The previous post proposed Sound Transit could use the time needed to redo East Link track attachments to allow the Link’s train routes to terminate at Chinatown station. This post offers a “Report Card” on the new Sound Transit CEO, Julie Timm’s, response to the need to redo the Link's attachments on her blog post and during the December 8th Sound Transit meetings.
On the plus side is her recognition Sound Transit problems with East Link and Tacoma Dome Link extensions have resulted in her requesting authorization to contract with HDR Engineering for construction management service. The need to spend up to $118M and $93M respectively on the two extensions indicates she recognizes Sound Transit’s engineering oversight problems.
On the minus side is her December 8th blog post, “East Link opening timeframe update” continues Sound Transit’s plan to implement “voter approved” extensions. CEO Timm apparently doesn’t acknowledge extending light rail tracks do nothing to increase the number of transit vehicles per hour or the number of riders in each vehicle. That the major result of the extensions is increased operating costs.
The result of the track attachment redo is a two-year delay in East Link demonstrating Sound Transit’s biggest debacle. They should have never been allowed to confiscate the I-90 Bridge center roadway for a transit system that limits East Side and South Seattle capacity to half the DSTT trains. That using the trains to replace cross lake bus routes limits transit capacity and does nothing to reduce I-90 corridor congestion.
Instead, the Lynnwood extension debut in either summer/fall or fall/winter 2024 will demonstrate the problem with “voter approved” extensions along I-5 corridor. Most of the corridor commuters with access to transit have already been required to transfer from bus routes to the Northgate Link for the ride into and out of Seattle. While some of them will use Lynnwood extension instead, the number of commuters added will be a fraction of Sound Transit’s 37,000 to 57,000 predicted. Yet the 8.5-mile extension will add ~$2000 for the round trip from Northgate, doubling round trip cost from Westlake.
CEO Timm also gets a failing grade for her blog post proposal to implement Sound Transit System Expansion Committee Chair Claudia Balducci’s proposal for a East Link Starter Line alongside ST 550 bus route to South Bellevue P&R. Bellevue commuters will “likely” choose ST 550 because it’s route though downtown Bellevue has better access and there’s no need to transfer at P&R. Even fewer returning commuters will choose to transfer to light rail at South Bellevue for the trip into Bellevue.
The bottom line is CEO Timm’s blog post reflects the fact she was hired because of her willingness to implement “voter approved” extensions. The Seattle Times has abetted Sound Transit refusal to release the Northgate Link results demonstrating the "voter approved" extensions lacked the access and capacity needed to reduce multilane freeway peak congestion and cost too much to operate off-peak.
The need to redo the East Link track attachments has resulted in CEO Timm's blog post delaying the next demonstration from June 2023 to at least summer 2024 Lynnwood Link debut. Continuing what Sound Transit hired her to do for as long as the Seattle Times enables them.
No comments:
Post a Comment