Northgate Link, which will relieve I-5 of tens of thousands of peak commuters, but is nevertheless not considered a “highway purpose”. A little negotiation on a bipartisan Constitutional Amendment could fix that. Credit: Atomic Taco
Friday was the deadline for bills in Olympia to get out of the fiscal committees. Now, all the survivors have to get through their chamber’s Rules Committee, and get passed on 2nd/3rd reading on their chamber’s floor, by 5 pm on Wednesday, March 13.
The extremely user-friendly state legislative website lists bills that have made it out of each committee.
No seriously. If you can get the 20th off, you should. I’m only going to advertise this event once but wanted to give maximum notice so transit geeks can file to get the day off. Granted I wish WSDOT had the M/V Samish open house and Washington Policy Center/WPC had their upcoming pundit fest on Saturday the 23rd*, but oh well.
On May 20th, it’s going to be a great day to be a transit geek in Anacortes. One thing I should note from the get-go is that Skagit Transit Route 410 – which has connections in 413 to Burlington & 40X to Mount Vernon – will take you right up to the open house and is a short walk away from the WPC event. Below are many details of the M/V Samish open house to check out the new ferry and get to see the wheelhouse and hopefully more normally off limits to passengers for logical reasons.
M/V Samish Christening and Open House Wednesday, May 20, 2015 Anacortes Ferry Terminal
2100 Ferry Terminal Road Anacortes, WA 98221
Open House hours are from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m.
Stop by any time throughout the day to explore your new ferry and take part in the festivities
Complimentary refreshments served
Activities for kids
Christening celebration at 1:30 p.m.
Remarks from dignitaries
Tribal ceremony with the Samish Indian Nation
Vessel christening by First Lady Trudi Inslee
This event is free of charge, open to the public and is ADA accessible.
Getting to the event
The event will be held aboard the M/V Samish at the Anacortes ferry terminal. Visitors coming from the mainland may drive and park in the upper lot of the Anacortes terminal. Visitors coming from the islands are encouraged to walk-on rather than bringing a vehicle. Passengers arriving via ferry will be issued tickets for free walk-on return passage, valid for same day travel.
Parking
Parking in the Anacortes terminal upper parking lot is free for this event. As you approach the ferry terminal, stay to the left to avoid the line for the tollbooths and follow the signs for event parking. Shuttle service will run continuously between the upper parking lot and the terminal building from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Need more info?
If you have a question about the Samish Christening and Open House or would like more information, please contact Event Coordinator Rachel Waitt at rachel.waitt-AT-wsdot-DOT-wa-DOT-gov or (206) 515-3944.
Because I’m a nice person, I decided to convert Rachel’s e-mail to anti-spam. But based on photos of the MV Tokitae open house including inside the wheelhouse, it’s well worth the trip to Anacortes.
Also later that day between 5 PM & 7 PM, Washington Policy Center/WPC is having a free reception with all their pundits at the San Juan Airlines terminal at the Anacortes Airport – a 15 minute hike from Hwy 20 & Anacopper Rd. All obviously includes WPC’s Transportation Center Director Bob Pishue so if you want to ask Bob a few questions in person about transit because you – like me – will be a mile or so away checking out a new ferry, you may. Just please be polite with Bob.
Finally, Anacortes is relatively transit-friendly. For a mere $2 dollars for an all day pass, you can use as much Skagit Transit/SKAT as you need to within Skagit County for the same day you buy the pass. On the hour during this open house is a quick ride between the Anacortes Ferry Terminal and the downtown area where there’s fast food and seafood restaurants plus some great parks. Just something to keep in mind. Please fire off comments if you want some tips where to photograph or eat in Anacortes or how to get to/from Anacortes. I’m certainly going to avail me of some of the trails.
Maybe we’ll all have an impromptu meet up at the WPC event at 1630 before I bow out at 1730 to head home… or we could meet-up on the MV Samish before the event ends at 4 & I depart to the airport. Thoughts?
Photo credits: WSDOT Flickr Feed
—FOOTNOTE—
*The 16th would be problematic to say the least for avgeeks due to Heritage Flight Museum & Paine Field Aviation Day – both of which seemingly require either long walks or hiring a taxicab from the nearest bus stop. But I digress..
Washington State Ferries Simulation of New Mukilteo Multimodal Terminal
Mukilteo by 2020, assuming the state funds the second and last phase of the actual $129 million construction, will have a new multimodal transit terminal that’ll be a net gain. For one, Mukilteo’s waterfront will no longer have unsightly abandoned US Air Force fuel tanks and the pier they were on that served Paine Field (aka KPAE) when Paine Field was a US Army Air Corps & US Air Force base defending the Pacific Northwest & training WWII P-38 Lightning & P-39 Aircobra pilots. Mukilteo will also happily lose “four percent of the remaining creosote-treated timber piles in Puget Sound” (SOURCE) on its shoreline. The Mukilteo waterfront will also no longer have a significant walk between the Sounder North platform and either the State Ferry Terminal or the bus stop. With Mukilteo-Clinton being the busiest Washington State Ferries (WSF) ferry run in sheer demand with over 2 million vehicles per year & almost 4 million total riders per year, the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) decided the time was right to start replacing a seismically deficient & disruptive WSF terminal with something out of the 21st Century that is environmentally friendly.
I decided to write about this project because as my Flickr followers or browsers of the Seattle Transit Blog Flickr Pool may have noticed, I use when able Sounder North to make connections between Everett Station & Mukilteo – mostly in the late afternoons. Not too happy about the bad connections that a 1,850 foot walk entails as per page 6 of this PDF discussing Multimodal Connections. In fact, here’s the existing terminal status quo versus the changes that will happen if Phase II, the actual building of the new Mukilteo terminal occur:
ST to WSF passenger building
Bus to WSF passenger building
Bus to ST
Existing terminal*
1,730
190
1,850
Project (New terminal)*
745
225
970
*Distance in Feet
So I decided to reach out to Laura LaBissoniere Miller, a WSDOT communications consultant who according to her bio, “supports a range of public involvement programs, specializing in implementing community engagement for NEPA/SEPA environmental review processes. … A skilled communicator, Laura also handles citizen correspondence for some of the most controversial projects.” Having worked with her on this report, tend to concur.
For instance when asked about putting TransitScreen into the new terminal after this great Frank Chiachiere post Laura promised, “it’s certainly something the design team, Sound Transit and Community Transit can look into. Thank you for the suggestion! ” Considering Sounder North, multiple Community Transit & Everett Transit routes and a very-high-demand Washington State Ferries run all will be serving this terminal… hope TransitScreen happens. Especially if perhaps somebody waiting on a bus can walk off the ferry or Sounder North could dive into the terminal, pick up something from concessions and/or use the restroom and make their connection…
As part of my Paine Field commutes these days involves the bus stop along the Mukilteo waterfront, also was happy to hear buses would have their own lanes through to the Mukilteo Multimodal Terminal. Currently buses have to make a turnaround right in the thick of the WSF terminal traffic flow.
One thing also noticeable in reviewing the voluminous documentation of the project library is that the new terminal will provide a covered, heated place with restrooms for transit users to make our connections in health & frankly basic human dignity. The below is the current status quo as I pictured around 5:30 PM 10 November 2014:
If you browse through the pictures, you’ll notice some construction in the background. It’s the expansion of the Mukilteo terminal for Sounder North which according to the Sound Transit website, “includes a second platform on the south side of the tracks, a pedestrian bridge over the tracks connecting the two platforms, permanent passenger shelters and public art”. Sharon Salyer, an Everett Herald Writer noted in her write-up the project is costing $11 million dollars and, “Currently 280 people board the train at Mukilteo Station each day, part of the 1,100 passengers traveling between Seattle’s King Street Station and Edmonds, Mukilteo and Everett.” A review of the WSDOT project library notes the plan is to design multiple walking paths for Sounder North users to/from the Mukilteo Multimodal Terminal.
Ultimately, if the state legislature can please fund the construction of the actual Mukilteo Multimodal Terminal – it’ll greatly improve the transit connections from here to/from Whidbey (assuming Island Transit financial condition doesn’t further worsen) but also Everett to the north and Mukilteo, Lynnwood plus Seattle & points further south. The Puget Sound environment will also be greatly improved by the removal of harmful abandoned docks & petroleum infrastructure along the Mukilteo waterfront, and ST3 can help provide even more high quality transit connections to this new transit hub. Plus with much improved transit service to Paine Field, this terminal could be a great hub for transit connections to the many tenants…
Having been inspired by Glenn in Portland and fueled in part by a genuine fear of losing Island Transit’s 411W due to Island Transit cutbacks; I decided with the very genuine need to park a video camera at the Washington State Auditor’s Office (hereafter SAO) Exit Conference with Island Transit on 24 October for STB purposes to make a loop trip. I started from Skagit County around to Island Transit HQ south of Coupeville to the Mukilteo-Clinton ferry to the Future of Flight and then back to Skagit. I’ve also decided to instead of imbedding every photo to hyperlink most to the Imgur album.
I then boarded the Skagit Transit 208 south to Skagit Station. A nice half hour ride and happy to pay the $2 for an all-day in-county pass to Skagit Transit, which is saving me a buck for the day.
Especially as thanks to Island Transit pinching pennies Island Transit no longer has 411W stop at Skagit Station but now March’s Point Park & Ride. This now means a $1 fare or using your $2 all-day in-county Skagit Transit pass from Skagit Station on a small bus with hard seats to March’s Point. A short wait later, Island Transit’s 411W arrived. On board, surprisingly & shockingly for a fare-free transit agency in fiscal dire straights was this ad:
Yes, Island Transit is deferring its insurance payments but has these ads all over their buses. Profligate spending if ever… especially as dues to Washington State Ridesharing Organization are somehow a higher priority than the state’s transit insurance pool. Paging Mayor Studley… paging Mayor Studley…
At least I had a pleasant ride with another avgeek who was my driver over to Oak Harbor in a comfortable seat. Once in Oak Harbor I had about 20 minutes to cross the street, use the public restroom and then cross back to board the Route 1 bus. After politely informing the driver I was writing for STB about Island Transit, I had a driver helpfully pull me off at the closest bus stop for Island Transit. Through no fault of the driver, the bus stop was a gravel lot with no sidewalk a 10 minute, 0.5 mile walk from The Transit’s HQ. Not exactly conducive to having riders hold Island Transit to account… in fact I was the only transit rider to attend the SAO Exit Conference.
Part 2 – Island Transit HQ to the Clinton Ferry Dock
As Island Transit Route 1 was running late, I did not get to ride the MV Kitsap but instead as you can see the MV Tokitae. Brand new ferry, desperately needed part of renewing the state ferry system fleet. I was hoping for a chance to get some external photos of this beaut before taking interior pictures, but oh well.
At this point, I began to truly appreciate urban transit. So far this day I’ve had to deal with rural transit where runs are every hour. At Community Transit, service with Community Transit Route 113 is every half hour. So instead of standing in the middle of nowhere waiting for a bus, the wait’s only a few minutes to get onto Route 113. Although this bus’s interior is dated, I was in no position to complain for a short ride.
With a GoPro taking stop motion on my head, the time soon arrived to accomplish the second big video sortie of the day. Namely a stop-motion of the hike up to Future of Flight. I’ve made this YouTube to provoke some discussion so here you go:
I think now you know why I’m so pushy on getting a bus stop at Future of Flight. It seems after talking to the City of Everett this will require Community Transit re-prioritization. So will be covering the new Community Transit service.
Part 4 – The Ride Home
No pictures as I was frankly tired and shook up by tragic events a short distance away. I had a friend drop me off at the SWIFT, then barely missed Skagit Transit 90X. The jerk driver wouldn’t stop as he pulled out, I ran and yelled “WAIT, WAIT” so I got stranded for an hour at Everett Station. Called the supervisor to complain, torqued off the driver couldn’t wait a damn 30 seconds. Then I got on the next Skagit Transit 90X, then a 45 minute wait due to a route detour & Stilliguamish River bridge repair, then the Skagit Transit 300 and got home. Again, I had important video to compile and upload. Hard to have good transit connections when transit can’t stay on schedule – and the Stilliguamish River bridge work + a special detour is totally messing up connections.
Overall, this day trip loop is worth making if you have the time. Due to Island Transit cutbacks a loop trip on Whidbey Island can only be done Monday-Friday which seems indefinite until Saturday service returns. Also need to make sure you can miss a mass transit connection or two.
