One of the reasons
Mercer Island is such an attractive place to live is its easy access to
Seattle. Other I-90 corridor commuters go through the trouble of getting
on and off the island in order to take advantage of its access to SOV lanes on
the center roadway. The MI P&R frequently includes a majority of
“non-resident” vehicles for access to bus service there.
Yet, the City of
Mercer Council is well on its way to approving permits for an East Link light
rail project that will end this access forever. The changes will
begin in 2017 when Sound Transit closes the center roadway to install light
rail tracks. ST claims the 4th lanes they squeeze onto the outer roadway
will make up for the loss of the two center roadway lanes are belied by a 2004
FHWA study they participated in.
MI commuters will
go from exclusive SOV use of center roadway to long lines at onramps waiting
for control lights to allow access to outer roadway lanes. The fact
they're the last to do so onto a crowded I-90 will likely exacerbate their wait.
Presumably many, at least during the peak commute, will chose to car pool
or ride buses, even though the HOV lanes will be far more congested than today.
East Link construction
along I-90 corridor will have minimal impact on MI residents, especially when
compared with the devastation to those living along the route into
Bellevue. ST has attempted to give the impression that East Link is a fait
accompli with several open
houses allowing residents to review and comment about designs for a light rail
station nine years before its needed.
East Link operation
will add a whole new level of congestion for MI commuters. The bus
option disappears with ST plans to terminate all I-90 cross-lake bus routes at
South Bellevue and Mercer island light rail stations. As a result MI
commuters will be joined by 10,000 other I-90 corridor bus riders who are forced to
transfer to and from light rail trains every morning and afternoon for the commute
into and out of Seattle. They’ll have a difficult time doing so since ST
plans for East Link, one 4-car train every 8 minutes during the peak commute,
will frequently result in light-rail cars that are full well before they reach
the station. Forcing bus riders to transfer will likely result in fewer
“riders” and more “drivers”, increasing I-90 outer roadway congestion.
The added congestion will further restrict MI access to I-90 as well as
increase cross-lake transit times for everyone.
The Mercer city
council has been aware of ST plans to transfer 40,000 bus riders to and from
light rail trains at the Mercer Island and South Bellevue light rail stations
since a Jan 21, 2014 meeting. They presumably recognized doing so would
mean nearly 10,000 bus riders would use the MI light rail station during the
morning and afternoon commutes. They also accepted ST assurances East
Link would have the needed capacity, apparently unaware of the limited capacity
with light rail schedules.
Their constituents
are presumably the reason the council spent thousands last year objecting to a
1/23/13 WSDOT blog post proposing tolling I-90. They forced the
WSDOT to budget $8.32 M for an Environmental Impact Statement in hopes of
avoiding tolling island residents. (The 11/13/13 post explains why the
EiS will likely result in tolls beginning in 2017)
Meanwhile Mercer
Island residents seem unconcerned about East Link. An Oct 16 council
member’s newsletter to constituents about issues before the council didn't
include East Link concerns. It did include a list of issues residents had
contacted the council about. The combination of I-90, East Link, and
tolls ranked 7th on the list, the same as “Misc” and a tiny fraction of those
concerned about “Library Renovation” and “Car Tab Tax”.
This current lack
of MI concern “may” be related to the council’s failure to inform constituents
about East Link. They email a weekly newsletter to residents presumably
intended to inform them about the important issues facing the area. Yet,
my reading of the newsletters since the Jan 2013 meeting found no mention of
East Link plans to force 10,000 bus riders to transfer every morning and
afternoon at the MI light rail station. Also no mention was found
concerning the limited light rail schedules ST was proposing for East Link.
Some council
members and others have objected to ST plans to terminate bus routes on the
island. Despite these concerns or whatever doubts they may or may not
have about light rail capacity, the council is apparently well on its way to
approving the permits ST needs to begin East Link construction. The
council, so concerned about I-90 tolls, is doing so having never included East
Link concerns in their weekly newsletter to constituents.
As a result, the
City of Mercer council members are joining the Sound Transit Board members, the
Seattle Times editorial board, and the Bellevue City Council on my “Light Rail
Hall of Shame”. My hope is doing so will "persuade" them to
disallow the ST permits. If not, they’ll join those identified as
allowing what most assuredly will be a debacle for the entire east side.
Bruce Bassett
Debbie Bertlin
Jane Brahm
Mike Cero
Dan Grausz
Tana Senn
Benson Wong
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