Meeting Recap

by Julianne H. Cutts

For all you that drive, they’re baaaaackkkk--the buses in downtown Seattle that had been quietly routed underground several (many) years ago.  For all you bus-tunnel folks, your commute goes above-ground starting Saturday, Sept 24!  The reality will hit most bus-tunnel commuters Monday September 26.  Plan to look on 3rd Avenue in Seattle for your bus.  Buses will likely stop on every other block rather than every block.  Sound Transit has made many efforts to let commuters—both drivers and riders, know of this plan.  They have even set up a Quick Response Center, which is an interagency team to help identify operation “hot spots” (problem areas) and to develop specific actions to address them.  This will go on for two years with the tunnel closed from 2005-2007.  Then it will open back up again….but it will take till 2009 for light rail to start through the tunnel.

So what are they going to do while the tunnel is closed?  Sound Transit is lowering the grade of the stations and replacing the rails in the tunnel to get ready for low-boarding light rail cars.  Such cars will allow commuters in wheelchair or those with strollers to roll right onto the cars, rather than have to climb a few steps, as is typical with light rail systems.

In 2009, the Central Link light rail system will go about 16 miles from the Westlake station all the way to SeaTac (yes, all the way!), in 33 minutes—with trains every 6-10 minutes.  The airport station will have a walkway right to the ticket counters.  There are other light rail projects occurring as well to make this link possible, such as the 154th street station (which used to be the Ajax airport parking lot) and the Beacon Hill underground station, which will be built using a tunnel boring machine that is the length of a football field and not only bores, but installs concrete tunnel supports as it goes.  Also, in the Rainier Valley, the first light rail station will be an elevated station, called the Mt. Baker station.

If you wonder if Sound Transit can pull-off a light rail line, think again.  The Tacoma Link has run successfully since its opening in August 2003.  This free system has exceeded expectations, with rider ship at 2900 riders per week.

Sound Transit 2—The Future of Public Transportation in the Region

What else is Sound Transit doing?  Sound Transit is a regional transit agency.  Now that Sound Transit is up and running, Sound Transit 2 (ST2) is beginning.  ST2 recently adopted its long-range plan, will refine project lists and, as early as November 2006, will go on the ballot for voter approval.  By 2009, the Sounder train will have 9 stations up and running.  As part of this effort, ST2 includes projects such as increasing the 82 miles of routes to extend routes with stations in South Tacoma and Lakewood.

Also, the routes will run up to Mukilteo, where there will be yet another new station.  In the meantime, the Sounder continues to add more trains, such as trains that leave at different times.  Each time a new train is added, rider ship increases because commuters see the flexibility in having trains at different times of the day to rely on.  Sound Transit works with the Washington State Department of Transportation, Pierce County Transit, Metro, and others to create a coordinated transportation system.  For example, the Sounder transit centers have installed access ramps to I-5’s high occupancy vehicle lanes.  Similar efforts are being made in Bellevue and Federal Way.

The next major Sound Transit route will be across the I-90 bridge through Bellevue and into Redmond.  If you wonder if it is worth the expenses, effort, and aggravation that construction causes, think about this--by 2030, 1.2 million people will be added to the Puget Sound region (half will be our children and grandchildren, and half will be people moving to the area).  It will never be any cheaper to build mass transit here, so now is the right time to continue the job.