We complete our weary journey through Seattle’s High Capacity Transit study by looking at the First Avenue Streetcar. There was no BRT option evaluated here. Although a streetcar has 24 times more capital expense than an enhanced bus, it has triple the number of new riders and runs near capacity throughout the day. In fact, the First Avenue Streetcar ranks third according to my favorite efficiency metric, ANC/NR, behind the 4th/5th streetcar couplet and Eastlake BRT, at $2.59. The bus is considerably worse at $3.14.

To wrap things up, here’s a handy summary chart of the 11 options with some of the key metrics:

Corridor	Length (mi)	Mode	Capital ($m)	Op ($m)	Time Saved (min)	Daily Riders	ANC/NR	Ann. GHG Change (mt)
Westlake	7.0	Rail	327	9	11	26000	$4.53	-427
		BRT	111	8	11	21000	$3.11	-400
		Bus	17	10	2	16000	$4.74	+1211
Eastlake	6.1	Rail	253	9	15	25000	$2.73	-405
		BRT	83	8	15	20000	$2.28	-376
		Bus	28	11	2	15000	$5.83	-328
Madison	2.1	BRT	81	5	8	14000	$2.96	-80
		Bus	20	6	1	12500	$4.16	-56
1st	2.3	Rail	121	5	1	12600	$2.59	+1
		Bus	5	3	1	6200	$3.14	+19
4th/5th	1.1	Rail	74	5	0	11500	$1.71	-12

In spite of what some commenters seem to think, I’ve actively refrained from endorsing any particular mode or corridor in this survey. What’s best really depends on what you value most and the external financial situation. Politics matters, too: even if these projects are more cost-effective than those out in other neighborhoods, the plan is going to have to spread some love out to the other priority corridors to win a citywide ballot.

67 comments

• Investigator finds no conflict of interest in Kevin Wallace’s dealings.
• Bellevue City Council “encouraged by recent progress” on East Link.
• When buying locomotives, Amtrak has its priorities wrong.
• Federal budget cuts could wipe out what the $20 tab fee would get us.
• Take Seattle’s Comprehensive Plan survey.
• Metro is looking at eliminating the 2nd and Columbia bus stop to improve traffic flow. Comment here.
• Community Transit’s system reorganization process grinds on. Of course, the option I like best is least popular with survey respondents.
• Seattle’s Walk/Bike/Ride challenge has loads of prizes this summer.
• Photos from the Burien CRC meeting.
• Redmond’s doing a transportation master plan too.
• Seattle Council chatters about asking for less than the full $100 tab fee.
• People resent losing their free parking subsidy.
• Bellingham coal terminal plan could mess up Amtrak Cascades.
• Federal Way looking at legal options because light rail might not get there.
• Crosscut’s Kent Kammerer writes 1,000 words about the forces behind Roosevelt upzoning, doesn’t manage to use the word “environmentalist” once. The environmental argument for density is dismissed in one throwaway clause as a fix leaf for developer profits.
• Environmentalists suing PSRC over greenhouse gases lose.
• “If You Shop at Bellevue Square, You Contribute” to Tim Eyman.
• America’s lack of transportation investment is hurting Al Qaeda.

This is an open thread.

65 comments

This blog hosted a meetup Tuesday night and it was great to see some of our readers come out to say hello. Our guest speaker for the evening was Michael Taylor-Judd, perhaps the only person running for city council who is a regular reader and commenter!

Adam took a great panorama shot of the audience. It feels like you’re there, man.

Thanks to the Diller Room for hosting us free of charge. What did everyone think of the venue?

20 comments

Eastlake is a very strong corridor for high-capacity transit that has both high, long-distance ridership and good efficiency metrics. The proposed route would begin at Roosevelt station, absorb and improve the SLU streetcar (if rail), and use a 4th/5th Avenue couplet to complete its run through downtown. Routes 70 and 66 would be eliminated. These operating savings help give the Eastlake streetcar the lowest net operating cost per new rider, at 65 cents per head.

For the rail option, weekday ridership is strong (25,000 a day in 2030, only 1,000 less than Ballard) and the $253m capital cost is substantially lower than Ballard. Using my preferred cost-effectiveness metric, Annualized Net Cost per New Rider, BRT is the second most effective corridor/mode combination in the study at $2.28. Rail is fourth overall (behind the First Ave streetcar) at $2.73, while “enhanced bus” has the worst ratio in the entire study at $5.83.

In general, there is not exclusive right-of-way for this corridor, except for downtown and perhaps Fairview/Eastlake.

142 comments

This is King County Metro’s back door policy, stated in my words:

Passengers may exit through the back door on any trip that is pay-as-you-enter at any time, except at downtown bus stops when the Ride Free Area is not in effect (7 pm – 6 am).

Jim O’Rourke, Metro’s Manager of Operations confirms:

Current policy is as Oran states – back door is OK outside of the CBD.

As for the signs on buses, Linda Thielke, Metro spokesperson, says “[management] will work to see what can be done to get the signs altered; but it may take some time unless it’s already part of the decal campaign for this summer.” The policy change by Metro’s Operations folks probably didn’t reach everyone, thus signs that continue to conflict with the new policy.

So there you have it. I hope that riders, drivers and management will all get the memo on this policy for consistency and efficiency of bus unloading.

130 comments

It’s become clear from comments that there’s some confusion about what the streetcar and BRT modes in the TMP actually mean. It is not, in general, the service quality of the South Lake Union Streetcar. You have to dig into the pamphlets to which each post links to understand what treatments the streetcar (or BRT bus) would receive.

In the case of the 4th/5th couplet, there are two options. The best one, presented at right, has a dedicated transit lane in both directions. The other alternative would do so only on 5th.

For cost reasons, in that project we’re likely stuck with the current configuration through SLU, unless one of the other lines is built.

As for Ballard/Fremont, the plan envisions dedicated transit lanes in the Ballard/Leary couplet, on Westlake between Valley and Nickerson, and on one or both avenues downtown as above. Elsewhere, it would operate in mixed traffic, although it would get other priority treatments like queue jumps and signal priority.

26 comments

I’m not sure why July 26th is the official day for good transportation events, but the City of Bellevue is hosting a bike ride of the Eastgate corridor, so that cyclists can provide suggestions to planners on how to make the corridor bike-friendly. Meet at 5:30 at Enatai Beach Park.

This is a great opportunity to help plan for the future of the Eastgate Corridor. Join representatives from the Mountains to Sound Greenway and City of Bellevue for a loop ride from Enatai to the Sunset Trailhead and back. You’ll be able to learn more about Greenway Trail options that are being explored, and provide your input to transportation planners on how to make this important corridor more bike-friendly. We’ll be back to Enatai Beach Park around 6:45 p.m. Please RSVP at http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/eastgateI-90corridorbikeride.

1 comments