It’s time for New Year’s resolutions so this year it’s to file as a candidate for the U.S Senate. It culminates a decade of attempts to use the Voters’ Pamphlet, primarily to expose the failure of those responsible to reduce the area’s congestion. As with the previous nine, this filing is with no expectation or desire to win but primarily to provide Puget Sound area residents with details of an inept Sound Transit Board and WSDOT.
Filing for U.S Senate also allows me to provide residents throughout the state the option of voting for someone who shares their concern with Democrats dominating state and local governments and most of the media. Doesn't believe "white supremacy is the country's top security threat". Doesn't believe the country is systemically racist or that teaching the 1619 Project or Critical Race Theory benefits the country. Who also recognizes the futility of the state's attempt to reduce CO2 emissions when the entire country only emits 15% of the total. That any CO2 savings from Electric Vehicles is largely offset by the emissions from the fossil-fueled power plants needed to provide the energy to charge their batteries. (More on those concerns on later posts.)
However, the most immediate goal is to inform area residents the Sound Transit Board continues its decade of failing to understand what’s needed to reduce congestion into Seattle. That reducing congestion requires attracting commuters to public transit with access to routes to their desired destination. That a decade ago they could have done so by adding parking with BRT routes along limited access bus routes into the city. Instead Sound Transit plans to use Prop I extensions to replace current routes into Seattle, despite the fact many commuters don't like transferring to and from light rail for their ride into and out of Seattle. Reducing the number of buses on I-5 and I-90 reduces transit capacity into the city, does little to reduce HOV lane congestion, and nothing for GP lane congestion.
The Northgate Link debut in October “likely” demonstrated that result. Sound Transit’s website had predicted 41,000 to 49,000 riders in 2022 and the Seattle Times Traffic Lab had heralded the debut as “Transit Transformed”, anticipating 42,000 to 49,000 riders with the Link's three stations. Yet neither has released any Northgate Link results. The “likely” reason, without added parking for access, ridership is a fraction of predictions.
The Sound Transit Board’s Dec 16th meeting to approve the 2022 Budget and 2022 Transit Improvement Plan (TIP) seemingly ignored the Northgate Link results. (The Board stopped archiving videos of their meetings last February and there’s no indication the Seattle Times Traffic Lab watcher the meeting.) Again, the likely reason, the October debut demonstrated that without added access, Prop 1 extension ridership will be a fraction of Sound Transit predictions. That lack of ridership, along with higher operating costs with Prop 1’s longer routes, will dwarf farebox revenue, reducing operating cost recover to a fraction of Sound Transit 40% target.
However, the lack of access is only part of the Prop 1 problem. They are all routed through a DSTT which a 2004 PSRC study, funded by Sound Transit, limited capacity to 8880 riders per hour in each direction, a fraction of what’s needed during peak commuter. Thus, during peak commute those with access to Northgate Link will reduce capacity for University Link riders. Once access ends, the trains will be empty, exacerbating farebox revenue shortfall.
Yet the Board’s Dec 16th meeting debut’s response was to continue the current 125 trips a day, approve $1.7 billion extending Prop 1 in 2022, and authorize $22 billion on TIP; completing the extensions with no money in either for parking. It’s a debacle they’ll continue to add $1.7 billion to the ~$8 billion already spent. lt’s a disaster they intend to spend $22 billion completing them without adding any significant parking for access to even its limited capacity. Especially with a Northgate Link debut portending similar results with all Prop 1 extensions.
It’s appropriate my candidacy this year is for the US Senate. The FHWA has been one of Sound Transit’s Lynnwood Link extension enablers. The "Federal Highway Administration Center for Innovative Financial Support" provided a December 19, 2018, $1.17 billion grant with a $1.991 contingent commitment for the $3.12 billion Link. It included a Sound Transit, “Project Profile: Lynnwood Link Extension” referring to a Lynnwood Link Extension Project Website with “Projected Ridership: 47,000 – 55,000 daily riders by 2026”.
I'd previously emailed Senator Cantwell blog posts detailing Sound Transit's Lynnwood ridership projections were not only delusional they may be grounds for legal action for fraud. Senator Cantwell ignored them as I’m sure Senator Murray would have. The Northgate Link debut results, when released, will demonstrate the lack of access reduced ridership to a fraction of 41,000 to 49,000 projections. The Lynnwood Link extension does nothing to increase DSTT capacity and adds a mere 1000 parking stalls at North and South Shoreline Stations, a tiny fraction of added access needed for even its limited capacity.
One of my goals as a candidate for US Senate is to expose how the Northgate Link debut portended Sound Transit's Prop 1 failure.
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