This blog ends 2022 like it began with a post declaring it was another year of Sound Transit’s failure to recognize the light rail spine won’t reduce I-5 and I-90 congestion into Seattle. The year began with the need to find a someone to replace Peter Rogoff as CEO. It ended with the new CEO Julie Timm’s December 8th blog post, “East Link opening time frame update". A response to the need to “remediate non-conforming direct fixation track plinths”. Sound Transit verbiage for replacing faulty track attachments on the Link's extension.
It was a year that began with a Jan 4th release of an Agency Progress Report claiming the East Gate “Substantial Completion Date” was 161 calendar dates later than the contractor milestone date of December 13, 2021, ended with a December 6th release with the completion date 444 calendar dates later than a May 13, 2022, contractor milestone date. Still, without an update on time required to redo track attachment. Timm’s December 8th post delayed the revenue service date from 30-June-23 to Spring 2025.
The year that began with a Jan 4th Agency Progress Report that the Federal Way progress schedule “is currently under review” was “still under review” in the Dec 6 release. What changed was the “2017-2046 Sources and Uses of Funds” increased from $138.0B to $149.1B between the 2022 and 2023 Financial Plan and Proposed Budgets, nearly triple the $54B voters approved in 2016. And a year that the "Principle Balance on Tax-Based Deb" increased from $24B to $29B ignoring the fact that the ST3 taxes is based on ends in 2941.
What didn’t change between the yearly budgets was the delusional claim Link ridership would increase from 20 million annually to 150 million in 2046. They continued to ignore the fact that light rail spine extensions do nothing to increase light rail train capacity and the need to increase access to transit. They refused to release the quarterly Service Delivery Performance Reports that demonstrated that failure when Northgate Link’s three stations attracted only a fraction of the 42,000 to 49,000 predicted.
The year included Sound Transit’s attempts to make up for the East Link delay with an East Link Starter Line alongside ST 550 to South Bellevue P&R. They failed to consider most Bellevue commuters will “likely” choose ST550 because its route through downtown Bellevue has better access and there’s no need to transfer at P&R. That even fewer returning commuters will choose to transfer to light rail at P&R for the trip into Bellevue. They could have used the delay the to allow East Link trains to terminate at Chinatown, but continued the plan to route to Mariner P&R as Link 2 Line.
The bottom line is 2022 was a year where Sound Transit managed to hire a new transit CEO willing to continue implementing “voter approved” extensions for light rail trains that won’t reduce congestion. That it was also the year Sound Transit delayed the most blatant example of that failure, the East Link extension, from June 2023 to Spring 2025.
It ended with a Julie Timm Dec 8th post “An update on Link projects in construction” detailing the option of implementing the Starter Line first before Lynnwood Link and a TBD Federal Way start date. That both options “face significant challenges and risks” but left it up to the board to decide in January.
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