Traffic Lab Should “Dig Into” Sound Transit Machinations

The Seattle Times promotes their Traffic Lab as a “project that digs into the region’s thorny transportation issues, spotlights promising approaches to easing gridlock, and helps readers find the best ways to get around.”    Yet they continue their failure to “dig into” a decade of Sound Transit Board and CEO public transit system incompetence. 

They’ve allowed Sound Transit to spend billions on light rail extensions for 4-car light rail trains that don’t have the capacity to reduce multi-lane freeway peak hour congestion and cost too much to operate during off-peak commute.  They’ve allowed Sound Transit to use delusional ridership claims for “voter approved” extensions yet ignored the extensions' need for “motorized access”.

The paper’s Traffic Lab heralded the Northgate Link debut as “Transit Transformed” with the three Link stations adding 42,000 to 49,000 riders.  Yet they’ve “neglected” to “dig into” how many riders the three stations actually added.  Instead, abetting Sound Transit’s refusal to release the 2021 Q4 Service Delivery Performance report. It would have provided the riders added by each of the three stations and the cost per boarding for the Link.   (Sound Transit stopped publishing the reports with the July 12^th, 2021, Q1 edition) 

They’ve also abetted Sound Transit’s delay in publishing a Quarterly Financial Performance Report for Q1 2022.  The report would have shown the Year-to-Date (YTD) Link Boardings, Fare Revenue, Budget Performance, and Cost Per Boarding for Q1 2021 and predicted and actual for Q1 2022. The year-to-year comparison would have included the effect of the Northgate Link operation. Again, it's something the Traffic Lab should “dig into” but hasn’t.

A September 9^th, 2018, Traffic Lab article, “New bus station in Kirkland will be a $300 million gamble” detailed concern it funded an NE 85^th St Stride Bus Rapid Transit station along I-405 that lacked parking for access.  Yet, they’ve ignored a June 9^th, 2022, Sound Transit System Expansion Committee plan to spend “an amount not to exceed $287,260,000" on a NE 130^th St Infill Station that also lacks parking.  That funding is an increase from the $34.6 million in Sound Transit’s June 7^th April Agency Progress Report.  The Traffic Lab should “dig into” why the $204 million increased cost, especially for a station without parking for access.  

An April 28th Traffic Lab article announced, “Sound Transit’s light rail project to the Eastside is running late”.  The April Agency Progress Report details the Link’s Revenue Service Window had been extended from July to October 2024.  Yet they’ve ignored a June 9^th Transit System Expansion Committee meeting disclosure that the Lynnwood service date had been delayed for at least two years.  That a chart in the meeting showing the schedule for the 130^th station included a “star” indicating the July 2024 “target date” for Lynnwood Service Date was “subject to change” that extended beyond Q2 2026.  

Yet the June 7^th April Agency Progress Report’s Lynnwood Project Schedule showed LLE Master Schedule “Finish” 30-Feb-24, Revenue Service Preparation Finish, 17-Jul-24 and Revenue Service-FFGA 17-July 24.   The two-year difference surely merits Traffic Lab “digging”.

The bottom line is Sound Transit refuses to release quarterly Service Delivery Performance and Financial Performance Reports showing the results of the Northgate Link debut.  The best information available indicates the ridership was only ~8000, a fraction of the Link website predictions of 41,000 to 49,000 by 2022.  The “likely” reason the lack of parking for access.  The resulting loss in fare box revenue along with the increased costs for longer routes raised cost per boarding and reduced farebox recovery well below targets.  

Even more important, like all the light rail spine extensions, the Northgate Link did nothing to increase light rail capacity into Seattle.  That riders added by the Link reduced access for University Link riders.  Using the Link to replace buses reduced total transit capacity into Seattle and nothing to reduce GP lane congestion. 

The Lynnwood Link exacerbates all the Northgate Link problems. It adds little parking for access, doubles the operating costs, and any riders added further reduce University Link access, a precursor to similar problems with all the light rail spine extensions.  The Seattle Times Traffic Lab needs to “dig into” whether the two-year delay is an attempt to delay exposing the debacle.