The Urbanist » Examining urban policy to improve cities and quality of life.

Why I Love the 7, and Why I’m Not Driving It

by Nathan Vass on April 21, 2018

“I heard you’re off the 7.”

Somehow the secret’s gotten out. I wasn’t going to say anything here, because I have over a year’s worth of 7/49 stories stockpiled and nobody reading the blog would’ve noticed I was driving anything else… but Metro’s worse than your grandmother’s bridge club. Rumors are always flying, and heaven help you if you actually do something radical. You’ll never hear the end of it.

They’re already joking about it at the base. A friend was ribbing me today: “it even happened to Nathan! He’s ‘just gonna take a short break at North Base.’ How many times have you heard that before? They never come back! They neeever come back!”

It would be so easy to say I got tired of the people. Of course he did, we’d say, nodding. How convenient. We could relax, comforted by the idea that there’s nothing left to learn and therefore nothing to pay attention to, that irony is king and that positivity, on a long enough timeline, gets bulldozed.

On the street, certain things have to be simplified. There’s a briefness to the interactions. All relations between men and women, for example, are suddenly either marriages or sibling relationships. Most of my friends are women, and when any of them come out for a bus ride with me, they have to tolerate other passengers telling us how badly we need to get married. Stuff like that.

Environment & Sustainability/Parks & Public Space/Transit

Trailhead Direct Returns for Another Season with Expanded Transit Service

by Stephen Fesler @safesler on April 20, 2018

Urban hikers and outdoor enthusiasts will have access to Trailhead Direct once again beginning on Saturday–bypassing congested and often full trailhead parking lots. The weekend outdoor exploration service will provide semi-frequent trips to the Issaquah Alps, but with an extended route operating from Seattle and Bellevue in addition to Issaquah. The trial service was so popular last season that King County Metro Transit and King County Parks have teamed up to go bigger this year, in part due to the Seattle Department of Transportation and corporate sponsors REI and Clif Bar helping to support the program.

Seattle-Issaquah Trailhead Direct route. (King County)

Seattle riders will be able catch Trailhead Direct transit vans from Mount Baker Station in the Rainier Valley, eliminating the need for many to make one or more transit transfers. However, those who don’t live nearby can reach the stop from across Seattle by taking Link or Routes 7, 8, 14, 48, and 106. On the way to and from Issaquah, the vans will stop in Bellevue at the Eastgate Freeway Station, which offers bus connections to Routes 226, 240, 241, 245, 271, and 554. Hikers who would rather drive can use free parking at Eastgate. No park-and-ride facilities are available at Mount Baker Station, but on-street parking is an option.

Once the vans reach Issaquah, they will operate on a one-way circular loop with their first stop at the Issaquah Transit Center. Connections to Routes 208, 271, and 554 are available at the transit center in addition to parking. The vans will then proceed to four trailheads (Margaret’s Way, Chirico Trail-Poo Poo Point, High School Trail, and East Sunset Way Trail) by heading south, east, and then north. Some vans will then loop back to the Issaquah Transit Center and onward to Bellevue and Seattle.

Link light rail/Maps/Transit

Seattle Subway Drops New Expansion Map Hoping to Guide ST3 Alignments

by Doug Trumm @dmtrumm on April 20, 2018

Seattle Subway released a new light rail system expansion map yesterday and hopes to use it to inspire Sound Transit and the general public to select Sound Transit 3 (ST3) alignments that allow for logical line extensions and follow a strategic long-term vision. “The key concept for ST3 planning,” Seattle Subway wrote, is to “build for expandability.” Seattle Subway’s Executive Director Keith Kyle said the map has more than a dozen tweaks to the expansion map they released last year.

2018 Seattle Subway vision map. Click for larger version. (Seattle Subway)

“The things we want to focus on are things we’re fighting about now,” Kyle said. “Madison and SLU [South Lake Union] station being built for interlined expansion, moving ID [International District] Station to the west side, and moving the stadium and SODO stations west.”

The westward movement on International District/Chinatown Station and in SODO echoes my Union Station proposal, which also recommended running the West Seattle line on 1st Avenue, where it’d be much closer to the stadiums. In fact, Seattle Subway is calling the stop in question “Actual Stadium” in the latest map to highlight the advantage over the existing station location near 6th Avenue, which requires a nearly half-mile walk to games. Additionally, a 1st Avenue alignment would better serve Starbucks headquarters, which Seattle Subway calls out by name in the map.

One example of interlined expansion is the Magenta Line, which lives on, dropped a few shades, as the Pink Line.

“The Pink Line will serve the Aurora corridor, which is already a huge transit market but has bones to be the largest transit-oriented development opportunity in the region,” Kyle said. “It will finally fulfill Sound Transit’s promise to serve First Hill, the densest [American] neighborhood north of San Francisco and east of Chicago. Another exciting thing about the Pink Line is how it can integrate with a 520 crossing and create a one-seat ride for the ST3-approved Issaquah line.”

Seattle Subway’s Pink Line routing runs along Aurora Avenue, connecting the Bitter Lake neighborhood of Seattle to Downtown and crooking northeast on Madison Street, picking up First Hill, the Central Area, and Madison Park before crossing Lake Washington on SR-520, hitting South Kirkland and interlining with the Issaquah line (due for completion in 2041).

The SR-520 crossing replaces the Sand Point tunneled crossing of Lake Washington in Seattle Subway’s previous vision map, which had extended the Ballard-to-UW line to the Eastside.

Also captured in this map update is a change in ST2 timelines with the Lynnwood Link Extension pushed back to 2024 after the budget grew considerably because of the rising cost of labor and of land and the expanded scope of the project from initial estimates. That makes 2024 a busy year for Sound Transit with the Downtown Redmond Extension‘s two stations and the Federal Way Extension‘s three stations joining the four stations added with Lynnwood Link. Sound Transit has also scheduled bus rapid transit (BRT) lines on SR-522 and I-405 for delivery in 2024.

Link light rail/Maps/Plans & Policy/Transit

Sound Transit Unveils West Seattle and Ballard Alternatives

by Stephen Fesler @safesler on April 19, 2018

On Tuesday night, Sound Transit presented its first crack at alternative corridor alignments for the West Seattle and Ballard light rail extensions. The Stakeholder Advisory Group was briefed on the comprehensive evaluation of Level 1 Alternatives, which suggested that Sound Transit is open to alternatives that could consequentially deviate from the representative project alignments shared in February.

In developing the Level 1 Alternatives, Sound Transit considered the public feedback provided during its month-long comment period and series of open houses. Over two thousand comments were submitted to the transit agency, including dozens from local and state governments as well as local organizations, which have been summarized in an early scoping report. While those comments reveal some interesting themes, the Level 1 Alternatives themselves point to likely paths that Sound Transit will pursue as the transit agency moves into the Level 2 screening process in the coming months.

Methodology

Studied segments as part of the evaluation. (Sound Transit)

Sound Transit went through an extensive presentation outlining four key segments under review through the alternatives process. These segments are divided into West Seattle/Duwamish, SODO, Downtown, and Interbay/Ballard. Evaluation of each segment is provided in several forms. Sound Transit has highlighted each of the key alternatives being screened based on public feedback in consolidated and individual diagrams. Each alternative is then evaluated using common performance measures, such as service reliability, regional connectivity, land use consistency, and constructibility issues. Finally, Sound Transit ranks the alternatives based upon these various factors potential viability.

Homelessness/Social Welfare/WSCC

Convention Center Hotel Tax Expansion Hits Some Homeless People Hard

by David Dahl and Guest Contributor @urbanistorg on April 18, 2018

Throughout the development of the Washington State Convention Center (WSCC) expansion, the WSCC has repeated in marketing materials and public meetings that the project would be funded by existing taxes and no new taxes would be needed. However, very quietly, the WSCC also lobbied the state legislature for an expansion of the lodging tax to support the ever-expanding budget for this project. That lobbying effort bore fruit with the recent passage of HB 2015, which expands the current lodging tax (7% in Seattle, and 2.8% elsewhere in King County) to include hotels that have fewer than 60 rooms, as well as short-term rentals like Airbnb, both types of lodging that were previously only subject to regular sales tax.

The WSCC has been pushing for the tax increase since at least the 2016-2017 legislative session, after the project budget was increased from $1.4 billion to $1.6 billion. Another project budget increase of $100 million came earlier this year, and much of that latest increase was tied to the agreement with the Community Package Coalition, which would provide lump sum payments to community groups for projects such as Freeway Park improvements, a study to lid I-5, and payments for affordable housing (the largest piece of the package). During a Seattle City Council Sustainability and Transportation Committee meeting presentation, project developer Matt Griffin indicated the tax increase allowed for faster payments to the priorities of the Community Package, most notably toward affordable housing.

After those lump sums are paid, the future additional tax revenue would go directly to the WSCC. The WSCC desperately needed this agreement in order to convince the Seattle City Council that it would provide an appropriate public benefit to offset the negative impacts of five street and alley vacations (sales of publicly held rights-of-way). Prior to the agreement with the Community Package, the WSCC had struggled to show any public benefit worthy of the sale of valuable downtown streets and alleys.

HB 2015 indicates that the legislature is attempting to equalize taxation across all lodging types, but fails to acknowledge that different types of short-term lodging can serve vastly different populations. KUOW recently reported on how many small motels on Aurora Avenue in North Seattle serve as temporary homeless refuges with payments coming from either the homeless guests themselves or vouchers provided by service organizations. The guests of these small motels, (including both motels featured in the KUOW story) will soon face a significant increase in cost through the lodging tax, essentially taxing many who are struggling with homelessness to help pay for the convention center’s commitment to affordable housing.

While those staying in a hotel or motel after losing permanent housing are not counted in most statistics related to homelessness, King County’s 2017 Count Us In survey identified 5% of respondents previously lived in hotels or motels immediately prior to experiencing homelessness. Additionally, according to data collected by the Washington State Office of the Superintendant of Public Instruction (OSPI), over 500 homeless students in King County school districts relied on shelter in hotels or motels at some point during the year, due to lack of alternate housing. These small, older motels, which are not always the best housing option available, often serve as a last resort before living on the street. The increased tax base hits a portion of the population that doesn’t neatly fall into the “out of town” revenue sources that the lodging tax is supposed to tap.

Through the maneuvering of Seattle’s City Council last fall, the WSCC will not see revenue from the recently enacted short-term rental tax in Seattle. Seattle’s tax is going directly to affordable housing and community development initiatives without the WSCC as middleman. Perversely though, outside of Seattle, short-term rental guests in King County (think North Bend, Federal Way and Woodinville) will pay more to fund the expansion of the WSCC’s downtown Seattle facility and the Community Package than short-term rental guests in close proximity to the facility.

Link light rail/Transit/Transportation

South Sound Asks For The Tacoma Dome Link Extension

by Chris Karnes @TacomaTransit on April 17, 2018

For the South Sound, extension of regional Link light rail to Tacoma in 2030 will be a crowning achievement of work first envisioned in the late 20th century. Frequent, reliable, all-day electric train service to Federal Way, South King County, and Seattle-Tacoma International Airport will bring about a renaissance of transit mobility not seen since the 1930’s.

Here’s what we know:

The representative project for the Tacoma Dome Link Extension, approved by voters in Sound Transit 3 (ST3), will cost roughly $2 billion and span roughly 10 miles. The mostly elevated route between Federal Way Transit Center and Tacoma is projected to carry between 27,000 and 37,000 riders per day between a series of stations in South Federal Way, Fife, East Tacoma, and Tacoma Dome.

What we don’t know is what else it could be.

With a little flexibility, Sound Transit could go from a run-of-the-mill elevated rail project, to a transformative corridor that comprehensively improves the mobility, access and quality of life of thousands more in the South Sound.

Early community involvement in project scoping is incredibly important. While projects do change over the course of design, as Sound Transit gets closer to getting shovels in the ground, decisions become less about what a project can and should be about, and becomes more about finer details.

Additionally, there is a lot of pressure to accelerate the extension, maybe even open it earlier than 2030, so the window to provide input on the purpose, goals, and vision of the project is a mere month long, with a single open house happening in Tacoma today. So if there’s any point in time to ask for something specific to be considered, it’s now. I am encouraging transit riders, residents, and workers in Tacoma to get involved and to provide your input at the open house or via the online open house.

With that said, here are a few ideas I am laying on the table considering what type of city and region we will want to be in 2030 and in the decades following.

Link light rail/Transit

Sound Transit Embarks on Tacoma Dome Link Extension Scoping

by Stephen Fesler @safesler on April 17, 2018

Thanks to the passage of Sound Transit 3 ballot measure, Sound Transit will extend light rail from Federal Way to the Tacoma Dome district by 2030, bringing more high-capacity transit to the southend. Sound Transit has developed a 9.7-mile representative project alignment that would primarily hug the I-5 right-of-way with elevated rail. Four stations are planned to be added to the mainline Link network through the extension at South Federal Way, Fife, East Tacoma, and Tacoma Dome Station.

While the Tacoma Link line already terminates at Tacoma Dome Station, Sound Transit isn’t planning to directly connect the lines since they functionally operate as separate systems with different overhead power systems, light rail vehicles, station designs, and right-of-way exclusivity. Both systems, however, will terminate at Tacoma Dome Station allowing passenger transfers.

The representative project proposal for the Tacoma Dome Link extension. (Sound Transit)

The representative project details indicate that Sound Transit would construct new parking garages at the South Federal Way and Fife Stations, build a new rail bridge across the Puyallup River to reach Tacoma, and establish a fourth operations and maintenance facility (OMF) to serve the southend. An exact location for the new OMF, however, has not yet been identified. Presumably, it will need to be situated in an industrial area of which there are several in Tacoma, Fife, and Federal Way along the proposed corridor.

Two related light rail expansion will open prior to the launch of the Tacoma Dome Link extension. The first will be Tacoma Link, which will be extended to the Hilltop neighborhood in 2022 and followed by the Green Line extension to Federal Way in 2024. Nine years after the Tacoma Dome Link extension is completed, Tacoma Link will be extended to Tacoma Community College in 2039.

In many cases, the Tacoma Dome extension will provide highly competitive travel times with existing transit services and driving. Sound Transit has provided estimated travel times from Tacoma Dome Station to several destinations: 20 minutes to South Federal Way, 35 minutes to Sea-Tac Airport, and just 6 minutes to Fife. Extrapolating these times with current schedules, it would take a full 73 minutes to reach Westlake Station from Tacoma. While that may seem like a lot, it’s fairly similar to Route 590 and the Sounder South line that operate the corridor today.

Sound Transit is seeking feedback on the representative project proposals to scope issues and priorities from the public, in a similar way that the early scoping process for the Ballard and West Seattle extensions was conducted in February. Through an interactive map, dozens of comments on the proposals have already been submitted by the public. Several comments on the map suggest distinctly different ideas about where to run light rail and how to build the proposed stations.

Transit/Vision Zero/Walking

Denny Way Bus Lane Is Finally Happening This Summer

by Ryan Packer @typewriteralley on April 17, 2018

One of the most highly anticipated spot improvements for a King County Metro bus route has long been the idea of a Denny Way bus lane. Any way for Route 8, perpetually mired in peak commute traffic, to get past Denny Way’s bumper-to-bumper traffic queuing to get on I-5 and onto the overpass to Capitol Hill would impact the lives on thousands of bus riders every single day.

In early 2016, we reported that King County Metro Transit and Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) were working together on a number of options to allow space for a bus-only lane eastbound on Denny Way for the 8 between Fairview Ave and Stewart Street. After a mixup between SDOT and Seattle City light (currently constructing a massive electrical substation on the north side of Denny Way at Minor Avenue) that misreported the installation time of the bus lane as late last year, we can now report that the bus lane is on track to be installed this summer, in late June or early July, according to Metro.

Concept design that matches what will be installed this summer (Graphic by Scott Bonjukian)