East Link's Fatal Flaw

Why East Link won't work

East Link’s Fatal Flaw

East Link violates a fundament transportation dictum, “you don’t install light rail and bus service on the same transportation corridor”.   If you want to use light rail, you need to have the capacity and the accessibility to transport large numbers of commuters.  A Paris subway route for instance has 10-car trains running every 4 minutes.  It is accessible to huge numbers of riders because of the population centers around the many stations it serves. 

By contrast, East Link, at best will consist of 4-car trains with minimum 7-minute intervals.   The only access point for the vast majority of cross-lake commuters will be the South Bellevue P&R.  This P&R will never have the capacity or the accessibility to attract a large number of 405 and I-90 commuters. 

East Link will result in the vast majority of cross-lake commuters forced to use the outer roadways.  Sound Transits own 2004 analysis concluded their proposed addition of a 4^th lane to the outer roadway for both bus and HOV traffic would not provide needed capacity.

Unfortunately, the media, BCC, KCC, eastside legislators, and other organizations refuse to recognize this reality.  I suspect the influence of the Associated Builders and Contractors of Western Washington and their labor unions along with the millions spent on light rail advertising is contributing to this reluctance.  In any case, if ST is allowed to proceed it will result in billions spent on a transportation project that will cause gridlock on 1-90, devastate parts of residential Bellevue, wreck havoc on downtown Bellevue and do absolutely nothing to ease congestion on 405 and I-90

Bill Hirt