Residents Deserve Better from Legislature

The Seattle Times May 2^nd B1 page Traffic Lab article, “Winners, losers in legislation session” typifies their decade of abiding if not abetting the legislatures failure to provide effective oversight of Sound Transit and WSDOT.   The big “winner” was Sound Transit with the legislature continuing their decade-long failure to effectively oversee it by requiring an outside audit. 

Even a cursory analysis would have shown CEO Rogoff’s ridership claims for the “Prop 1 and beyond” light rail extensions in his 2019 budget were delusional.   That light rail routed through the Downtown Seattle Transit Tunnel (DSTT) will never have the capacity needed to reduce congestion.  That Sound Transit plans to use its limited capacity to replace transit buses shows a failure to recognize HOV lane congestion is not due to too many buses.  That any riders added will, at least during peak commute, displace current riders.

A legislative mandated audit would have also exposed Rogoff’s public transit incompetence with the 2019 budget continuing Sound Transit’s decade long failure to add bus transit capacity for the next 20 years.    Instead the legislature allowed Sound Transit another year to their decade of spending billions on Prop 1 light rail extensions that will surely go down as one of the biggest boondoggles in history.  

The WSDOT also “won” when the legislature allowed them to proceed with plans to implement 2 HOT lanes between Lynnwood and Renton.   Tolls can be used to increase lane velocities by reducing traffic on the lane; e.g. limiting traffic to 2000 vehicles per hour provides 45 mph velocities.   HOT can increase HOV lane velocities when carpoolers exceed the 2000 vph.  Thus HOT fees are widely used to reduce travel time.

The WSDOT plans for 2 HOT lanes are more about raising revenue than reducing travel time.   They attempt to justify 2 HOT lanes with the “unique” assumption “tolls increase lane capacity by up to 35%”.    It hasn’t happened between Lynnwood and Bellevue where GP lane travel times have increased and HOT lanes frequently fail to achieve 45 mph promised.

 Implementing HOT on two lanes increases congestion on remaining three GP lanes to where more than 2000 drivers per hour are willing to pay current tolls slowing both HOT lanes.   Limiting GP traffic to 2 lanes between Bellevue and Renton will surely exacerbate the problem.

Competent legislative oversight would recognize the WSDOT could assure 45 mph on one I-405 HOV lane by raising the tolls to what’s required to  limit traffic to the 2000 vehicles per hour.  Assuring 45 mph would also make BRT on HOT lane more attractive.  Adding another GP lane will reduce congestion lessening the fees needed to limit HOT traffic.  Clearly legislative approval for 2 HOT lanes makes WSDOT a “winner”.

However, the legislative session has been a “loser” for most residents.  Car owners will continue to be forced to pay tab taxes far higher than what they were promised prior to the 2008 vote (and later lied about lying) Residents will also continue to pay property and sales tax to fund light rail extensions to replace buses but nothing to reduce congestion.  Sound Transit will continue to refuse to increase bus ridership that would with added access to increased bus capacity. 

It’s time the Seattle Times recognizes the area deserves better from the legislature.