2023 was another year of WSDOT and Sound Transit demonstrating a failure to effectively respond to the area’s roadway congestion. The WSDOT continued with plans to implement 2 HOT lanes from Lynnwood to Renton that’s more about raising revenue than reducing congestion.
They could implement HOT to one lane with tolls raised to limit traffic to the 2000 vehicles per hour needed to assure 45mph. The resulting additional GP lane would reduce congestion on remaining lanes, reducing the incentive to pay the tolls, and WSDOT revenue.
2023 was also the first full year of Sound Transit ‘s light rail spine operation, the extension beyond UW to Northgate. Rather than add parking for access they used the link to replace bus routes. They had predicted 41,000 to 49,000 riders would use the three stations daily. Yet they spent the year refusing to release the Quarterly Service Provided Report that would have reported the lack of access limited ridership to far less than predicted.
However, the expectation had been that the lack of data was mitigated by Sound Transit plans for East Link revenue service in June would demonstrate public transit problems dwarfing Northgate’s. Thus, the most consequential Sound Transit 2023 event was the final decision to delay the Link debut from June 30, 2023, until 2025 to redo the rail attachments. It delayed demonstrating the folly of confiscating the I-90 bridge center roadway for light rail to replace bus routes; precluding two-way BRT only with 10 times the capacity, 10 years sooner, at 1/10th the cost and using light rail to replace buses.
It also delayed demonstrating the folly of Sound Transit choosing to route the East Link trains through DSTT rather than terminating them at CID station. Eastside riders needing to go beyond CID could transfer to trains through DSTT. Terminating East Link at CID would end limiting it to half the DSTT train capacity and operation could be scheduled to meet I-90 bridge public transit demand. Terminating it and West Seattle Link at CID would also end the need for a second tunnel.
The bottom line is 2023 was a year of delay in demonstrating Sound Transit’s plan for a light rail spine won’t reduce congestion into Seattle. They spent much of 2022 trying to find a CEO willing to implement “Voter Approved” extensions and ended 2023 with the need to find someone else willing to do so.
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