Why I’m A Candidate for Governor

As promised last year I’m formally announcing my candidacy for governor.  As with my previous 8 candidacies I’m not accepting any financial support and have no expectation or desire to win.  It’s another attempt to make up for the Seattle Times failure to inform voters Sound Transit has spent the last decade perpetrating a failed approach to the area's transportation problems.  That Sound Transit failed to increase transit capacity into Seattle by refusing to add additional parking near or local bus routes to T/Cs with express bus routes into Seattle. And they plan to continue doing so until 2041.

Instead they’ve spent the decade extending light rail routed through the DSTT that will never have the capacity needed to reduce congestion.  The billions already spent are only a down payment to far more expensive additions that do nothing to increase capacity and with any riders added restricting access for current riders

Sound Transit's plan to use extensions to replace bus routes does nothing to increase capacity along the routes and reduces total transit capacity into Seattle.  The loss in transit capacity will increase congestion, especially during peak commute  Even worse, during off-peak hours, the extensions’ operating cost will dwarf fare-box revenue creating a financial black hole for the areas transportation funds way beyond 2041.

The Voters' Pamphlet candidate statement is my way to attract voters to this blog, http://stopeastlnknow.blogspot.com.    It began as a response to the Times ignoring countless emails detailing East Link concerns.  They’ve since refused to interview me, choosing instead to belittle my efforts as a “perennial losing candidate” whose only supporters  were “nihilists”.   Again my campaign is an attempt to add to the 150,000 page views of  more than 500 posts detailing problems with additional posts.  

As the blog’s title suggests, the pre-eminent example of Sound Transit’s failure is their decision to confiscate the I-90 Bridge center roadway for light rail.  East Link will surely be regarded as one of the biggest transportation boondoggles in history.   They should have never been allowed to confiscate the bridge center roadway for half the DSTT trains.  It not only precluded two-way BRT with ten times light rail capacity, it precluded doing so ten years sooner at !/10^th the cost.  The fact Sound Transit needlessly devastated the route into Bellevue adds to the debacle. 

East Link confiscation of center roadway will also increase outer roadway congestion even with added 4th lanes.  Sound Transit and King County Metro have exacerbated the congestion with their "bus intercept" agreement with Mercer Island to halve current I-90 corridor transit capacity to terminate bus routes on island. Those unable to use transit will add to congestion along the entire I-90 corridor.

East Link operation will also halve the number of DSTT trains going to SeaTac.  Thus, neither East Link nor Central Link south will have the capacity needed for peak-commute transit. Yet operating costs for 4-car trains during off peak commute will create a perpetual financial “black hole”.  Running 4-car trains, each costing $100 a mile, every 15 minutes from 8 pm to 12:30 am to SeaTac and beyond and across I-90 Bridge to Bellevue and beyond are a sure recipe for a fare-box shortfall debacle.

The statement will inform voters Sound Transit added to debacle with the decision to extend University Link to Northgate. Sound Transit could have terminated Central Link with a T/C at the UW stadium light rail station.   It  would have provided an interface between enhanced BRT on SR520 and University Link benefitting commuters from both sides of the lake with added transit capacity for morning and afternoon commute in each direction.

Instead Sound Transit has spent $2.5 billion on a 4.3-mile tunnel to Northgate adding $860 to the operation cost for a 4-car light rail round trip. With both East Link and Central Link trains going to Northgate, operation will extend 300 weekday and 220 Saturday and Sunday routes, adding $42 million to annual operating cost. Yet the extension does nothing to increase light rail capacity so riders will reduce access for University Link commuter. 

As with East Link, Sound Transit will use Northgate extension to replace bus routes into Seattle.  Again doing nothing to increase transit ridership, reduce GP lane congestion, and little for HOV lanes.  The loss in bus routes means the billions spent implementing the extension and the millions spent annually on operating costs will be reduced transit capacity into Seattle and  displaced current riders during peak commute.

The $3.5 billion Sound Transit is spending on the 8.5-mile Lynnwood extension adds $1700 to each round trip cost.  Assuming maintaining Northgate schedules, the 300 weekday and 220 Saturday and Sunday round trips will add $83 million to annual cost.  Again, riders added will reduce access for University Link riders and using it to replace bus routes does nothing to reduce GP lane congestion and little for HOV lanes from Lynnwood into Seattle.   

The 5.3-mile extension to Federal Way adds $106 to the Central Link south round trip.  Assuming half the number of Northgate round trips adds $5.2 million annually to operating costs and further reduces access to Central Link riders who’ve already lost half the trains to East Link.  Using it to replace bus routes rather than add transit capacity does nothing to reduce GP congestion and little for HOV traffic. Clearly extensions beyond Lynnwood and Federal Way add to operating costs and loss of access for current riders. 

The candidates statement will inform voters Sound Transit 2019 budget exemplifies a decade of failure to recognize the limitations of light rail and the benefits of bus transit.  That Sound Transit claims for extension riderships are delusional and they continue their decade-long failure to increase transit riders with added parking and bus routes until 2041. 

The 2019 budget light rail ridership claim shows Sound Transit still doesn’t recognize the billions spent constructing and operating light rail extensions does nothing to increase DSTT capacity.  Without added capacity the fare-box shortfall will dwarf 2019 budget estimates until 2041 and beyond.  All to fund extensions that’ll reduce access for current riders and nothing to reduce congestion.

The statement will inform voters the only way to reduce congestion into Seattle is to increase transit capacity with added bus routes.  A hundred high capacity bus routes an hour can accommodate drivers from 10,000 cars, the equivalent of adding 5 lanes of freeway at 45mph. 

That Lynnwood and beyond and Federal Way and beyond light rail funds should be diverted to added parking and local bus routes to a T/C.  That any light rail funding should be for Ballard to West Seattle route.  During peak commute each T/C will provide access to BRT routes as needed to meet local demand, avoiding the multiple light rail stops.  Off peak routes could include stops every 15 minutes at several T/Cs. All the routes will be via a limited access HOV lane (HOT or +3HOV) to an elongated 4^th Ave T/C.  Each route will have dedicated drop off and pick up stations to facilitate egress and access.

The statement will conclude very little can be done about East Link or Northgate extensions.   The countless posts on this blog have failed to make up for the Seattle Times failure to ever include legislation requiring an audit exposing their problems in their top-ten priorities. However the money wasted on those extensions pales in comparison to the $96 Billion Sound Transit plans to spend implementing and operating light rail extensions through 2041 and beyond.

My 9^th candidacy’s goal is again to convince them or the legislature to audit.  Each year they delay means more billions wasted and increasing congestionl