6th District Commuters Deserve Better on I-405 and SR 520

The previous post detailed why East Link will be a disaster for east side I-90 commuters.  6^th District commuters also deserve better from both Sound Transit and WSDOT on I-405 and SR 520.   Sound Transit waits until 2024 to implement their version of BRT on I-405 and to begin planning across SR 520.    It includes spending $300 million on a T/C near Kirkland with no parking for access.  Sound Transit plans for bus-only lanes on NE 85^th St to provide access have been rejected by Kirkland. 

Sound Transit plan for BRT service consists, at most, of one bus every 10 minutes, making 10 stops for a 57-minute commute from Lynnwood to Burien.  (It’s not clear why they even call it BRT.) Typical of Sound Transit CEO Rogoff, their BRT ridership numbers are delusional.  If 80% of his projected 15,000 to 18,000 riders did so during the 3-hour morning and afternoon peak commutes, each of the 36 buses would have to carry between 333 and 400 riders.  Clearly more BRT service is needed.

6^th District commuters deserve that additional BRT service to include direct routes from Woodinville, Brickyard, Totem Lake and Kirkland to Bellevue, Overlake and across SR520 to Seattle. Currently Woodinville commuters have to transfer to ST535 to get to Bellevue and none of the 3 have I-405 connections to Overlake or across SR520 to Seattle.

Meanwhile Kirkland commuters, who do have access to SR520 bus routes to Seattle, have no access to I-405 bus routes to Bellevue or Overlake.  Sound Transit waits until 2041 for light rail connections from Kirkland to Bellevue T/C and beyond to Issaquah.   

6^th District commuters in all four cities deserve better.  Sound Transit should divert the $300 million from the 85^th T/C to adding bus routes from all four along I-405 to Bellevue and to Overlake, and across SR 520 to Seattle.  Those working in all three locations should be surveyed as to where they live and when they would like to commute to and from work. 

That information could be used to add parking or route local buses to existing parking.    During peak commute each of the four should have BRT routes to Bellevue or Overlake, and across SR520 to Seattle every 10-15 minutes depending upon the demand. 

Those riding the buses should also be assured of reliable commute times.  Even Sound Transit BRT included the following proviso:

·  Relies on WSDOT to maintain adequate speed and reliability of I-405 express toll lane system

They recognized problems with I-405 HOV travel times with the WSDOT 2 HOT lanes between Bothell and Bellevue.  The benefit of HOT is predicated on raising fees on an HOV lane to limit the number of vehicles to what’s required to achieve the desired velocity.  The WSDOT target for 45 mph typically requires raising fees to limit traffic to 2000 vehicles per hour.

However, implementing HOT on 2 of 5 lanes has increased congestion on GP lanes during peak commute to where more than 4000 drivers were willing to pay the fees, reducing HOV lane velocities for both bus and +3 carpoolers.  Sound Transit is rightly concerned about the adverse affect on even its limited BRT service, especially with future growth.

Again, all 6^th District I-405 commuters deserve better.  The WSDOT should be “allowed” to raise HOT fees on one HOV lane to limit traffic to the 2000 vph and revert the 2^nd lane to GP.  The increased fees would assure 45 mph commute for those riding buses or willing to pay the higher fees.  The added GP lane would reduce congestion and travel times for those unwilling or unable to pay the fees.

6^th District I-405/SR520 commuters deserve the option of either increased BRT with reliable commute times or less congestion for their own commute.