Seattle Times Ignores Suburban Commuters

The April 26^th Seattle Times Traffic Lab front-page article ”Bus Agency can’t keep up with Seattle’s burgeoning ridership” laments the fact, “Drivers can’t be hired, trained fast enough; no space for new buses”.   The Times clearly understands the importance of adequate access to public transit for those living in the city.

Yet their April 22^nd, B1 page article,  “Why are Seattle-area home prices so high?” neglects to mention the lack of public transit for those living outside the city.    Their attempt to “go over the biggest reasons” comes down to standard market forces of supply, “There aren’t enough homes for sale” and demand, “Lots of people want to buy homes”. 

The April 25^th Times front page article “Home-price milestone: Surge surpasses bubble era’s growth” detailed “Seattle area continues its run as the nation’s hottest real estate market”.  Seattle’s home price increase of 12.7% compared to last year was again more than double the national rate of 6.3%.  The median cost of a single- family house in Seattle was $820,000,  (They seem to consider it something to applaud rather than a matter of concern.)

The article also noted housing in more affordable areas have also hit records with $485,000 in Snohomish County, $350,000 in Pierce County, and $341,000 in Kitsap County.  Typical of the Times, they make no attempt to explain why those buying homes in the area are willing to pay nearly $500,000 more to live in Seattle. 

No one can reasonably argue that schools in Seattle or improved access to restaurants, sports, or entertainment, justifies the higher prices.   Especially since one of the reasons houses cost less in surrounding counties is the increased supply of homes from new construction.  One would think the ability to buy a new, or most likely, newer home would be an extra inducement to buy outside Seattle.

 The most obvious reason for not doing so is living in Seattle is the only way to avoid the problems of commuting into and out of the city.   A Feb 12^th, 2018 Seattle Times Traffic Lab article reported “you had to budget 94 minutes to drive alone during the morning commute between Everett and Seattle”.  That 2016 traffic delays throughout the area were nearly 2.5 times the 2009 levels; and they’ve surely gotten worse. 

Again, typical of the Times, a second April 22^nd B1 page article opines, “Tacoma might eventually become Oakland to Seattle’s San Francisco”.  After all, the $6 billion Sound Transit has already spent on light rail expansions is only a tiny fraction of the billions they eventually intend to spend creating their light rail spine. 

However, even a Nov 4^th, 2016 Seattle Times article conceded the ST3 spine would not reduce congestion.  They apparently recognized Sound Transit’s decision to route the spine through the Downtown Seattle Transit Tunnel (DSTT) limits its capacity to a fraction of the Bay Area Rapid Transit.  Thus, the “Tacoma Link” will never be the area’s BART.

Yet Sound Transit refuses to increase the area’s transit capacity with added bus service.  Their 115,163, quarterly bus trips during the 2012 4^th quarter only increased to 120,400 during the 2017 4^th quarter.   It’s no wonder comparable total average express-bus-weekday boarding only increased from 54,345 to 61,526 during the five years.  

The bottom line is the increased cost of homes in Seattle should be cause for alarm not applause.  The only way to make homes in Seattle more affordable is to reduce the number of potential homeowners wanting to live there.  They need the option of being able to live in the surrounding communities and still be able to work in Seattle.  Increased public transit is the only way to do so.  Instead Sound Transit continues to spend billions on light rail extensions that will do absolutely nothing to increase DSTT capacity.  

The Seattle Times needs to show the same concern for those potential commuters as they do for Seattleites and use its influence to persuade Sound Transit to increase bus service.