by TIM BOND

Sound Transit held an open house for Brooklyn Station last night. This station is the southernmost station of North Link, and one of three that is planned to open in 2021 (Roosevelt and Northgate are the others). The main purpose for this open house was to gather public feedback about two options for the station. Both options are underground center-platform underground stations in the 4300 block of Brooklyn Avenue NE, immediately east of the UW Tower (formerly Safeco Tower). These two options are the final choices of the many locations Sound Transit has evaluated throughout the University District, including some north of NE 45th. This location was selected by the Sound Transit board due to its proximity and (lack of) risks.

Option 1
Option 1 is an in-street station that would be located directly underneath the current Brooklyn Ave NE. The station would have two entrances—one on NE 45th and one on NE 43rd, and will be accessed via elevators and escalators. The station will have a mezzanine and separate elevators will take riders between the mezzanine and the surface/platform. The station box—the area excavated and later partially filled in to construct the station—is only a few feet narrower than the space available between the UW Tower and the Neptune Theater. This narrow buffer equates to a higher cost and higher risk than Option 2.

Option 2
Option 2 is similar to Option 1 but is shifted slightly east. The station would be located half under Brooklyn and half under the Chase Bank and parking lots located on the east side of Brooklyn. It would extend to the south end of NE 43rd, coming close to the University Manor Apartments, which may have historic significance. Sound Transit would acquire Chase and both parking lots, which would later be ripe for TOD. This station would also be underground, accessed by elevators and escalators, but would have only one entrance. The elevators would go directly to the platform, whereas the escalators would switchback at the mezzanine level. This option would require about half as much special shoring due to the extended buffer on all sides. During construction, NE 43rd would be closed between Brooklyn Ave and University Way (“The Ave”) but the sidewalk on the south side would remain open.

More after the jump… Continue reading “Brooklyn Station Open House Report”

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It’s here coming February 1st:

H/T: Dan Carey.

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• Reagan Dunn now in charge of the Regional Transit Committee.
• Students compete by planning the Mt. Baker station area.
• Thanks to last year’s ballot, Intercity Transit adding service.
• Final two Swift stations opened Tuesday.
• Our own Velobusdriver goes national.
• Legislature seeks to address the ferry budget issues by renegotiating the labor contract, threatening privatization.
• Seattle does some backpedaling on parking rates.
• New I-405 HOT lane bill, opposed by Kemper Freeman & Co.
• Angry Transit Nerd argues for a weekly pass.
• Density correlates with productivity.
• Traffic impact of the DBT. Also.
• DSTT security company fined for inadequate training and equipment.
• Island Transit’s new facility plan is controversial.
• The political economy of cutting federal transit funding.
• Amtrak Cascades had farebox recovery of over 60% in 2010.
• Metropolitan congestion rankings are deeply flawed.
• Making Broadway bike-friendly.
• Survey headline looks bad for Link, but this comment by TCC’s Shefali Ranganathan clears up what’s going on. [UPDATE: A followup on this is coming.]
• Mudslides on a road? We should fix that right away.
• TriMet tries classical music to reduce crime.

This is an open thread.

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And a fancy new website to explain them!

As the highlights indicate, stops are being rearranged downtown and, when the Kirkland TC reopens on Feb. 26th, there too.  Route 255 will go to 15 minute headways all day from Downtown Seattle to Totem Lake. Route 309 is a new peak express between Kenmore, SLU, and First Hill. The 309 map seems to indicate no stops at all below the ship canal but I suspect that’s some sort of mistake.

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Seattle Councilmember Nick Licata has a thoughtful and informative suck-it-up piece directed at surface/transit/I-5 advocates. Athough I wouldn’t agree with every statement in it, it’s notable for not insulting the intelligence of its audience:

This is where the state legislators come in. None that we talked to indicated a willingness to transfer that money to a surface road project which would run through downtown and be augmented by expanding I-5 and adding more bus service. As recently as last month, in a December 2010 forum,  State Senator Ed Murray, the sponsor of the bored tunnel legislation, spoke strongly against expanding I-5-a key element of a surface option.

Further, in a February 2007 Seattle Times article, State Senator Haugen, Chair of the Senate Transportation Committee, was quoted as saying the state might contribute only $1 billion for a surface replacement, and that the money left over from what was allocated for an AWV replacement could be used for 520 or other unfunded projects across the state. State House Transportation Committee Chair Judy Clibborn was quoted expressing similar sentiments…

The funding needs for a surface solution bring us back to the State Legislature. Given their need to vacuum up every available cent from capital projects, the probability of the State taking away a good portion of the current allocated $2 billion for a deep bore tunnel is fairly certain if the City opts for a street surface replacement for the AWV.  We could end up with an even greater financial hit to Seattle property owners than possible cost overruns on the deep bore tunnel.

I have a few thoughts on this, below the jump:

Continue reading “Licata Dismisses Chances of Surface/Transit”

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Last night, Bellevue hosted an open house for its B7-Revised alignment.  There wasn’t a whole lot of new information on the plate so those absent didn’t miss much.  Other than what is already mostly known about the alignment, many of the answers to questions about design elements were more often than not something to the effect of “we haven’t decided yet” or “we’re still working on that part.”  There were three large plots of the alignment and attendees were invited to post sticky-note comments upon concerned areas.

I had an opportunity to speak briefly with pro-B2 councilmember John Chelminiak who was very concerned about B7’s slough crossing.  According to Chelminiak, WSDOT has significant concerns about pile-supported structures in the slough because of unstable peat movement in the bog.  A strong earthquake could easily fracture or take down an elevated light rail guideway along with the I-90 bridges.

Some more of the meeting below the jump.

Continue reading “B7-Revised Open House Recap”

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Sound Transit rolls out new schedules on February 5th. The schedule book is already online. There are no changes to rail service, but ST Express is changing as follows:

Route 522: New trips added; stop changes in downtown Seattle and minor schedule changes
Route 540: Service returns to Kirkland Transit Center; minor stop changes in Kirkland
Route 554, 577, 578, 590-595: Stop changes in downtown Seattle
Route 511, 513 and 532: Please note that when the Mountlake Terrace Freeway Station opens in spring 2011, schedules will change for ST Express Routes 511 and 513, which will begin serving that station. You’ll also have more travel options with new trips added on routes 511 and 532. For the most up-to-date schedule information, sign up for e-mail alerts at www.soundtransit.org/subscribe.

New connectivity is always exciting.

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The News Tribune reports that Councilmember Muri (R-Steilacoom) wants the council to take a position in opposition of Pierce Transit’s (PT) Proposition 1 which will avert a roughly 35% reduction in service. As pointed out it is unusual for elected officials to officially oppose propositions from other government agencies.

In a move not often seen in local politics, Muri said he’s authoring a resolution that the council oppose the measure on the Feb. 8 ballot. He brought the issue up twice today, first during the County Council’s weekly Rules and Operations Committee and again during a mid-morning study session.

….

The Tacoma City Council, meanwhile, will consider a resolution in support of the transit tax hike during its meeting at 5 p.m. tonight.  Tacoma Mayor Marilyn Strickland is a member of the Pierce Transit board and co-chair of the Proposition 1 campaign.

Since Muri brought the issue  up only this morning, it was too early to tell which way his colleagues were leaning – except for Farrell – and whether he can gain majority support.

Farrell is the County Council’s delegate to the Pierce Transit board and a man who knows the county’s bus system well; he’s a regular rider.

He made it clear this  morning – as he has in public meetings over the last several months – he believes the increased tax is vital. Without it, he says, bus service will be cut severely – and some people who need it will be cut off completely.

Muri said he’s “never seen so much angst” from constituents as he has regarding the Pierce Transit proposal, which would increase the sales tax it collects by 50 percent – from .06 cents to .09 cents on a dollar. That’s the difference between 6 cents on a $10 purchase and 9 cents on a $10 purchase.

Tacoma Tomorrow has some good background on the “Save Our Buses” campaign and precedence of transit measures in Pierce County.

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Marko Liias, a strong transit ally in the Washington State House of Representatives, has put forward a bill that would allow counties to collect a “congestion reduction charge” of up to $30 per vehicle to help fund transit. PubliCola reports that Judy Clibborn, the powerful chair of the House Transportation Committee, is one of many co-sponsors. So is Joe Fitzgibbon, the new pro-transit representative from West Seattle.

The governor vetoed a similar provision in May, 2009, but Metro’s deep budget problems may have changed the political landscape.

If passed, Liias’ bill would enter into effect August 1 of this year. The King County Council will then have to approve the vehicle license fee to the annual vehicle license fee, and actual collections could begin no earlier than six months after that. The bill terminates itself on June 30, 2014. So, optimistically, this bill represents an additional funding source for Metro between February, 2012 and July, 2014. Is this the sort of long-term fix Metro needs? No, but it may buy some time and it’s unlikely that any revenue source decided upon in the current political climate will be able to address Metro’s future budget concerns.

The $30 fee would raise roughly $37 million per year, if one extrapolates from an early Transit Task Force report on revenue options. Metro is facing a $50 million shortfall by 2012, and it only gets worse over time.

The bill would face stiff odds in the State Senate, where some members there — backed by Senator Transportation Chair Mary Margaret Haugen — are proposing to only allow communities to increase revenue for transit as part of a larger package that would also help fill the state’s highway coffers.

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Last month Adam wrote about efforts to get some more use out of the footprint of the South Kirkland Park and Ride.

The next public workshop is tomorrow night, 7pm, at Kirkland City Hall. The NIMBYs seem to always come out when upzones are on the table so it’d be nice if density advocates did too.

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