About this blog

My name is Bill Hirt and I'm a candidate to be a Representative from the 48th district in the Washington State legislature. My candidacy stems from concern the legislature is not properly overseeing the WSDOT and Sound Transit East Link light rail program. I believe East Link will be a disaster for the entire eastside. ST will spend 5-6 billion on a transportation project that will increase, not decrease cross-lake congestion, violates federal environmental laws, devastates a beautiful part of residential Bellevue, creates havoc in Bellevue's central business district, and does absolutely nothing to alleviate congestion on 1-90 and 405. The only winners with East Link are the Associated Builders and Contractors of Western Washington and their labor unions.

This blog is an attempt to get more public awareness of these concerns. Many of the articles are from 3 years of failed efforts to persuade the Bellevue City Council, King County Council, east side legislators, media, and other organizations to stop this debacle. I have no illusions about being elected. My hope is voters from throughout the east side will read of my candidacy and visit this Web site. If they don't find them persuasive I know at least I tried.

Tuesday, May 8, 2018

Accommodate Tunnel Closure with 4th Ave T/C


(Several of my previous posts suggesting a 4th Ave T/C have been ignored by the Times.    I decided to post my latest attempt)

Accommodate Tunnel Closure with 4th Ave T/C
The May 8th front page Traffic Lab article, “Preparations for closure of transit tunnel lag” neglects to include an option that would not only accommodate the buses displaced by the Washington State Convention Center expansion but also accommodate the additional bus service needed to increase public transit capacity into Seattle. 

That option is to convert 4th Ave into an elongated T/C for buses only in both directions.   A 4th Ave T/C provides good access to downtown Seattle.  Depending on the route into the city, buses could drop off riders on one side and pick them up on the other.  During peak commute each bus route would have two designated locations in both directions similar to what’s available in the tunnel.   Minimizing the number of stops would reduce transit time and allows T/C to provide designated egress and access locations for more bus routes.


During off-peak commute buses could revert to more “on-demand” stops and more designated pick-up locations along the T/C.

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