The Eastlink Debacle Begins

The Seattle Times Traffic Lab Feb16th article heralding the April 27th Eastlink Starter Line debut included the Bellevue Mayor’s claim: 

“I think that light rail is really delivering on the promise we made to our communities: that you would be able to get around in a substantial way without a car in a city like Bellevue and still get to work and places you want to be.”

The mayor apparently doesn’t consider the Rapid Line B route between Redmond and Bellevue or the Express Bus ST550 between Bellevue and South Bellevue Station as “substantial”.  They both run every 10 minutes during peak commute with Rapid Line B commuters having access at 25 stops beginning in Redmond and along Bel-Red corridor to Bellevue and the ST550 having 8 stops beginning in downtown Bellevue and along route to South Bellevue Station.

She’s apparently not concerned that unless one manages to park in Redmond Technology Center (RTC) garage access to the entire East Link Starter Line will be limited to those within walking distance of one of the 7 stations on route to South Bellevue.  At South Bellevue Station, Starter Link riders will need to transfer to ST550, sharing access into Seattle with those using station for parking and those riding SR550 from downtown Bellevue.  

Those wanting to use the Starter Line for the return trip will need to exit ST550 at South Bellevue.  The limited access and the need to transfer to and from buses at South Bellevue make it unlikely the Starter Line trains will need 3 or 4 cars to accommodate the initial crowds or considered a “substantial” addition to getting around Bellevue without a car”.  

There’s also the matter of the additional costs Sound Transit will incur from the Starter Link operation.  The Board approved spending $47 million activating the Link.  Sound Transit budgets light rail car costs as approximately $30 per revenue mile.  Thus, the operating costs for a 2-car light rail train round trip on the 6.6-mile link will be approximately $800. 

The schedule for Starter Line trains, every 10 minute for 16 hours, requires 96 trips, costing Sound Transit $76,000 per day; a substantial additional cost to provide for those “without a car in Bellevue”.  Especially since it's unlikely to significantly add to the number of commuters using public transit.

Starter Line operation also imposes a significant risk for those living along route from RTC to Bellevue: Light rail noise due to irregularities on the wheel and rail surface that excite the rail and cause it to vibrate.  The Bellevue Noise Code limits commercial noise level to 60 dB.  

Sound Transit chose to spend millions on sound walls to shield homes across Bellevue Way from East Link train noise. However, they’ve made no attempt to shield those along the route from Bellevue to Redmond.  Instead revising their Link Noise Mitigation Policy to do whatever their CEO considers is “reasonable and feasible”. 

The only viable way to comply with the Bellevue Noise Code is to limit light rail train velocity.  However, it’s not clear whether Sound Transit will even measure noise levels or consider limiting Starter Link velocity to meet 60 db as “reasonable and feasible”.  

 

The bottom line is there would be no East Link if the Bellevue City Council had not allowed the 10 permits Sound Transit needed to route light rail through the city.  The East Link delay to redo rail attachments has delayed demonstrating the folly of Sound Transit attempts to use light rail trains to replace bus routes on I-90 bridge. Thus, it’s up to the Starter Line debut to do so for the route through Bellevue to RTC.  

The question is whether Sound Transit will release data showing Starter Line ridership and how it compared to the projected 6000. They’ve never provided data comparing riders added by Northgate extension with their 42,000 to 49,000 projections. 

The Starter Line's debut is only the beginning of the Eastlake debacle.