Slog
News & ArtsMonday, September 21, 2009
City Link Light Rail: The Last To Go!
Posted by Dan Savage on Mon, Sep 21, 2009 at 9:46 AM
Everyone else on earth—Media Earth—has filed their, "Hey, look at me—I'm riding light rail to almost very nearly to the airport!" story. But thanks to my idiotic schedule, and being gone most of July and August, I'm riding light rail for the first time today. And I'm live blogging it! Hey, that's a picture of the train! With my knee in the lower right-hand corner to prove to the skeptics that I will take mass transit—just not busses—to the airport!
9:19 AM: Getting a ticket was relatively painless. The computer ticket dispenser thang is a little slow and not very intuitive. The buttons on the computer screen don't let you know that they know that you've pressed them, so you press them again which is not the right thing to do. A Sound Transit employee sees my fumbling to make the machine work and runs up to help walk me through the automated ticketing process. How much does Sound Transit pay her to stand there waiting for doofuses like me to screw up the automated ticketing process? Is it automated if you need an employee standing by at all times to assist? Why not just have a teller?
9:30 AM: Get on train. Just one bum. Well, maybe not a bum. Slovenly, unshaven, asleep... spilling coffee on himself. Could be a writer. Novel use of flannel shirt pocket as a cup holder.
9:38 AM: Lovely views of downtown Seattle before entering tunnel under Beacon Hill—which we do just as I'm pressing save, but I lose my AirCard reception, and the entire post is lost when new page doesn't load. Which means all of my brilliant, insightful observations about riding light rail to the airport—so far—are lost to posterity. Post painstakingly recreated from memory for future generations to enjoy.
9:47 AM: Bum/writer exits train at Othello. Holy crap—only three more stops to airport station (which doesn't open until 2010)! Here's his cup holder:
9:51 AM: Next stop, Tukwila International Blvd. Where I have to get off and take a bus—a freakin' bus!—the rest of the way to Sea-Tac. Will not be in communication during that harrowing leg of my ordeal this morning. Wish me luck. Ah, lovely view of Mt. Rainier as we go over I-5. Okay, signing off for now...
2
I've still never been on the light rail. I maybe travel south of Jackson Street once a year. If that. So what good would it do me to ride it? None.
3
Rode it for the first time Saturday-- nice ride. Used a bus transfer, so didn't need to screw with the ticket machine. The bus/train combo took one hour from Queen Anne to Columbia City, door to door. Probably could have driven it in 20 minutes, but on a weekday the trains/buses are more frequent and the drive times longer, so still a big thumbs up from my point of view. My impression overall is that passengers have been ready for rail longer than the politicians have.
5
Often when clicking on a Save or Submit button after writing more than a few paragraphs I'll often do a quick Select All and Copy just in case something goes kaboom when I hit Submit. I would have definitely saved to the clipboard if I was hitting Submit while entering a tunnel.
The TVMs are indeed confusing.
And they're hoping to have the airport station open by the end of 2009, so before 2010.
The TVMs are indeed confusing.
And they're hoping to have the airport station open by the end of 2009, so before 2010.
7
One of the only decent and humane things about transit in Atlanta is that you can ride the southbound MARTA train straight to the airport. Ta-DA!
But I loved Seattle's bus system when I lived there last year. I can't fathom complaining about it now that I have to deal with Atlanta's buses, with their not-really-a-secret-at-all hostility to the idea of anyone riding on them, ever.
But I loved Seattle's bus system when I lived there last year. I can't fathom complaining about it now that I have to deal with Atlanta's buses, with their not-really-a-secret-at-all hostility to the idea of anyone riding on them, ever.
8
Last time I rode I noticed how long it took for the train to move once the doors closed at each stop.
Good luck on that bus. It took about three minutes last time I took it. And I'm uploading that photo of yours to whosedadjeans.com.
Good luck on that bus. It took about three minutes last time I took it. And I'm uploading that photo of yours to whosedadjeans.com.
9
Rode it for the first time a few weeks ago, from the airport. The shuttle from/to the airport is easy. My biggest beef is that there is NO PLACE to put luggage, unless you put it on the seat next to you, or the wheelchair access seats are flipped up next to you. The handy posted Rules of Conduct even say that all personal items must be stored on one's lap or under their seat....not very traveller-friendly if the light rail ends up being full.
I was riding LINK on my way back from NYC, where overhead racks for luggage are the norm and was amazed at this huge oversight on a train that was designed to go to the AIRPORT (eventually).
Oh, and the LINK takes longer than the 194 bus to the airport, even once you don't have to wait for the shuttle anymore.
I was riding LINK on my way back from NYC, where overhead racks for luggage are the norm and was amazed at this huge oversight on a train that was designed to go to the AIRPORT (eventually).
Oh, and the LINK takes longer than the 194 bus to the airport, even once you don't have to wait for the shuttle anymore.
10
Looks like Sound Transit has been looking at their ridership numbers and freaking out privately. The changing of the bus routes this week is an attempt to force riders to pickup their connection(s) via Light Rail, as bus service no longer exists for certain routes and/or the routes have been changed. Why can't Sound Transit just leave well enough alone? Their fucking up bus routes and screwing with people's schedules in some Orwellian attempt at dictating public acceptance and dependence of Light Rail.
I rode light rail last month, having been forced to take it from the airport back to Intl District to catch a bus connection. Light Rail did not impress me at all. My standard benchmark will always be Munich's Ubahn. Light Rail here has failed on several levels. The ride is too jerky. Given today's modern construction standards, and plenty of time to work out gentle curves and smooth acceleration/deceleration, Light Rail sucks. It should be much smoother, especially given how slow it goes. Secondly the seats are horribly uncomfortable, which is not necessary. Other mass transit options have much better comfort for the seats. They don't need to be larger for fat asses, but rather simply more plush with fewer hard edges. Thirdly, is the inner lighting. At night it is MUCH too bright. Like Emergency Room glaring light bright. Light Rail needs to tone down the bright lights.
Promising. Sure. Some day. Maybe. But we got a raw deal for all the money that was spent and wasted on this. I'm simply in awe at how little we got for soooooo much money.
I rode light rail last month, having been forced to take it from the airport back to Intl District to catch a bus connection. Light Rail did not impress me at all. My standard benchmark will always be Munich's Ubahn. Light Rail here has failed on several levels. The ride is too jerky. Given today's modern construction standards, and plenty of time to work out gentle curves and smooth acceleration/deceleration, Light Rail sucks. It should be much smoother, especially given how slow it goes. Secondly the seats are horribly uncomfortable, which is not necessary. Other mass transit options have much better comfort for the seats. They don't need to be larger for fat asses, but rather simply more plush with fewer hard edges. Thirdly, is the inner lighting. At night it is MUCH too bright. Like Emergency Room glaring light bright. Light Rail needs to tone down the bright lights.
Promising. Sure. Some day. Maybe. But we got a raw deal for all the money that was spent and wasted on this. I'm simply in awe at how little we got for soooooo much money.
11
@9 Ooopsss I forgot about that detail Genevieve! SO correct! I can't imagine having taken Light Rail during 6PM corridor. We came back at 9PM to an empty train thankfully. I had a computer bag, a carry on suitcase, and a checked bag, which is the norm for 4+ day trips. If it wouldn't have been an empty train, we would have been fucked. I can't imagine HOW they forgot luggage racks! WTF?
I'm curious about the 194 route into the future... Curious to know whether it will get the AX by transit, just like other routes have... People need to let Transit know that the 194 is STILL faster than LR, and if they plan on fixing some details about their methodology before rolling this folly out to the airport in 6 months. Light Rail is in NO WAY READY for half full trains PACKED with travelers with luggage trying to get down to Intl District hub to pickup a connection. THEY NEED to prioritize airport travelers having areas to store their luggage RIGHT NEXT TO WHERE THEY SIT. I DONT want my luggage stored 15 feet away with people getting on/off the trains in the hood.
FAIL.
I'm curious about the 194 route into the future... Curious to know whether it will get the AX by transit, just like other routes have... People need to let Transit know that the 194 is STILL faster than LR, and if they plan on fixing some details about their methodology before rolling this folly out to the airport in 6 months. Light Rail is in NO WAY READY for half full trains PACKED with travelers with luggage trying to get down to Intl District hub to pickup a connection. THEY NEED to prioritize airport travelers having areas to store their luggage RIGHT NEXT TO WHERE THEY SIT. I DONT want my luggage stored 15 feet away with people getting on/off the trains in the hood.
FAIL.
13
I'm a pretentious name-dropping twit who wants you to know I've been to Europe. So I'll put down the transit system to do just that.
14
Reality Check @10: Why can't Sound Transit just leave well enough alone? Their fucking up bus routes and screwing with people's schedules in some Orwellian attempt at dictating public acceptance and dependence of Light Rail.
Dictating public acceptance? Reality Check, this may be hard for you to fathom, but Sound Transit is not some alien lifeform or occupying foreign invader. It's a public agency created by the public, whose work was voted on by the public. Sound Transit is our government. Sound Transit is our transit service just as much as the buses are.
And it's a waste of taxpayer dollars (our dollars) to have bus service that is not complementary to the light rail service, to not have a transit system that is integrated.
Dictating public acceptance? Reality Check, this may be hard for you to fathom, but Sound Transit is not some alien lifeform or occupying foreign invader. It's a public agency created by the public, whose work was voted on by the public. Sound Transit is our government. Sound Transit is our transit service just as much as the buses are.
And it's a waste of taxpayer dollars (our dollars) to have bus service that is not complementary to the light rail service, to not have a transit system that is integrated.
17
@9: "Oh, and the LINK takes longer than the 194 bus to the airport, even once you don't have to wait for the shuttle anymore."
Eh, it depends on the time of day. Head from downtown to the airport on a morning and the 194 might be faster. Try that same trip during afternoon rush hour and Link will likely win. And the I-5 traffic is only going to worsen over time.
@10: "Looks like Sound Transit has been looking at their ridership numbers and freaking out privately. The changing of the bus routes this week is an attempt to force riders to pickup their connection(s) via Light Rail"
You do realize that these changes have been in the works for a looong time. You act like they looked at ridership levels last week and suddenly decided to make drastic changes. Is that what you really believe? Actually, from reading your #11 posting it's clear you're not up to speed on the planned transit changes around here and/or how mass transit works.
Eh, it depends on the time of day. Head from downtown to the airport on a morning and the 194 might be faster. Try that same trip during afternoon rush hour and Link will likely win. And the I-5 traffic is only going to worsen over time.
@10: "Looks like Sound Transit has been looking at their ridership numbers and freaking out privately. The changing of the bus routes this week is an attempt to force riders to pickup their connection(s) via Light Rail"
You do realize that these changes have been in the works for a looong time. You act like they looked at ridership levels last week and suddenly decided to make drastic changes. Is that what you really believe? Actually, from reading your #11 posting it's clear you're not up to speed on the planned transit changes around here and/or how mass transit works.
19
@17 - good point about the afternoon rush hour traffic. I never plan departures or arrivals during that time, so I didn't take it into consideration (yes, it's all about ME! :P).
For the record, I'm happy that we have LINK. I don't mind paying more for it (the ST website says it costs the same as a bus ride to the airport but I've never had to pay more than a peak trip fare {currently $2.00} on the 194), I think the ticket machines were totally easy to use, and the ride was fine, if indirect as hell. I just think starting with a line to the airport and completely forgetting that most people travel with luggage - while making sure to include bike racks - is supremely boneheaded.
For the record, I'm happy that we have LINK. I don't mind paying more for it (the ST website says it costs the same as a bus ride to the airport but I've never had to pay more than a peak trip fare {currently $2.00} on the 194), I think the ticket machines were totally easy to use, and the ride was fine, if indirect as hell. I just think starting with a line to the airport and completely forgetting that most people travel with luggage - while making sure to include bike racks - is supremely boneheaded.
20
@14 what I meant by saying that, is that without bus routes, and forcing people who used to use the (former) bus routes, now depending on Light Rail to provide their transit needs, citizens are now forced to use Light Rail, where before they could use buses to get around. And... seeing as how the Light Rail only has a couple of stops relative to buses having dozens, and the ability to have a bus stop anywhere along the route with a pressing of a STOP button, it forces ridership, walking and travelling plans in general to conform to them.
It is not perfectly complimentary service at ALL. In fact in certain ways it is much less service.
Even though the public may have voted in concept to Light Rail transit, much of that vote was on faith that the finished product would be a "certain way". MANY who voted for Sound Transit don't believe the delivered product met up with their expectations the day they went into the voters booth.
So yes it is public. However just because it is a public agency managing it, went thru a public vote to see fruition, and was finally finished, doesn't mean it isn't without MANY detractions that need immediate addressing.
Try not drinking too much of the Kool Aid, as it is staining your shirt.
It is not perfectly complimentary service at ALL. In fact in certain ways it is much less service.
Even though the public may have voted in concept to Light Rail transit, much of that vote was on faith that the finished product would be a "certain way". MANY who voted for Sound Transit don't believe the delivered product met up with their expectations the day they went into the voters booth.
So yes it is public. However just because it is a public agency managing it, went thru a public vote to see fruition, and was finally finished, doesn't mean it isn't without MANY detractions that need immediate addressing.
Try not drinking too much of the Kool Aid, as it is staining your shirt.
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@15 - you win. I give up. Sincerely, a slovenly, uncastrated childhood survivor who goes around with an unshaven head.
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@19: "but I've never had to pay more than a peak trip fare {currently $2.00} on the 194"
From downtown to the airport, off-peak should be $1.75 and peak should be $2.50 (since the route crosses zone while on I-5). $2.00 is the one-zone peak.
From downtown to the airport, off-peak should be $1.75 and peak should be $2.50 (since the route crosses zone while on I-5). $2.00 is the one-zone peak.
23
@16 Sorry Willy
Don't own a HUMMER. You sound jealous that you can't afford the lifestyle to own one?
However yes we did find free parking at a Park and Ride, allowing us to pay $5.00 for free parking/transportation to the airport, provided we put up with having to deal with the other unpleasantries of living in a diverse city and its transit options.
Don't own a HUMMER. You sound jealous that you can't afford the lifestyle to own one?
However yes we did find free parking at a Park and Ride, allowing us to pay $5.00 for free parking/transportation to the airport, provided we put up with having to deal with the other unpleasantries of living in a diverse city and its transit options.
24
@20: "Light Rail only has a couple of stops"
8 current Link-only stops
4 bus tunnel stops
1 upcoming stop (sea tac).
That's just a couple of stops?
8 current Link-only stops
4 bus tunnel stops
1 upcoming stop (sea tac).
That's just a couple of stops?
26
@17 sure I realize that the changes were in the works for some time. However like most, one doesn't know exactly how that will look/work in actual practice.
And forgive my cynicism at expecting Sound Transit to be thinking ahead. I have lots of examples to the contrary to justify my skepticism.
I don't for a second believe that Sound Transit is in the best interests of "Sound" residents. Seattle residents? You betcha. Puget Sound taxpayers? Not on your life.
Link Light Rail should have started by going from Sea Tac up 405 to Bellevue first. That corridor is much more travelled relative to the amount of congestion that occurs, and relative to those looking at taking a trip to their airport via mass transit. Had Light Rail started there, you'd see trains PACKED every day from commuters looking at avoiding the 405 snail crawl. The region's residents would have readily jumped at the chance to park their vehicles at Tukwilla, Renton, Kennydale, and Factoria to travel that route. Furthermore, there are many more professionals that live on the Eastside compared to Othello, Beacon HIll, etc, that would utilize Light Rail to commute to the airport.
But hey... it looks super cool for you Seattle residents right! ;)
And forgive my cynicism at expecting Sound Transit to be thinking ahead. I have lots of examples to the contrary to justify my skepticism.
I don't for a second believe that Sound Transit is in the best interests of "Sound" residents. Seattle residents? You betcha. Puget Sound taxpayers? Not on your life.
Link Light Rail should have started by going from Sea Tac up 405 to Bellevue first. That corridor is much more travelled relative to the amount of congestion that occurs, and relative to those looking at taking a trip to their airport via mass transit. Had Light Rail started there, you'd see trains PACKED every day from commuters looking at avoiding the 405 snail crawl. The region's residents would have readily jumped at the chance to park their vehicles at Tukwilla, Renton, Kennydale, and Factoria to travel that route. Furthermore, there are many more professionals that live on the Eastside compared to Othello, Beacon HIll, etc, that would utilize Light Rail to commute to the airport.
But hey... it looks super cool for you Seattle residents right! ;)
27
@24 yes 8 stops is not many, compared to the opportunity for a bus to stop by a rider simply pushing the button to stop at the next opportunity. Considering the route covers hundreds of blocks, that is not many. And no the bus tunnel stops don't count, as they essentially happen at the same place.
Geessh? really?
Geessh? really?
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@27
Name me a rail transit service that stops more often than every 1/4 mile?
Rail and buses should stop at different intervals. If you had a train stopping every 4 blocks what would be the point of having the train versus the bus? You completely miss the point of rapid transit. The BART has 104 miles of lines and only 43 total stations, or one every 2.4 miles, so their stations are farther apart than Link and that doesn't seem to have hurt convenience or ridership.
And the Munich U-Bahn, it has 62 miles of lines and 98 stations, which is roughly one station every 2/3 of a mile, which hardly compares to the frequency of bus stops, which seems to be a standard you are dead set on holding Link up to.
Hell, even the New York subway averages 1/2 a mile between stations, and the L in Chicago that Dan loves so much averages a station every 3/4 of a mile.
Name me a rail transit service that stops more often than every 1/4 mile?
Rail and buses should stop at different intervals. If you had a train stopping every 4 blocks what would be the point of having the train versus the bus? You completely miss the point of rapid transit. The BART has 104 miles of lines and only 43 total stations, or one every 2.4 miles, so their stations are farther apart than Link and that doesn't seem to have hurt convenience or ridership.
And the Munich U-Bahn, it has 62 miles of lines and 98 stations, which is roughly one station every 2/3 of a mile, which hardly compares to the frequency of bus stops, which seems to be a standard you are dead set on holding Link up to.
Hell, even the New York subway averages 1/2 a mile between stations, and the L in Chicago that Dan loves so much averages a station every 3/4 of a mile.
29
@27
And to add some from our own region that lots of people seem to ride and like equally:
The TriMet MAX averages 1 station every 2/3 of a mile, and the Vancouver SkyTrain averages 1 ever .9 miles.
And to add some from our own region that lots of people seem to ride and like equally:
The TriMet MAX averages 1 station every 2/3 of a mile, and the Vancouver SkyTrain averages 1 ever .9 miles.
30
@28 I was arguing two different things...
First, I was not arguing in favor of more frequent stops. Rather, I was arguing that buses (routes) should not be phased out, as they provide more local commuter options for local (few dozen blocks transit) Light Rail does NOT make up for that local loss. Further, they are pushing former bus ridership onto Link, thereby mixing in different types of riders, some who want to only go 1 or 2 stops, and the others looking at coming from extended airline travel, replete with baggage, packages, children with luggage etc.... not a good mix.
The second point I was trying to make, was the stupidity of Sound Transit having a route that goes from the Airport thur the hood, and on to Intl District, Westlake. If Link Rail was designed as mass transit (few stops) designed to take airline commuters, consultants, businessmen to the airport, it should have been designed to take them along a route that best traverses their likely route. You simply cannot tell me that more businessmen live/work/have a destination along the Eastside, and the 405 to Bellevue route should have been first to be constructed if that was the goal, combined with relieving the greatest highway congestion in the region.
Total stations on the route don't matter as much as what the intent of a given route is. If Sound Transit wants Link Rail for the hood, have all the stops be in the hood. Don't link it to the Airport, then reduce/remove bus service in the hood and try pushing all the different travelers onto one transit choice. You can't have it all. That is what they are trying, to gurantee steady ridership for their folly.
Or so it seems to me....
First, I was not arguing in favor of more frequent stops. Rather, I was arguing that buses (routes) should not be phased out, as they provide more local commuter options for local (few dozen blocks transit) Light Rail does NOT make up for that local loss. Further, they are pushing former bus ridership onto Link, thereby mixing in different types of riders, some who want to only go 1 or 2 stops, and the others looking at coming from extended airline travel, replete with baggage, packages, children with luggage etc.... not a good mix.
The second point I was trying to make, was the stupidity of Sound Transit having a route that goes from the Airport thur the hood, and on to Intl District, Westlake. If Link Rail was designed as mass transit (few stops) designed to take airline commuters, consultants, businessmen to the airport, it should have been designed to take them along a route that best traverses their likely route. You simply cannot tell me that more businessmen live/work/have a destination along the Eastside, and the 405 to Bellevue route should have been first to be constructed if that was the goal, combined with relieving the greatest highway congestion in the region.
Total stations on the route don't matter as much as what the intent of a given route is. If Sound Transit wants Link Rail for the hood, have all the stops be in the hood. Don't link it to the Airport, then reduce/remove bus service in the hood and try pushing all the different travelers onto one transit choice. You can't have it all. That is what they are trying, to gurantee steady ridership for their folly.
Or so it seems to me....
34
@20 Woooo, less stops. It's a lot more convenient for me, personally, to NOT be puked on/hit on/spilt on/sweat on by people on a packed and jerky bus that stops every 2 blocks (e.g. the 7, augh,) and instead take the light rail and walk my ass 5-10 extra blocks. But that would be asking FAR too much of Seattleites.
AND at least at light rail stops, if someone in the car or something in the car is bothering you, you can switch cars at the next stop without having to wait 5-30 minutes, depending on time of day, for another mode of transit.
Question: How reliable/timely is light rail? Because if it's within 2 minutes of being on time, it's better than half the buses I ride.
AND at least at light rail stops, if someone in the car or something in the car is bothering you, you can switch cars at the next stop without having to wait 5-30 minutes, depending on time of day, for another mode of transit.
Question: How reliable/timely is light rail? Because if it's within 2 minutes of being on time, it's better than half the buses I ride.
35
Here in Boston, the best subway line to the airport is actually a bus. It's in exclusive tunnels most of the way but then joins cars for the underwater potion but will drop you at your terminal instead of at a station further away where you have to transfer to the terminal shuttle.
And we have silly machines to buy fares and there's always a hovering employee for the newbies. The thing I hate is that if you have a plastic debit fare card, you get a discount on fares. But how do you get one? You have to know to ask the hovering employee to pull one out of his/her pocket for you. Why don't the machines sell those?!
And we have silly machines to buy fares and there's always a hovering employee for the newbies. The thing I hate is that if you have a plastic debit fare card, you get a discount on fares. But how do you get one? You have to know to ask the hovering employee to pull one out of his/her pocket for you. Why don't the machines sell those?!
36
Sound Transit most certainly IS working to better transportation for all residents of the Puget Sound region - Sound Transit is far, far more than just this one little leg of Link Light Rail. It's also the Link trains in Tacoma. It's the Sounder heavy rail commuter trains that run from Tacoma to Everett (the Sounder is fantastic, I take it whenever I can). It's the Sound Transit buses that run the long-distance routes like Federal Way to Overlake. You seem to think ST is just this first light-rail line.
We have to fucking start SOMEWHERE. It's not going to be perfect for everyone right off the bat. But my gods, at least it's a START. FINALLY. Some of us have been waiting for this since Forward Thrust failed. :-(
We have to fucking start SOMEWHERE. It's not going to be perfect for everyone right off the bat. But my gods, at least it's a START. FINALLY. Some of us have been waiting for this since Forward Thrust failed. :-(
37
@30, when did you parachute into town? The Eastside businessmen whom you think are the target customers for light rail (they're not) have been fighting the very notion of mass transit tooth and nail for years. Kemper Freeman is afraid it will bring the Wrong Kind of People to Bellevue Square.
38
@37 Damn right, if you can't get to "The Collection" by car he doesn't want you there. Take a look at the dress code sign for the Lucky Strike Lanes:
The following are not permitted:
- Athletic wear, sweats or sports jerseys
- MC colors
- Excessively baggy clothing (Tuck-ins are not permitted)
- Sleeveless T-shirts
- Plain white T-shirts (short or long sleeve)
- Construction boots
- Headgear
- Chains
- Ripped or soiled clothing
The following are not permitted:
- Athletic wear, sweats or sports jerseys
- MC colors
- Excessively baggy clothing (Tuck-ins are not permitted)
- Sleeveless T-shirts
- Plain white T-shirts (short or long sleeve)
- Construction boots
- Headgear
- Chains
- Ripped or soiled clothing
39
@38: Thanks, I never heard of that before. It's kinda funny the photo they chose to include on their Dress Code page: http://www.bowlluckystrike.com/dress_cod…
40
@37 Kemper Freemen is a fucking joke. You are correct they are not targeting the ultra rich billionaires. What you conveniently don't understand or fail to admit, is that for every Kemper Freemen, there are 100 young professionals like me trying to scrape together a living, supporting a household and trying to do it in the most efficient way possible. It is so last decade to take the easy excuse of "Kemper Freemen" this and that blah blah blah... typical hip kid Cap Hill attitude that doesn't further a productive discussion.
Link Rail up the 405 corridor simply needs to forget Kemper altogether. But the Link light rail station up at Bellevue Transit Center, have it run South to Renton, north to Kirkland, and east to Redmond, and you won't have the unwashed masses from South Seattle taking a ride. It is too far out of their way, and there is nothing to entice them over to the Eastside. Lake Washington will do a great job of seperating the lower classes in their own hood.
@ 36 If we had to start SOMEWHERE it should have been on the Eastside. Light Rail is normally geared at commuting transportatin for the middle class, and if there goal was to prove out a concept about how they could get Light Rail acceptance from the masses out to SeaTac, they should have looked at where those who fly the most live. Because one normally takes transit (cab, shuttle, bus, LR) from their home to the airport. And if they really wanted to increase transit opportunities from an underserved area, the 405 congestion is #1 worst in the county, and they would have gotten the biggest bang for their buck.
If you want to win over voters (you know...the ones affluent enough to use Light Rail, and willing to vote in favor of expansion), you would have been wise to run the first leg up the corridor with the most congestion.
repeat. rinse, recycle.
More...
Link Rail up the 405 corridor simply needs to forget Kemper altogether. But the Link light rail station up at Bellevue Transit Center, have it run South to Renton, north to Kirkland, and east to Redmond, and you won't have the unwashed masses from South Seattle taking a ride. It is too far out of their way, and there is nothing to entice them over to the Eastside. Lake Washington will do a great job of seperating the lower classes in their own hood.
@ 36 If we had to start SOMEWHERE it should have been on the Eastside. Light Rail is normally geared at commuting transportatin for the middle class, and if there goal was to prove out a concept about how they could get Light Rail acceptance from the masses out to SeaTac, they should have looked at where those who fly the most live. Because one normally takes transit (cab, shuttle, bus, LR) from their home to the airport. And if they really wanted to increase transit opportunities from an underserved area, the 405 congestion is #1 worst in the county, and they would have gotten the biggest bang for their buck.
If you want to win over voters (you know...the ones affluent enough to use Light Rail, and willing to vote in favor of expansion), you would have been wise to run the first leg up the corridor with the most congestion.
repeat. rinse, recycle.
41
*correction... It should have read "build the link light rail station up at the Bellevue Transit Center"
my bad...
my bad...
43
Reality Check doesn't seem to be dealing with too much reality today...
LINK wasn't built to move people to/from the airport. It's not a taxi service for vacationers; it's mass transit.
And Sound Transit didn't eliminate buses along the corridor. They are terminating some lines at stations, especially south end routes at Tukwila Station.
Ideally, the reclaimed bus hours would be used to either run more frequent service or create new routes that feed to/from the stations and the surrounding neighborhoods. Unfortunately, Metro is running up against some budget issues just like every other level of government at the moment...
LINK wasn't built to move people to/from the airport. It's not a taxi service for vacationers; it's mass transit.
And Sound Transit didn't eliminate buses along the corridor. They are terminating some lines at stations, especially south end routes at Tukwila Station.
Ideally, the reclaimed bus hours would be used to either run more frequent service or create new routes that feed to/from the stations and the surrounding neighborhoods. Unfortunately, Metro is running up against some budget issues just like every other level of government at the moment...
46
"LINK wasn't built to move people to/from the airport. It's not a taxi service for vacationers; it's mass transit."
Thank you. I get really annoyed with people like Reality Check who think that Link's only purpose is to get "young professionals" or "businessmen" (wtf? Is this 1960?) who fly for business or vacation to the airport. Link is serving us well in Southeast Seattle to get around town for a lot of different reasons including shopping and recreation -- and, incidentally, a lot of folks in SE Seattle work at the airport.
Of course, I don't expect people who constantly call SE Seattle "the hood" to have much perspective on the reality of life in this part of town.
Thank you. I get really annoyed with people like Reality Check who think that Link's only purpose is to get "young professionals" or "businessmen" (wtf? Is this 1960?) who fly for business or vacation to the airport. Link is serving us well in Southeast Seattle to get around town for a lot of different reasons including shopping and recreation -- and, incidentally, a lot of folks in SE Seattle work at the airport.
Of course, I don't expect people who constantly call SE Seattle "the hood" to have much perspective on the reality of life in this part of town.
47
Mass transport in the form of trains makes way more sense than individual vehicles, whether or not those vehicles are hummers. Bravo.
48
@46 - exactly. It's really so scientists can take frozen crystals down to SF or LA for beamtime and hearts to LA.
49
@40: Good idea. Pity the Eastside shot the idea down several times before it finally passed; the proposal that has been implemented with this first leg is the one that voters finally approved. You make it sound like some arcane committee handed down the plans from on high and voters never had a chance to see anything before they just randomly started building rails wherever.
No question Eastside light rail is badly needed. SO IS THIS. So is the Sounder. So are the Sound Transit buses. We need ALL KINDS of mass transit, yesterday. So hurray for every baby step we manage to move forward.
No question Eastside light rail is badly needed. SO IS THIS. So is the Sounder. So are the Sound Transit buses. We need ALL KINDS of mass transit, yesterday. So hurray for every baby step we manage to move forward.
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