Abating the East Link Debacle,

The I-90 corridor congestion epitomizes Sound Transit’s failure to deal with the entire area’s congestion.   East Link is just the most egregious example of that failure.  It currently takes an average of 42 minutes for the 15.5-mile morning commute from Issaquah into Seattle.  Those traveil times are only going to increase If Sound Transit is allowed to proceed with current East Link plans. 

They should have never been allowed to confiscate the I-90 Bridge center roadway or devastate the route through Bellevue.  10 years ago Sound Transit could have added 4^th lanes to the bridge outer roadways for non-transit HOV and implemented 2-way BRT on bridge center roadway.  The increased capacity from added BRT routes could have easily accommodated future cross-lake transit needs for a fraction of light rails cost. 

Instead Sound Transit has been allowed to confiscate the bridge center roadway for a light rail extension limited by its share of the Downtown Seattle Transit Tunnel (DSTT) to a fraction of BRT capacity.  (4400 riders per hour according to a PSRC 2004 study funded by Sound Transit.)   What’s worse, Sound Transit plans to use East Link to replace existing bus routes rather than add cross-lake capacity, forever limiting I-90 Bridge transit capacity   

In 2014 Sound Transit provided details of their "Integrated Transit System" proposal to terminate all cross-lake I-90 bus routes at the South Bellevue and Mercer Island light rail stations.   Up to 86 buses an hour would use the Mercer Island’s light rail station to transfer riders to and from light rail trains.  Mercer Island City Council objections led to Sound Transit and King County Metro agreeing to limit I-90 peak-hour transit to 20 buses an hour, half the current frequency and a quarter of their initial projected bus routes..

Clearly doing so will increase the number of current and future commuters forced to drive alone or carpool on I-90.  Those unwilling to endure the hassle of transferring to and from light rail will add to that number.  More will chose to do do because East Link’s limited capacity will limit access for transferees, especially during peak commute with full trains before reaching Mercer Island station .

The bottom line is Sound Transit and King County Metro should not be allowed to limit I-90 corridor transit capacity.  An additional 100 high capacity buses an hour could replace 10,000 SOVs, adding the equivalent of 5 lanes of freeway.  Local routes could be used to provide commuters with routes from near where they live with access to BRT at  Issaquah and Eastgate T/Cs, avoiding the need for added expensive parking. (Parking at both T/Cs has been full for years.) 

The added bus routes would reduce I-90 congestion along the entire I-90 corridor from Issaquah to Seattle.  While the added routes would reduce the ciurrent 18-minute, Issaquah-to-Bellevue section, the biggest potential benefit is on the I-90 Bridge.   The best way for buses to avoid the current delays on bridge outer roadways is to allow them to use the center roadway, as was done in DSTT until recently..

East Link will be limited to a 4-car train every 8 minutes with capacity of up 592 riders (per PSRC).  With 30-sec headways, up to 15 buses could be routed between trains with capacity for more than 1500 addition commuters.  Cross-lake buses would access center roadway after Mercer Island and before Rainier Station to avoid interfering with light rail egress or access at stations. Most cross-lake buses would skip stops on Mercer Island on routes to designated drop off and pick-up stations in Seattle on an elongated 4th Ave T/C.  Additional I-90 corridor buses would be routed along I-405 directly to  the Bellevue T/C, avoiding stop at South Bellevue T/C and route through Bellevue

East Link would provide fast, reliable transit for those living within walking distance of, or able to find parking near light rail stations.  The center roadway bus routes could assure fast reliable transit across the I-90 Bridge for up to an additional 10,000 I-90 corridor commuters an hour into Seattle.  All I-90 corridor commuters would benefit from the additional transit capacity and cross-lake commuters would no longer be forced to transfer to and from light rail on Mercer Island.  

Doing so would not only abate the East Link debaclt, it would  end the absurdity of Sound Transit’s ST3 plans for light rail to Issaquah at a fraction of the cost and more than 20 years sooner.