352/in/pool-seatrans/

• The wonderfully named STAB (Seattle Transit Advisory Board) needs new members.
• More apartments = stabilized rents ($). People “rebutting” this by pointing out the lack of units at the low end of the market should ask themselves if stabilizing market-rate rents matters or not. Though market-rate construction doesn’t solve all problems, it is a necessary condition to control housing costs.
• Speed cameras make streets safer.
• Uber now campaigning for congestion pricing ($).
• Worthwhile Canadian initiative: optimizing transit for happiness.
• This minimum density bill in Olympia would be a big deal.
• ECB talks ADU rules, council candidates, and improving pedestrian lives.
• I was lukewarm on the I-5 lid movement, but they’re putting buildings there I’m all in.
• Tacoma Community College P&R just reopened.
• Happy 15th, Snoqualmie Valley Transportation!
• Inside a 4,400hp locomotive.

This is an open thread.