Its bad enough Sound Transit’s East Link program spends $6 billion on a transportation project
that will gridlock I-90 bridge, devastate Bellevue and do nothing to reduce
I-90 and 405 congestion. The real
corker is East Link also makes it more difficult for Sound Transits Central
Link light rail to be financially viable.
The “bus tunnel” underneath Seattle limits any light rail
system to a single set of tracks in each direction. The station designs in the tunnel allow only 4 cars in
each train. A typical London or
Paris subway route provides 4-minute headways between trains. Sound Transit’s 2008 DEIS set
East Link minimum intervals at 9 minutes rather than 8 presumably because of
the need for the extra 30 seconds to merge with Central Link. Their 2011 version shortened that
to 7 minutes but provided no explanation.
It’s also worth noting their assumption that 200 riders can be accommodated
on a 74- seat car “might” seem to require additional time.
Whatever the final headways, light rail capacity in Seattle
is very limited. It’s vital to
maximize the number of people who will have access to that capacity. East Link flunks that test! It takes up at least half of light rail capacity (more if
additional headway is required to merge) but most cross-lake commuters only
access is a single P&R in South Bellevue. This P&R will never have the capacity or the
accessibility to accommodate the numbers of commuters needed to meet cross-lake
demands. (East Link’s confiscation
of the center roadway also eliminates any two-way bus only lanes there, the
only realistic cross-lake public transit commuting solution)
Sound Transit should concentrate on attracting more riders
to Central Link. Its current
20,000-30,000 daily ridership is a fraction of their original 100,000
projections. Typical of
Sound Transit, their plan to attract more riders is to extend light rail
towards Federal Way, presumably with one or two stops at P&R lots along the
way. Unfortunately, the costs
of extending light-rail tracks along with the additional equipment and
operating costs for maintaining service over the longer system will far exceed
the revenue from additional transit riders attracted by the trains. Like East Link, the only real winners
are the construction companies and their labor unions.
Sound Transit could attract far more riders at far less
costs by offering direct bus service from every south end P&R to the
Tukwila light rail station. .
Commuters throughout south end would be able to leave their car at a
nearby P&R with fast reliable service into and out of Seattle. Terminating the bus routes at Tukwila
rather than in Seattle would also reduce Seattle congestion.
Eliminating East Link would allow Sound Transit to double
the number of trains to meet the increased demand. The increased train
frequency could allow alternate trains to skip half of the station stops
between Tukwila and downtown, reducing transit times but still maintaining
current service. The shuttle
bus service could be providing additional riders for Central Link, helping
commuters and reducing congestion within a year.
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