One More Post

I posted the 8/09/13 post “The End of Blog” because I thought the previous 120 posts were sufficient to detail Sound Transit’s incompetence.   The below information explaining how Sound Transit apparently justifies their predictions for 50,000 riders recently prompted me to add one more post.

East Link is scheduled to open in 2023 and serve 10,000 new riders per day plus 40,000 who are already riding buses that will be eliminated in favor of the trains.   

Think about that for a moment.  Sound Transit is spending $2.8 billion on a light rail program that will devastate major parts of Bellevue and increase cross-lake congestion for vehicles.  Their EIS claimed it would increase I-90 “person-moving capacity across Lake Washington on I-90 by up to 60%”.  Yet 80% of their projected riders for their $2.8 billion light rail system are not the result of increased capacity but from terminating competing cross-lake bus routes.  Moving riders from buses to light rail does very little to increase cross-lake capacity.  The most effective way to increase I-90 Bridge capacity and to alleviate 1-90 and 405 congestion is to attract more riders to mass transit.  The best way to attract more riders is to provide commuters with P&R lots near where they live with direct bus rapid transit (BRT) service to where they work

Instead ST is spending the money confiscating the bridge center section, precluding any BRT option to install a light rail system with a tiny fraction of bus capacity, higher operating costs, with less accessibility and flexibility to accommodate future requirements.  Instead of attracting more transit riders with improved service their plan to terminate all I-90 Bridge bus routes at the South Bellevue P&R will make public transit less appealing.   Sound Transits most popular route ST550 between Bellevue T/C and Seattle will be cancelled.  ST554 along with all the Metro bus routes (e.g. 211, 212, 214, and 218), which currently provide 20-30 minute commutes from eastside P&R lots into Seattle every 7-15 minutes, will face the congestion associated with exiting I-90 to P&R. 

Instead of a 10-15 minute cross-lake bus ride directly into Seattle, commuters will be faced with the time required to reach the P&R, exit their buses, wait for the next light rail, and probably end up standing for a 20 minute light rail ride into Seattle.  Their return commute will undoubtedly be extending similarly.   Hardly a recipe for attracting new riders.

Again, it’s still not to late to stop this debacle.  Contact the Sound Transit Board, the King County Council, the legislators and the media.  Sound Transit should be “persuaded” to spend a tiny fraction of the $2.8 billion on BRT that will make cross-lake congestion a thing of the past rather than a certainty for the future.

The End of the Blog

(changed my mind)
Maybe I’m an optimist but I consider the nearly 1500 votes for the Bellevue City Council a clear indication of concern about Sound Transit policies.  My BCC candidacy as well as last years 48^th district candidacy has never been about getting votes but attracting attention to this blog.  I’m gratified the 120 posts have attracted more than 11,000 page views since it started in May of 2012 with the “Case Against East Link”.   The blog goal of stopping East Link has expanded to also include stopping all of the Central Link extensions beyond the UW and SeaTac.  (I believe the lack of response from the Seattle Transit blog to any of these posts attests to the validity of my concerns.)

Emails to the Sound Transit Board members referring them to this blog have or should have made them aware of my concerns.   The members of the Joint Legislative Committee on Transportation, the King County Council, the Seattle City and the Bellevue City Council have also been referred to the blog as well as both the Seattle Times and Bellevue Reporter.  Presumable they account for many of the more than 11,000 page views.

Thus a large number of viewers are aware of the problems with Sound Transit current policies, how changes to theses policies could benefit the entire areas transportation future, and what might be done to make these changes a reality.  However, there is very little new I could add in future posts and am therefore ending this blog; gratified so many chose to vote for me in support knowing I had no chance (or desire) to win.   This effort has never been personal.  I live nowhere near any potential tracks and rarely use I-90 Bridge.  It’s my way to try to “make a difference”. Only time will tell whether my effort succeeded.  

(changed my mind)

WSDOT East Link Debacle Dwarfs 520 Problems

(I published this in response to a comment on the 8/04/13 post)

Recent headlines in the Seattle Times and the Bellevue Reporter have attracted attention to articles dealing with WSDOT problems with the 520 bridge pontoons.  Apparently the WSDOT made mistakes in their design details for the original pontoons that will require upwards of $100 million in extra costs to rectify and will delay completion by a year.  Earlier I recall reading someone was terminated as a result.

I mention this because whatever the costs or delays due to the pontoon problems, they’re dwarfed by those associated with the WSDOT support of Sound Transit East Link program.   Fifteen years ago they could or should have recognized that two-way bus only rapid transit (BRT) on the I-90 was infinitely better than light rail for cross-lake mass transit. 

Its far greater capacity and accessibility at a fraction of the cost made it the obvious choice.   WSDOT failure to recognize that reality has resulted in hundreds of millions “invested” in a fatally flawed concept.  It also resulted in years of cross-lake congestion that could have been avoided with a 4^th lane for HOV on the outer roadway and BRT on the center bridge.

Instead the WSDOT has been partner with Sound Transit going along with their "dubious" promises about light rail capacity and claims a 4^th lane added to outer roadway will provide enough additional capacity to handle all cross-lake vehicle traffic.  Their response, when I attempted to raise these issues was to suggest I higher private council to pursue my concerns.  (See 7/19/12 post for more details)   The end result of this partnership, if allowed to continue, will be billions spent on light rail that will devastate parts of Bellevue and increase congestion on the I-90 bridge.

What’s “interesting” is that both newspapers ignored many emails over several years attempting to attract their attention to these problems.   A single article could have saved the area hundreds of millions and years of congestion.  (BRT on I-90 years ago might have provided sufficient additional capacity to allow a 4-lane 520 bridge for cross-lake commuting, avoiding the obvious problem at the I-5 interchange.)

It’s possible the “pontoon” articles reflect a new attitude by the papers to transportation problems.   I doubt it!   

Sound Transit Can Be Stopped

I thought I would use my “Soon to be former candidate for BCC” status for a final pre-election post to make two points. 

First, I am confident in the end my Sound Transit concerns will be vindicated.  If ST is allowed to proceed, life for many eastside residents will change forever.  In three short years many cross-lake commuters will be “surprised” when they finally realize that East Link means closing off the center roadway forever for vehicles.  They will be less than happy when faced with the increased congestion that results. 

Residents along the route into Bellevue will see a beautiful boulevard devastated and their commutes  by car or by transit disrupted by light rail and elevated roadway construction   The so-called “tunnel” will really require a huge trench through the city center that will wreck havoc on many businesses.  Light rail construction and the creation of a huge maintenance facility in the Bel-Red area will do little to attract development. 

When light rail operation finally begins (2023?) cross-lake commuters will be enraged when they realize that the years and billions spent on East Link will have a miniscule effect on their commute.   East Link’s limited capacity and accessibility will restrict the number of riders to a fraction of Sound Transits predictions with many of those former bus riders.  Those living up to 500 feet from the tracks will likely be disrupted by noisy trains for 20 hours a day.   It’s hard to believe light rail noise will enhance Bel Red area.

The second point is Sound Transit can be stopped.  There’s an old saying “You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make it drink”.  This blog, which has attracted over 11,000 page views, is my attempt to show people “the water”.   My hope is that those who agree with these concerns would commit to “drink the water”.   My suggestion for doing so (in addition to supporting a BBB appeal mentioned earlier) includes emailing the Seattle Times and Bellevue Reporter asking they critique not only Sound Transits East Link but also their Central Link extensions. 

Contact your local legislator, in particular, Rep. Clibborn, the head of the legislative transportation committee to demand they use their oversight of the WSDOT to force Sound Transit to justify their policies with rational cost/benefit assessments.  Email Lynn Peterson, the new head of the WSDOT, to ask for a “fresh” review of their support for Sound Transit policies.   Her position on the Sound Transit Board makes her a critical player in ending this debacle.   I think other board members could also be responsive to constituents concerns.

The hundreds of millions Sound Transit has already “invested” in the Prop 1 extensions pale in comparison to the billions they will “invest” in the near future.   Their East Link program will devastate Bellevue and increase cross-lake congestion.  Their Central Link extensions will create a perpetual financial “black hole” for transportation funds.   This blog will continue to argue its way past time to stop it.

Stopping East Link Not Enough

Next week undoubtedly marks the end of my candidacy for Bellevue City Council.  Again it was never about winning but my attempt to attract viewers to this blog.   While I probably could have attracted more “viewers” if I had reached the general election, I won’t miss the “public forums” that entailed.

I have been gratified by the blog’s “audience” which expanded from a few dozen to recently more than 400 weekly with “page views” totaling more than 11,000.   My hope is many will continue to view this blog.  What started as “The Case Against East Link” in May of 2012 now includes more than 115 posts dealing primarily with two Sound Transit blunders.   

They failed to recognize the only way to provide needed cross-lake capacity was to initiate two-way bus only rapid transit on the bridge center roadway.   BRT also has the potential to reduce congestion throughout east side by allowing residents to leave their cars at a P&R near where they live rather than where they work.  East Link has neither the capacity nor the accessibility needed.  The fact it will cost billions, devastate Bellevue, and increase cross-lake congestion makes its selection even more “unfortunate”.    

They failed to recognize that light rail’s high operating costs made any Central Link extension beyond UW and Sea Tac impracticable.  The costs for operating over the routes to Lynnwood and Federal Way along with the costs for construction and additional equipment required will far exceed the increased revenue from additional riders.  If allowed to proceed the extensions will create a perpetual financial “black hole” for the entire areas transportation funds.   

The combination of the two failures has changed the focus of the blog from “Stop East Link Now” to “Stopping All Prop 1 Extensions”.   What Sound Transit officials referred to as “ a gift to our grandchildren” is anything but.   Sound Transit has spent hundreds of millions planning and promoting an East Link light rail system when they could have added a 4^th lane to the outer roadway and reduced congestion for everyone.  They’ve spent similar amounts planning Central Link extensions that fail any rationale cost/benefit analysis.

These past “investments” pale in comparison to the “price” the whole region will pay if Sound Transit is allowed to proceed.   Many posts have detailed the impact of East Link construction and subsequent operation on the east side.  Other posts have explained the resulting financial “black hole” from their Central Link extensions.  

What’s absurd is Sound Transit is allowed to “invest” hundreds of millions  (and soon to be billions) on their projects while other transportation funding is in dire straits.   East Link funds could be used to initiate BRT service, eliminate the need for tolls to fund the 520 bridge, and help fund critically needed 405 improvements.   Central Link funds could allow Metro to maintain or add to current service rather than cut it and also help pay for the tunnel.

This attempt to stop the Prop 1 extensions reminds me of an old song, "High Hopes".  I hope I'm not the only one who remembers it.!