Here’s the “short list” of stimulus projects for the PSRC‘s FTA grants. The PSRC expects to get $135 million in FTA money for these projects. As you notice, there’s $316 million in projects here, so the actual grants are 42.5% of the list here in terms of cost. Thanks again to Rick Olson of the PSRC.
Continue reading “Transit Stimulus Short List”
U.S. Transit Measures + Cali HSR Prop 1A
Currently, Most of the transit measures that was out for rail, buses, etc are passing except for a few.
California High Speed Rail – 50.6% Yes – 49.4% No with 30% reporting in
Sound Transit Prop 1 – King County 61.9% Yes – 38.1% No – Snohomish County 55.4% Yes – 44.5% No. Pierce County 50.82% Yes – 49.18% No.
I-985 – 39.6% Yes – 60.6% No
New Mexico Transit (Including RailRunner) – Winner
Kansas City Light Rail -Defeated
Honolulu Elevated Commuter Rail – 53.0% Yes – 47.0% No
St. Louis Metrolink Tax – 48.0% No – 52.0% Yes
LA MTA Sales Tax – 64.5% Yes – 35.5% No
Sacramento Streetcar – Passing per SF Gate
BART – Passing per SF Gate
What to Look for Tonight
While we will likely know who the next President is within a few hours, we won’t find out the results of our state elections (Governor, I-985) or the regional transit expansion measure that we strongly support (Proposition 1). King County, the state’s largest, expects to count only about 39% of the ballots tonight.
But of course we can look at the returns as they come in and try to predict the outcome. For background, the Sound Transit District covers part of King, Snohomish, and Pierce Counties. The harsh reality is that King will likely have to pull up lackluster support from Snohomish and Pierce voters. If — and this could be a big if — Snohomish and Pierce Counties report 43% and 44% respectfully (as they did in 2007’s Roads & Transit vote), then it’s projected that a 55.5% vote in King County would lead to the measure passing by 51%-49% overall. Now, obviously, if we get worse results in Snohomish and Pierce, then King voters will have a steeper hill to climb.
When the polls close at 8pm you’ll be able to see results at this page. Results will come hourly until around 1am. Again, we probably won’t know for sure if the measure passes tonight so be patient.
Let’s party
The Mass Transit Now campaign boosting Proposition 1 is throwing a party at Kells Irish Pub near Pike Place Market. I think some of us bloggers will be there, so stop by. It’s right near the Showbox!
How do the polls look?
Well, for Proposition 1 we don’t have much information. Older polls showed massive support for a light rail expansion, but there are concerns that the financial crisis will hurt Prop. 1. The latest meaningful poll pegs support at 47% Yes, 33% No, and 20% Undecided with likely voters (including leaners). The wisdom is that undecideds tend to break against initiatives. That poll was taken on October 18 and 19. Things could have shifted for or against the measure, and the likely voter model that SurveyUSA uses may not account for a changing electorate that Obama might bring to Puget Sound.
But this looks much, much better than a poll taken from the same pollster for last year’s Roads & Transit measure around the same time last year, which ended up failing. That poll found 30% Yes, 32% No, and 37% Undecided but unfortunately didn’t include leaners — so it’s not an apples-to-apples camparison.
I-985 has had more polling from SurveyUSA. A poll taken 10/26 – 10/27 found 29% Yes, 42% No, 29% Undecided. Another taken 10/30 – 11/02 found 33% Yes, 45% No, 23% Undecided. Because these polls are from the same pollster and are recent we can extrapolate that there is at least some solid opposition to Tim Eyman’s bad initative. Thank goodness.
In terms of Governor, polls are extremely close. We have endorsed Gregoire for Governor because Dino Rossi’s policies are dangerous to transit.
How did the Proposition 1 campaigns do?
The No campaign, NoToProp1.Org, has mostly relied on a massive amount of funding from Kemper Freeman, Jr. Just a few small contributions have been made. The campaign raised $152,725. The No campaign started a bit late, and invested mostly in radio ads as far as we can tell. They have had some online ads and of course have yard signs here and there.
The Yes campaign, Mass Transit Now, has received funding mainly from engineering companies, unions, and environmental groups. It has also received dozens of small contributions made online. The Yes campaign raised substantially more money with $892,623 in the bank.
The Yes campaign focused on grassroots operations, targeting farmer’s markets initially and canvassing Seattle and urban parts of the Eastside, Pierce County, and Snohomish County. The campaign reached voters through phone banking and multiple mailers (of which the No campaign had none). The Sierra Club, FUSE, TCC, and other major contributors to the campaign supplied volunteers and space for phone banking. The Yes campaign has also appeared on the radio, though the buy seemed smaller, and they have had online ads as well. There was far more Yes signage around.
The Seattle P-I, The Tacoma News Tribune, and the Stranger endorsed Proposition 1. The Seattle Times suggested voting No.
So that’s where things are. Today it’s in the hands of the voters.
Endorsements
As in the primary, STB is endorsing candidates and initiatives for the November general election. This is officially a non-partisan blog, so we’ll be evaluating candidates based on their attitude toward transit.
Strong Endorsements (Strongly pro-transit)
Sound Transit Proposition 1: YES
I-985: NO
U.S. Congress, 1st District: Jay Inslee
U.S. Congress, 6th District: Norm Dicks
Washington State Attorney General: John Ladenburg
10th District Senate: Linda Haddon
21st District House: Mary Helen Roberts
41st District Senate: Fred Jarrett
44th District House, Position 1: Hans Dunshee
47th District House, Position : Geoff Simpson
U.S. President/Vice President: Barack Obama/Joe Biden
Lukewarm Endorsements (Transit-neutral, but far better than their opponents).
Governor: Christine Gregoire
Secretary of State: Sam Reed
41st District House, Position 1: Marcie Maxwell
41st District House, Position 2: Write-in
Supporting arguments after the jump. Admin is listed as the post author, but in fact this is a collective effort.
Continue reading “Endorsements”
Seattle Times and Prop 1
The Seattle Times has a big piece today featuring some comments from our very own Big Media Ben. The accompanying graphic is truly a work of art, that really strips out all the misleading aggregate numbers and breaks down what goes where.
If I have to quibble, I’d like to have seen some sort of reference to sub-area equity, because I think the misperception that each sub-area’s money is going to fund somebody else is both common and cynically exploited by anti-transit opponents. After all, the individual sub-area revenues and budgets are broken out here (Page A-5). As an undecided Pierce County voter, for instance, I’d probably be interested in exactly what the project did for me and my neighbors, and making sure it wasn’t a scam causing me to fund a bunch of hippies on Capitol Hill.
All in all, however, bravo.
Tacoma News Tribune Endorses Prop 1!
Great news for the campaign today – the Tacoma News Tribune just came out in favor. Definitely head over to their site and have a look!
I like their focus on what comes first. Not just more express bus service, but four new Sounder round trips, and longer trains to boot:
The new buses would show up quickly, and the commuter rail runs would not be far behind. The measure would give Puyallup, Sumner and the Tacoma area four new Sounder round trips to and from Seattle, greatly increasing the capacity of this extremely popular line.
They also point out that this isn’t the end, it’s just another step:
A third vote would be needed to bring the tracks all the way to the Tacoma Dome – but getting the line to Federal Way is likely to ensure a final build-out to Pierce County.
We’ll probably see the final vote in 2016. Before that, of course, we need the state legislature to authorize more taxing authority for Sound Transit. Especially after having ridden the train this week, I think there will be quite a bit of demand for that come the 2010 session. Maybe we can even get state support for the current projects – a few hundred million could get us to Bellevue faster, or get the S. 200th station built right away for commuters from south of Sea-Tac.
Thanks very much to the TNT for coming out in support!
News Round-Up
Here’s a bunch of links, none of which need a post in their own right, but worth reading.
- This Crosscut piece details how Light Rail is being considered in the effort to update the City’s neighborhood plans. It’s a bit technical and not focused on development, but still interesting.
- Pierce County has term limits, which means Sound Transit supporter John Ladenburg is leaving office – he’s running for State Attorney General against long-time light rail opponent Rob McKenna – so there’s going to be a new Pierce County Exec. This post from the News Tribune lists the candidates’ positions on Proposition One.
- Taxi fares have gone up in Seattle again, from $2 a mile to $2.50 a mile. Fares from the Airport to the Downtown hotel district have gone from $28 to $32.
- There’s a meeting on side-walks on Mercer street set for Monday. I’ve always felt that Mercer was one of the worst streets for pedestrians, and anywhere near SR-99 in South Lake Union/Uptown is barely walkable.
- The engineer in the Metro Rail crash in Southern California was definitely texting around the time of the crash. Goes to show it’s never save to operate any motor vehicle while texting.
- This article from the DJC ($) notes that the City is looking at how parking is used around light rail stations. Visit the City’s parking near light rail page for more info.
- Door Knockers are needed Saturday for a Mass Transit Now event in Bellevue, details here:
Please join us this Saturday, October 4 at 10:00am in the parking lot of the Safeway store located at: 1645 140TH Ave. N.E., Bellevue, WA 98005.
There will a short training and an opportunity to ask questions. Then, pairs will be sent to nearby neighborhoods to get out the vote on Prop. 1!If you are able to come for a few hours on Saturday, please contact Rebecca@masstransitnow.org so we can prepare for canvassing teams.
Five New Ferries coming soon; Pierce County allows extended lease
Washington State DOT Ferries Division has came to a decision regarding replacing the aging ferries and solve the Port Townsend – Keystone issue. DOT has also added 3 new 144-car ferries to the plan as well.
The plan and time-line as it stands now will be 2 Island Home type ferries . These ferries will have the capacity to hold 64 vehicles and a capacity of 600-700 passengers. The time-line is the first vessel will be ready in April 2010 and Fall 2010. The 2008 Transportation Budget (ESHB 2878) provides $84.5 million to construct new vessels for the Port Townsend/Keystone route.
Meanwhile the 144-car ferry will be based off the popular Issaquah class boats. These 3 new vessel will mean the retirement of the 1947 60-car Rhododendron and the 1954 87-car Evergreen State. These boats will be in service Spring 2011, Fall 2011, Spring 2012 respectively.
Funding for the 144-car ferries was originally approved by the Legislature in 2003, and $30.2 million has already been spent on design, engineering and procurement.
The currently projected design-build contract price is between $60 and $80 million for each ferry. The actual total contract price will depend on the contractor’s price proposal and the results of the price negotiations required by SHB 2378.
The 2008 supplemental budget provides funding for the purchase of up to three 144-car vessels. The total project cost is $283.2 million and the 2007-09 planned expenditure is $49.7 million.
And finally, Pierce County is allowing WSDOT the continued use of the Steilacoom II on the Port Townsend – Keystone route with a lease extension until August 2009.
Pierce County Parking
University Place is nearly out of bounding capacity and is trying to work out plans to have Pierce Transit pay for part of the parking they at putting in as part of their Town Center project. University Place wants Pierce Transit to bound $10 million for the second garage off the 851-space project.
UP’s request comes at a time when Pierce Transit is already investing in a $20 million Park & Ride project on Highway 16 in Gig Harbor. Plans call for a pedestrian footbridge, closed-circuit security cameras and adding 180 to 225 parking stalls west of the highway. The agency also would like to build a bus station in the highway’s median once the state adds HOV lanes west of the Narrows.
The groundbreaking on the Peninsula Park & Ride is expected in the fall or winter, and it’s scheduled to open in fall 2010, according to its Web site.
Pierce Transit spokesman Lars Erickson said the most expensive project the agency has built to date is the Tacoma Dome Station Park & Ride, which cost almost $50 million and required state, federal and Sound Transit dollars.
Pierce Transit seems to take park-and-rides seriously: 300 parking spots for Gig Harbor with about 6300 people. The 851-space facility could be a good investment if Pierce Transit has the money for it.
Pierce County Fare Increase
Andrew Austin reports that Pierce Transit is also seeking to raise fares in January. Fares would go up by quarter for local service (unchanged since 2006) and 50 cents for the Olympia Express (unchanged since 1999).
Since Pierce Transit runs on Compressed Natural Gas, I would view this more as general inflationary pressure, rather than the sales tax/gas price implosion facing Metro.