http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2013/01/08/there-is-no-real-public-transportation-without-dedicated-lines Comments On: "There is no real public transportation without dedicated lines." by Dan Savage en-us Copyright 2013 The Stranger. All rights reserved. This RSS file is offered to individuals, The Stranger readers, and non-commercial organizations only. Any commercial websites wishing to use this RSS file, please contact The Stranger. webmaster@thestranger.com (The Stranger Webmaster) Wed, 22 May 2013 00:00:01 -0700 Wed, 22 May 2013 14:30:00 -0700 Foundation http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss Posted by DOUG.]]> Tue, 08 Jan 2013 21:28:42 -0800 The Stranger Posted by ScrawnyKayaker]]> Tue, 08 Jan 2013 18:55:24 -0800 The Stranger Posted by Will in Seattle]]> Tue, 08 Jan 2013 18:23:56 -0800 The Stranger Posted by Mister G]]> Tue, 08 Jan 2013 18:21:31 -0800 The Stranger Posted by DOUG.]]> Tue, 08 Jan 2013 17:43:51 -0800 The Stranger Posted by Mister G]]> Tue, 08 Jan 2013 17:24:04 -0800 The Stranger
Seattle, in contrast, has wonders like 85th Ave NW, where you can be sure of stopping for a minute at a red light every 1 to 3 blocks, while the same thing is happening in parallel on 80th. Brilliant.
Posted by ScrawnyKayaker]]> Tue, 08 Jan 2013 17:02:13 -0800 The Stranger
You can file claims like that made by politicians under "we have goal X with a deadline 20 years after my term limit". The correct response is "Bullshit!"
Posted by gromm]]> Tue, 08 Jan 2013 16:06:51 -0800 The Stranger
"I could see BRT being useful along highways and freeways, especially if/when there's a dedicated lane for part of the trip"

That pretty much describes Sound Transit Express buses cruising in the carpool lane.
Posted by emor]]> Tue, 08 Jan 2013 15:55:20 -0800 The Stranger
You thought it was bad now ...

Time to start planning for actual Seattle citizens and not millionaires and billionaires who don't live here. Prioritize for Us, not Them.

Let Them ride bicycles.
Posted by Will in Seattle]]> Tue, 08 Jan 2013 14:36:36 -0800 The Stranger Posted by California Kid]]> Tue, 08 Jan 2013 13:54:13 -0800 The Stranger
There's also no longer a bus that goes directly from Ballard to Sodo, which is one reason why my boyfriend's commute is now twice as long. What bothers me about that is that it's always been a pain in the ass to get to Sodo from anywhere (by bus), not just Ballard, and Metro cut a few lines that actually made it manageable.
Posted by keshmeshi]]> Tue, 08 Jan 2013 13:52:48 -0800 The Stranger
In general, people like to shave off or play up the beginning and end times from their trips as convenient--the fact that it takes fifteen minutes to get to the freeway from one's home isn't mentioned unless need be. Bus riders know that being able to time when the bus actually arrives can add fifteen minutes a trip if you get it wrong, which is why One Ride Away, while not perfect, is still a godsend over squinting at the schedule which may or may not be correct and may or may not be still intact at the bus stop and hoping for the best. If the only thing that the D line brought was regular ten minute departures, it would be a win.

Unfortunately, they haven't quite gotten there yet, but with some tweaking and/or a few more busses, I'm sure it can be done.
Posted by tiktok]]> Tue, 08 Jan 2013 13:52:15 -0800 The Stranger the biggest mistake was the city not stepping up to help the monorail finances in 2005 -- after the bad $11B finance plan there was a new finance plan at about $5-6 billion and had the city just put in say $250 million capital up front the entire financial profile would have been normalized. making an X with light rail, thus a SYSTEM.

see, what other cities do is not fritter away at bits and pieces of this and that; they plan, then build, a system, defined as multiline grade separated hi capacity (meaning in the street trains downtown not allowed -- too slow and too short trains) with longish trains; the lines meet in downtown at a hub or web; they reach out to all important areas.
We're building basically about 1.3 lines not 6 to 10 like we need. Until we do, traffic will suck, and you won't be able to get across town on transit FAST, the way you can in about 200 other cities that have stopped debating and started building and completed multiline g.s. train systems.


Posted by shoulda built it]]> Tue, 08 Jan 2013 13:51:22 -0800 The Stranger Posted by d.p.]]> Tue, 08 Jan 2013 13:23:45 -0800 The Stranger massive service cuts that Ballard received in the crucial end-of-evening period.

Between 11:00 pm and 1:00 am, we lost literally half of the service that we had before the change. And the service that remains misses the actual population and two-way demand center of central Ballard by half a mile.

Post-11:00 is not "spoiled drinking hipsters demanding a ride" hours, but "punish you for going to a movie or taking advantage of your own city" hours.

It is profoundly pathetic and has firmly convinced me that our transit provider doesn't give a shit about those who live car-free, or frankly about anyone without a corporate-subsidized pass that gets used only at rush hour.

Posted by d.p.]]> Tue, 08 Jan 2013 13:22:56 -0800 The Stranger Posted by tainte]]> Tue, 08 Jan 2013 13:16:27 -0800 The Stranger Posted by Dougsf]]> Tue, 08 Jan 2013 13:11:34 -0800 The Stranger Posted by MacCrocodile]]> Tue, 08 Jan 2013 12:57:14 -0800 The Stranger
Rail is terrible! WE NEED BUSES!
Streetcars are terrible! WE NEED A SUBWAY!
Subways are terrible! WE NEED LIGHT RAIL!
Light rail is terrible! WE NEED A MONORAIL!
Buses are terrible! WE NEED HOV LANES!

No, we need ALL of these things and we need to be prepared to work on any given mode when the money and political will present themselves while not trying to smash the toes of supporters of other modes.
Posted by Baconcat]]> Tue, 08 Jan 2013 12:53:21 -0800 The Stranger
Bingo! Finally. Somebody mentioned podcars. What did I win?
Posted by Ph'nglui mglw'nafh Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn]]> Tue, 08 Jan 2013 12:51:20 -0800 The Stranger
http://www.theonion.com/articles/report-…
Posted by BostonFontSnob]]> Tue, 08 Jan 2013 12:49:57 -0800 The Stranger Posted by DOUG.]]> Tue, 08 Jan 2013 12:49:32 -0800 The Stranger 1) centralizing the traffic grid (ie, timing traffic lights, etc) using wireless
2) invest in developing autonomous electric cars that interface with the traffic grid, and can optimize paths to pick up and drop off multiple people and multiple destinations.
Then, as people and businesses move around, the public transportation system can move with them. then people are less constrained by the infrastructure.
Of course, getting anyone in Seattle to agree to THAT in less than 20 yrs would be a miracle.

Posted by semi-crepuscular]]> Tue, 08 Jan 2013 12:47:00 -0800 The Stranger
Retracing how Metro/Sound Transit cut service, changed the bus-paint, and put me back in my car when I lived in Bellevue.

The pattern is clear.
Posted by Karlheinz Arschbomber]]> Tue, 08 Jan 2013 12:46:15 -0800 The Stranger