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Friday, July 17, 2009

Transportation / Politics Patty Murray, Greg Nickels, Several Seattle City Council Members, Seattle City Council Hopeful Mike O'Brien, and Mike O'Brien's Bike All Went for a "Special Preview Ride" on Link Light Rail This Afternoon

Posted by on Fri, Jul 17, 2009 at 7:06 PM

a801/1247880259-soundtransitpressconf.jpg

A crush of political insiders gathered at the Westlake Station stop this afternoon for a press conference that lasted approximately 1,467 hours. After the press conference, everyone was going on a by-invitation-only "special preview" central Link light rail ride. Mayor Nickels talked and talked and talked (we've worked very hard, it has taken so long for this day to come), and then he introduced Senator Patty Murray, who came up and spoke (we've worked very hard, it has taken so long for this day to come), and then Nickels went back up and said more about how hard everyone worked and how long it took for this day to come, and then he introduced Peter M. Rogoff of the U.S. Department of Transportation, who came up and spoke (we've worked very hard, it has taken so long for this day to come). It was safe to say no one was paying attention anymore. Jan Drago kept clasping her hands and rubbing her rings with her fingers. Ross Hunter walked over to Washington State Senator Karen Keiser and mumbled, with a pained expression, "Where's the bar? Why are these guys talking so long?" After Rogoff was done speaking, Nickels unbelievably WENT BACK UP ONSTAGE to say more to the cameras, followed by Gov. Christine Gregoire's chief of staff, and then Nickels AGAIN, and then Sound Transit Board Vice-Chair Claudia Thomas, and then Nickels AGAIN, and then Snohomish County Executive Aaron Reardon, and then Nickels AGAIN, and then King County Councilmember Julia Patterson. It seemed like a practical joke—or a metaphor for how long it's taken to get light rail built.

Two people showed up with bikes. One of them was Seattle City Council hopeful Mike O'Brien, who biked down to the event from The Stranger's offices, where he'd just finished an endorsement interview. The other person who showed up with a bike was me. After some confusion about where we could lock up our bikes (not a bike rack in sight), the good people of Sound Transit allowed us to bring our bikes onto the train. O'Brien took a picture of his bike hanging there. I took a picture of O'Brien taking a picture.

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They really did seem like the first bikes that had ever been hung there: Whoever had designed them had evidently never tried putting a bike in it. The handlebars jutted so far into the aisle it was difficult getting around them, and as soon as the train started moving they swung dangerously at standing passengers. Several of the guys who had designed the visual displays in all the stations were standing nearby talking, and one of them was preoccupied by the poorly designed bike rack and kept talking about how he would reconfigure it. "I think you have to lose one of those seats," he said, pointing to a pair of seats across the aisle from the rack.

The trip to Tukwila was gorgeous, smooth, cool. (Dom and Jonah have covered this.) People waved.

At the Tukwila Station, everyone got off and then on again, and Mayor Nickels and Sound Transit CEO Joni Earl got into our car—both of them making polite, casual conversation with everyone. But Earl was clearly annoyed at Mike O'Brien's bike being in the way, even though it was in the place it was supposed to be, and at it swinging in her face once the train started moving again. Which was kind of satisfying, because all I wanted to do was call up the CEO of Sound Transit to complain about the bike rack, and there she was, being attacked by it.

8b7e/1247882565-joniearlobrienbike.jpg

Earl's the figure in the cream-colored suit. "I don't know about these bike racks," she said to Rogoff, the Obama administration guy, who then pointed to me and said, "He's writing that down." Earl shot me a look and said, "Oh now wait a second, I wasn't talking to you, that was a comment." And then she shrugged it off. Mount Rainier passed by in the window behind her. The train turned, and turned again, and when I looked back at Earl she was once again being clobbered by O'Brien's bike. "I'm wearing the bike now," she said, laughing. And then, pointing to my notepad, she added, "You can put that one down."

Light rail opens to the public tomorrow, and it's free all weekend. It is easily the most important development in the life of the city in years. By all means, go. Just don't bring your bike.

 

Comments (40) RSS

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Mark in Colorado 1
What I most want to know is why did you elect Greg Nickels?

This man was no savior. He has given kickbacks to...well.

What is up with you people in Seattle?
Posted by Mark in Colorado on July 17, 2009 at 7:44 PM
Andy 2
In 2001, he was running against Mark Sidran. In 2005, he ran against Al Runte. Those are some of the reasons I've voted for Greg Nickels.
Posted by Andy on July 17, 2009 at 9:18 PM
COMTE 3
So, I guess this sort of begs the question: for how many of these pols will this be the first AND last time they ever set foot on one of these trains?
Posted by COMTE http://www.chriscomte.com on July 17, 2009 at 9:24 PM
giffy 4
@3 Since most don't live or work on the line, probably yeah. I mean when would Murray or Gregoire ride it. Nickels works downtown but does not live on the line.

Patterson lives and works on the line so she might.

Just don't bring your bike.

Really. Cascade's little hissy fit over being able to bring them on opening day was pretty asinine.
Posted by giffy on July 17, 2009 at 10:21 PM
Reality Check 5
Personally I think it begs the question about how ironic it is that only ... what 3? bikes fit on a given rail car? Soooo.... let's see... what I'm inferring is that they have 3 bike slots for a 30 person car? Or is each car a 50 person car? And on top of that, the design is so poor, that those 2 bikes in this example, already jut into the common areas interfering with other commuters?

REALLY?

And this is acceptable to everyone? And the talking heads were ignoring the obvious implications in their attempt at over joyous self promotion?

So ummm.... why hasn't anyone from The Stranger staff, pointed out this glaring oversight to anyone, especially given the opportunity at having the "invite only" select crowd there as a captive audience with the press?

And how exactly is this going to work when you have 20+ people get onto a train, and there is only slots for 5 or 6 or something to that effect? Are they allowed to board anyways? What do they do?

This whole thing is a complete fucking joke. Period.

First there is no adequate parking, so thousands of potential riders are expected to magically agree to walk block upon blocks away to reach the train, or else they are supposed to bike to the station,....only to find that a train with an available bike rack doesn't exist.

Priceless.

How much is/was the total cost of this folly again? How much are we paying these transit geniuses?
Posted by Reality Check http://www.nraila.org on July 17, 2009 at 10:25 PM
Reality Check 6
edit #5 above.

That was supposed to say "20+ people get onto a train, all having bikes, and there is only slots for 5 or 6"....

my bad.
Posted by Reality Check http://www.nraila.org on July 17, 2009 at 10:29 PM
giffy 7
@5 Only 3-5% of people bike regularly.

I agree that they should have a better means of storing bikes, but it is a pretty minor issue.
Posted by giffy on July 17, 2009 at 10:42 PM
Baconcat 8
@5: Where would the parking lots go?
Posted by Baconcat on July 17, 2009 at 10:58 PM
9
Frizzy, you have a huge cock.
Posted by Massive Attack on July 17, 2009 at 11:10 PM
Reality Check 10
@8 Light Rail needs parking garages along portions of the South line. It is the only way you will effectively get a large(r) portion of the riders in South King County to give up their vehicles in order to come into downtown. Would it not be a better alternative to have them drive in to ... let's say Tukwilla for arguments sake... riders from Kent, Renton, etc, who are somewhat close, whereby it would be a short trip (let's say 3 miles) to the local Light Rail parking garage. They would then take light rail in the rest of the way to their job downtown.

That is the target market for my logic. I'm not talking the folks who live 3 or 4 blocks off the rail line. Those folks likely already took buses, and very likely didn't own a vehicle in the first place.

Rather, I'm targeting the suburban folks living out in the hinterlands. Those who are further out than Rainier Valley. Give them an option to get to a Park and Ride garage scenario, whereby they could either take a bus from their house, or drive their vehicle to a nearby park and ride, and then pickup Light Rail into Seattle.

Until Sound Transit pulls it's collective head out of its ass and realizes that these are the folks clogging I 5 in the mornings, this entire project is simply a boondoggle shifting former Rainier Valley bus riders onto a fancy train to look cool.
Posted by Reality Check http://www.nraila.org on July 17, 2009 at 11:36 PM
11
98% of the people who post here don't leave their moms basement, much less capitol hill so it's pretty safe to post that here.

i'm looking at you, big toe, fnarf.
Posted by you have no life steve thornton on July 18, 2009 at 1:40 AM
Lee 12
@3: "Begging the question" is a logical fallacy involving presupposing one's conclusion as a premise. It does not mean "leads one to ask."
Posted by Lee on July 18, 2009 at 5:43 AM
Baconcat 13
@10: They have park and rides at the suburban stations. Otherwise, there is absolutely no reason to put them in the middle of a city. Hell, Sound Transit keeps getting intermittent flack for putting P&Rs in East Link (South Bellevue, Bel-Red, Overlake), South Link (Tukwila Int'l, Sea-Tac, S 200th, Redondo/Star Lake) and North Link(Mountlake Terrace (triple its size), Lynnwood). They have already thought this through, something you clearly are incapable of doing.

That was a big deal in Roads and Transit, that is one reason it failed. People in the region keep hearing about how buses will whisk them away to their train but end up having to ask "why are there enough spaces for 75% of anticipated riders to drive to the station? How is this green if we're just killing rabbits and paving over them with 6 story parking garages?".

Putting parking garages outside of your suburban alignments has not and will not ever work. MAX does not put them in the city, Hiawatha Line does not put them in the city, LYNX does not put them in the city. And with MAX, the westside's two most-used stations do not even have P&Rs, and on the eastside, they had to make due with two park and rides, each with only a couple of hundred spaces and not 600 like Tukwila International.

You're an idiot.
Posted by Baconcat on July 18, 2009 at 6:08 AM
NaFun 14
You mean after having dozens of test trains running up and down this thing, this was the first time they tested the bike racks in the train cars? What kind of engineers are these?

oh, and @9, it's a whoozewhatsit, get it right.
Posted by NaFun http://www.dancesafe.org on July 18, 2009 at 6:43 AM
15
It is hard to know who is more pathetic:
Washington's politicians or the boobs who write about them.
Posted by Poxx on July 18, 2009 at 7:20 AM
stinkbug 16
I heard that O'Brien is super tall and has a super tall bike. Can you confirm the size of his bike?
Posted by stinkbug on July 18, 2009 at 7:42 AM
17
Are we a real city NOW?
Posted by PC on July 18, 2009 at 7:44 AM
18
world class, bitch.
Posted by taint on July 18, 2009 at 8:42 AM
19
Yes, obviously,

Tukwila = Les Halles,

Othello = Astor Place,

McLellan = Foggy Bottom.

Noted, asshole.

Posted by PC on July 18, 2009 at 8:58 AM
20
These bike racks still sound like a huge improvement over the racks on Sounder trains. Each Sounder car has rack space for two bikes, the second bike blocks the first bike so both bikes have to un-rack to get the first bike out, and the two rack slots face opposite directions, so the second bike has to be turned around inside a crowded train car to be moved into the first rack slot.

Alternatively, many cyclists just stand in the vestibule holding their bikes, and hop off and on at each station -- less hassle than using the racks.
Posted by jmp on July 18, 2009 at 9:38 AM
21
Reality Check @5:

This whole thing is a complete fucking joke. Period.

First there is no adequate parking, so thousands of potential riders are expected to magically agree to walk block upon blocks away to reach the train, or else they are supposed to bike to the station,....only to find that a train with an available bike rack doesn't exist.

Reality Check, you sound like the kind of individual who simultaneously believes they know more about coaching football than Mike Holmgren, more about fighting wars than Dwight Eisenhower, and more about energy than Steven Chu. That is, you apparently fashion yourself an armchair expert in everything when in fact you have no idea what you're talking about.

I'm not about to say the folks at Sound Transit are the Holmgren/Eisenhower/Chu of transit planning. Not to mention, they're constrained by political realities. But they actually know their field, and you don't.

Spending a few billion dollars on a mass transit system only to focus on building park-and-rides around the stations is a monumentally boneheaded, self-defeating, what's-the-point decision akin to creating a public health insurance option and then giving it no power to negotiate. But hey, Reality Check, you're the expert at everything, so I guess there's no telling you.
Posted by cressona on July 18, 2009 at 10:52 AM
22
Looking forward to riding this thing to work tonight, if the lines aren't too long. If they are, I guess I'll just catch a bus like usual.
Posted by Lack Thereof on July 18, 2009 at 11:07 AM
23
Also, looking at the pictures, I think the bike rack might work better if you hang it by the BACK wheel instead of the front.; so the bike can't swing itself by turning its handlebars.
Posted by Lack Thereof on July 18, 2009 at 11:09 AM
Renton Mike 24
@10 Nobody from Renton, Kent, etc. is worried about the light rail because there are P & R lots a lot closer from which they can take the Sounder or a bus in to Seattle.
Posted by Renton Mike on July 18, 2009 at 11:35 AM
Gomez 25
The people who live on the South end with bikes could just... I don't know... ride them Downtown? And vice versa?

I mean, isn't that what cyclists crusade for, the ability to road-ride 5-10 miles to work? I'd buy into the trains needing better racks if they were going 30-40 miles, but the line goes about 15 miles south of town.
Posted by Gomez http://gomezticator.livejournal.com on July 18, 2009 at 11:52 AM
26
Isn't Christopher one of the biggest douches who defends critical mass?

And now he's whining about support for bikers? Well he can FUCK OFF. Why should anyone bother cooperating with such a selfish asshole like that.
Posted by critical mass is counterproductive on July 18, 2009 at 12:56 PM
Mud Baby 27
Well, all I can say, Mark in Colorado, is that some of us voted for him the first time but not the second time, and not next time either, because he used to be a pretty decent King County Council member. He went over to the dark side quickly, probably because he hired Tim Ceis (a.k.a. "The Shark") to be his brain, er...his Deputy Mayor. It's been all downhill since then. He sure is porky in the photo...
Posted by Mud Baby on July 18, 2009 at 1:31 PM
Mud Baby 28
As for Tukwila residents using this train, consider the fact that Tukwila had a whopping 17,092 residents. Population change since 2000: -0.5%. A lot more people WORK in Tukwila, but if they don't live near the line, it will be hard for them to use this train to commute to work because:

(1) the entire line has NO park & rides, nor are any planned because the City of Seattle's brain trust think they are ugly and that people should simply walk to the train stations. A single glance at Mayor Jowly will tell you that he never walks anywhere (OK, I will concede that he does walk from his car to the elevator in the City Hall parking lot...). If he did, why would he be so fat? In contrast, there are 18 Metro-designated parking lots along the Max lines within the city limits of Portland.

(2) The train station is in the middle of freakin' nowhere, on about a mile south of the airport on the far side of a 6+ lane state highway, and actually within spitting distance of Sea-Tac (population in 2008: 25,840). It's a viable option for anyone who lives downtown or somewhere along the line in South Seattle (assuming they can walk to the station...) and works at the airport, but a person would need a car to get from the Tukwila station to the valley floor where the mall and zillions of factories and warehouses are in that place that people think of when they visualize "Tukwila."
Posted by Mud Baby on July 18, 2009 at 1:45 PM
29
Great a new cheap method to get wanna be gansters from the south-end to downtown seattle to start shit and deal drugs. way to go Seattle! Because it is important to not actually serve the people who pay the taxes.
Posted by nickelsisadumbass on July 18, 2009 at 2:05 PM
30
WE WANTED THE MONORAIL
Posted by nickelsisadumbass on July 18, 2009 at 2:06 PM
31
I checked out several stations today and wow was this an overstaffed, over-structured kick-off! I'm glad they planned for huge crowds but where possible plans should be flexible enough so that when a handful of people are down on the platform of the University Street station at 11:15 you don't have staff saying wait here and we'll let you down there in a few minutes.

Also, installing green, blue and white balloons on numerous light poles around the Columbia City area was a bit overkill. I stood on the yellow pump strip at the Pioneer Square station (with no train in sight) and a staffer was obligate to nicely walk over and ask me to stay off the yellow dots. Silly but well intended. Pine Street was closed and had barriers up for the huge crowds which were absent. I ended up taking the train from Pioneer Square Station to Westlake. Not a bad trip but the whole thing is pretty silly. I wish there were turnstiles and pay gates but at least the system won't cost anything to ride (on the honor system.)
Posted by first-spring on July 18, 2009 at 3:17 PM
32
@12, it does now. Language changes.
Posted by paulus on July 18, 2009 at 3:47 PM
Lee 33
Languages change only for the worse when we lose useful terms for things.
Posted by Lee on July 18, 2009 at 4:17 PM
34
park-and-ride lots inside Seattle would not be cost-effective; they would cost at least $30K/space; the land is too valuable; the traffic they would generate would slow bus service; Seattle south of North 85th Street, including all of southeast Seattle was developed before WWII around a streetcar network; it has a complete street grid; intending riders can walk or take the bus to Link.
Posted by eddiew on July 18, 2009 at 6:38 PM
lizzie 35
Park and ride lots completely obliterate density. That's not so bad in the wasteland near the Tukwila station, but would be ridiculous at any of the planned Seattle or Eastside stations. They recently redeveloped one of the Redmond stations as they are trying to mitigate the awful sprawl there.

There's currently a park and ride by the planned Roosevelt station. I really hope they redevelop it, as it's really stunting the growth of that neighborhood.
Posted by lizzie on July 18, 2009 at 8:42 PM
lizzie 36
PS - Really good Slog post!
Posted by lizzie on July 18, 2009 at 8:44 PM
37
Mike O'Brien is just what Seattle needs! Time for some new blood on the council that is willing to "do something" rather than just talk about it!! Ballots are coming out soon, hope the rest of this city feels the same way..
Posted by J_in_sea on July 19, 2009 at 9:18 AM
Will in Seattle 38
When the main line is FINISHED it will have public parking garages at Sea-Tac and Northgate and next to Husky Stadium.

Oh and there's one next to Westlake Mall already. And the International District.

No more parking for you. Stop whining.
Posted by Will in Seattle http://www.facebook.com/WillSeattle on July 19, 2009 at 2:55 PM
39
Finally, an efficient means for me to travel to the Rainier Valley and Tukwila! Indeed, this is certainly the most important thing to happen to this city (and me personally) in a long time.

/sarcasm
Posted by joykiller on July 19, 2009 at 4:11 PM
40
interestingly enough, the bike slots on almost every other light rail train i have ever been on are oriented the opposite way (the tires facing front to back not side to side as is on link) with deliberately designed spaces for bikes that ensure the swaying as the train turns is minimized with a lower "gutter" similar to a triple bus bike rack. The LINK trains seem to have been designed to permit bike slots as an option or afterthought....at least until someone sues ST for being smacked in the head by a set of handlebars. ST should correct this immediately.
Posted by mark ryhder on July 20, 2009 at 6:32 PM

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