A previous post reported that Seattle Times changed its Traffic Lab project from one that “digs into the region’s thorny transportation issues” to one that “comments about how money is spent on transportation”. Yet they’ve abided the Sound Transit decision to “retire” the monthly “Agency Progress Report”.
The June version of the report included the normal following Editor’s Note:
Sound Transit’s Monthly Agency Progress Report summarizes projects and major contracts status, risk, and performance for capital projects.
However, it also included the following status update:
As of June 2024, the Agency Progress Report is retired. Information about project status can be viewed on each projects web page
Thus, the August 2 release of the June 2024 version was the last of 5 years of the latest version of the180-page report. Different versions of the monthly progress reports have been released since at least 2015. The last 5 years have included a Link Light Rail Program Overview listing 16 projects detailing "Authorized Project Allocation, Commitment to Date, Incurred to Date, and Estimated Final Cost"
Each project had a Project Summary, Key Project Activities, Closely Monitored Issues, Project Cost Summary, Risk Management, Contingency Management, Project Schedule, Staffing Summary and a breakdown of the project into smaller packages to facilitate implementation. For example, the June 2024 version included 10 pages of details for the Federal Way Link Extension (FWLE).
The webpage Sound Transit is recommending for information about project status includes a Map, a page with several paragraphs detailing “Overview”, what the FWLE is, its benefits, current project status, facts, and a winter 2022 picture of the Federal Way Station. The picture entitled “2023 Federal Way Extension accomplishments” includes a “Watch on YouTube”. Nothing on August 2024 status.
Again, for a project that “comments about how money is spent on transportation” the Traffic Lab has had little to say about how Sound Transit spends the funds voters approved in 2016. What began as $54 billion collected between 2017 to 2041 has “evolved” into spending $145 billion between 2017 to 2046 and a $28 billion in "tax backed debt" in 2046 when taxes approved in 2016 end in 2041.
The Sound Transit Board deciding on how that money is spend is made up of 18 elected officials who receive an average of $200,000 annually in compensation. Most who do so by sitting in front of computers at their office or home, two to three hours, two or three times a month. They sometimes comment but nearly always approve whatever they’re asked to spend.
The bottom line is the Traffic Lab abided Sound Transit ending the Service Delivery Quarterly Performance Report more than 3 years ago. It had provided details of Link Revenue Vehicles Hours and Miles Operated, Trips Operated, Boardings per hour and trip, and Cost per Boarding. The monthly Agency Progress Report has provided needed details on how the Sound Transit Board is spending the money to create that service. A Traffic Lab that’s called the board “non-specialists”, should not abide them no longer releasing it.
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