The previous post opined the Northgate Link debut demonstrated Sound Transit Prop 1 light rail spine extensions will fail any rational public transit cost/benefit test for the commute into Seattle. That it failed to provide effective transit for those who didn’t have access to vehicles or choose not to drive on the freeways into Seattle as well as reduce the congestion for those that do.
This post details the Sound Transit Board of Directors adopted a Transit Development Plan 2022-2027 that exemplifies that failure. That Sound Transit’s version of an effective transit system was detailed in TDP charts entitled Strategic Priorities, Agency Goals, and Measure of Success for the next 5 years.
Strategic Priority 1: Design and deliver a customer-focused, high-quality and safe service
Agency Goal 1.1: Establish a robust and proactive safety culture Measures of Success.
Monthly Safety News Link. Developed Foundations Plan for achieving ISO certification
Agency Goal 1.2: Provide a passenger-focused experience from design through daily service. Measures of Success.
Improved passenger experience index. Baselined passenger complaint measures. Budget identified in 2022 to implement complaint resolution track system
The TDP charts also included the following priorities:
Strategic Priority 2: Deploy a performance-based, community-centric, and safe capital program
Strategic Priority 3: Cultivate an equitable, diverse, and inclusive workforce and culture that is high preforming, compassionate, empowering, and safe
Strategic Priority 4: Transform and unify business practices and processes agency wide
Strategic Priority 5: Ensure financial stewardship exists in all decision-making to guarantee long-term affordability of the voter-approved plan
Notice Sound Transits TDP 2022 to 2027 priorities didn’t include providing effective public transit for commuters. There was no priority or agency goal to provide access or transit capacity for commuters wishing to use it or to reduce freeway congestion for those choosing to drive.
A Light Rail (Link) Capital Improvement Chart in the TDP for yearly link spending totaled $12.7B over the next five years with some of the 2027 funds on West Seattle-Ballard Link. The Planned Activities chart in the TDP for the five years was more “optimistic” than recent Sound Transit schedules with East Link revenue service beginning in 2023 and Lynnwood, Federal Way and Downtown Redmond in 2024.
The Planned Activities didn’t include adding any parking facilities near Link extensions. Instead, Sound Transit recently confirmed plans to spend $270M on a 130th St Infill Station that won’t have parking. Rather than add parking for access Sound Transit included the following in the TDP Activities charts
Revise service on ST Express between Bellevue and Seattle on I-90 and allocate operating resources to East Link
Revise service on ST Express between Lynnwood and Seattle on I-5 and allocate operating resources to Lynnwood Link extension
Discontinue service on ST Express between Federal Way and Seattle on I-5 and allocate operating resources to Federal Way Link extension
The revision being Sound Transit will use the Link to replace bus routes into and out of Seattle, reducing total transit capacity into Seattle. The TPD ignores the results of using the Northgate Link to replace bus routes into Seattle. That even with those transferring from buses the lack of access to the Northgate Link stations limited ridership to a fraction of Sound Transit’s 41,000 to 49,000 riders. A “likely” precursor to similar results for all the TDP funded extensions given the similar lack of access.
The other TDP 2022-2027 problem is Sound Transit’s failure to recognize that the $12.7B spent on the extensions to Bellevue, Lynnwood, and Federal Way does nothing to increase the DSTT transit capacity into Seattle. Yet the TDP Operating Data, 2021—2027, chart predicted the extensions when completed will increase annual Passenger Trips from 13,400,000 in 2022 to 51,800,000 in 2025. Meanwhile bus passenger trips will decrease from 5,900,000 in 2022 to 5,100,000 in 2027.
The bottom line is Sound Transit’s TDP 2022-2027 will spend $12.7B on Prop 1 extensions that do nothing to increase transit capacity into Seattle. That using the extensions to replace bus routes reduces public transit capacity and nothing to reduce congestion. And it’s all abetted by an incompetent Seattle Times Traffic Lab.
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