Moving Ahead

Reminder: Blog Has Moved

2011-10-12T09:38:00.000-07:00

Just a reminder, our blog has officially moved to our new blog page:
http://transportationchoices.org/blog

Please add our new blog page to your feed as I will be shutting down this blog within the week.

Thank you for sticking with us as we update and improve our technology and communications.

The blog is moving!

2011-10-04T10:35:00.000-07:00

Having you seen our fancy new website yet? If not you need to go check it out ASAP.

Part of our 21st century website is that we have the blog integrated into the home page.

Blogger has been good to us, but that means it is time to say goodbye. Please adjust your feeds and readers to our new blog page:
http://transportationchoices.org/blog

I'll leave this page up for a few more days, slowly move over some older most read posts, and then we'll fully shut off the blogger page and move to our new integrated blog page.

Thanks for reading!

We welcome four new board members including former Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels

2011-09-21T15:43:00.000-07:00

Transportation Choices Coalition Board of Directors welcomes four new members. Joining TCC’s board are Greg Nickels, Genesee Adkins, Josh Kavanagh and Pearl Leung.

“People are looking for an affordable alternative to driving roads that are increasingly in disrepair and paying high gas prices. But we’re cutting transit service as demand is going up. TCC is in a great position to push for meaningful reform in our transportation system, making sure it works for everyone and gets Washington moving again,” said Kathleen Huckabay, TCC board president and former Sammamish City Councilmember.

“TCC is really fortunate to have such an outstanding class of new board members to help us succeed. They bring a wealth of experience and skills that will bolster the organization’s ability to fulfill our mission of advocating for reform and real transportation choices for everyone.”

Serving three year terms, the four join TCC as it is poised to help Washington state step up to the challenge of enacting meaningful reform to transportation policy and making critical investments in our infrastructure to give people transportation choices and keep our state moving forward.

“I’m honored to join TCC’s board. As Mayor, we worked together to expand light rail, tackled Seattle’s transportation maintenance backlog, and wrote complete streets legislation,” said Greg Nickels, former Mayor of Seattle. “I’m looking forward to the next set of transportation challenges facing our state, ensuring that we provide long-term funding to meet the growing demand for transit service and that we make smart investments to build great communities.”

TCC will welcome the new board members at their annual event ‘What Choices Look Like’ Thursday September 22^nd from 5:30 – 7:30pm at EM Fine Art Gallery – 410 Dexter Avenue North in Seattle. At that event TCC will also be launching their new website and logo as part of a complete rebranding of Transportation Choices.

Below are short bios on the new board members:

Genesee Adkins is the Director of Government Relations for King County Executive Dow Constantine. She holds a bachelor’s degree in economics and political science from the University of Rochester. She is the county’s chief lobbyist in Olympia on state legislative issues and oversees the county’s federal priorities and lobbying in Washington, DC.

Josh Kavanagh is the Director of Transportation at the University of Washington where he oversees the U-PASS transportation demand management program (transit, ridesharing, & active transportation), on-campus shuttles, parking, and fleet management. He serves in national and regional leadership positions with the Association for Commuter Transportation and International Parking Institute. He holds an MBA from the University of New Mexico.

Pearl Leung is the Community Relations Manager at Vulcan, Inc, where she is responsible for the development and implementation of public outreach strategies and education of Vulcan projects and initiatives. She holds a Masters in Urban Planning from UW and also is a commissioner of the Washington State Commission on Asian Pacific American Affairs.

Greg Nickels was the 51^st Mayor of Seattle serving from 2002-2009. During his tenure as Mayor, he was both a local and national leader on climate change, creating the U.S. Mayors Climate Protection Agreement, which now boasts commitments from over a 1,000 Mayors representing 86 million Americans. In 2008, Nickels spearheaded the effort to pass an $18 billion expansion of light rail to build out a 52-mile system in the Puget Sound region. Most recently, he has served as a Public Delegate (citizen ambassador) of the United States to the 65th General Assembly of the United Nations.

Today is Don't X Out Public Transit Day

2011-09-20T09:49:00.000-07:00

Today is a national day of action asking Congress not to X out Public Transportation.

The day is of action is focused on what the real world local impacts would be to transit systems if the proposed House Republican cuts went through in a future transportation bill at the federal level.

In conjunction with the day of action across the country APTA has released a report highlighting the local impacts by state if the House cuts plan went through. First and foremost, under the Republican plan over 600,000 transit jobs cut across the country would be lost. Additionally, the House cuts plan would slash new starts funding as well as capital budgets in a way that would hurt nearly every transit agency in Washington State. At a time when our transit agencies' budgets are already constrained these national cuts would likely lead to further service cuts across the state. A reduction in new starts would have grave impacts for Metro’s Rapid Ride program and Sound Transit’s University Link. In sum, APTA estimates that under the House reduction plan WA State transit agencies would lose $565 million dollars over the next 6 years and over 20,000 jobs!

What can you do? Click Here and tell Congress not to X out public transportation!

Moving Planet Seattle This Saturday

2011-09-19T12:24:00.000-07:00

This weekend, come celebrate Moving Planet: A Day to Move Beyond Fossil Fuels, a community gathering with workshops, events, and a rally calling for clean energy and transportation solutions for the 21st century. There will be lots of fun and exciting activities as well as compelling discussions with interesting speakers. Stop by for a fun Saturday, learn a lot, and show your support for a healthier environment! Below is the schedule:

Take Action
10am-12pm: China Harbor Restaurant on Lake Union
2040 Westlake Ave N, Seattle
Learn how to be a powerful advocate at two concurrent workshops: Power Past Coal and Transportation for Washington. More information on activist workshops: http://cascade.sierraclub.org/node/2716.

Move Yourself & Have Fun!
12-2pm: Lake Union Park
860 Terry Ave N, Seattle
Join the parade of boats and bikes, feet and wheels, pedaling, rowing, sailing, walking, dancing, and skating all around Lake Union, and lots of other family fun activities at noon. Music by the Black Whales starts at 1pm.

Rally to Move Beyond Fossil Fuels!
2-3pm: Lake Union Park
860 Terry Ave N, Seattle
Show your support for moving beyond fossil fuels while enjoying inspirational speakers, community information booths, and a crowd photo for 350.org.

RSVP for the rally: www.facebook.com/MovingPlanetSeattle
or www.moving-planet.org/seattle

Speakers include:
Michael McGinn, Mayor of Seattle
Christopher Williams, Seattle Parks & Recreation Superintendent
Sarah van Gelder, YES! magazine Executive Editor
KC Golden, ClimateSolutions Policy Director
Lisa Quinn, FeetFirst Executive Director
Rev. Rich Lang, University Temple United Methodist Church

Engage on Environmental Justice
4:30-6pm: Plymouth United Church of Christ
1217 6th Ave, Seattle
Be inspired by recipients of the David Brower Youth Award given to outstanding young adults working on environmental justice issues in their home communities. Stay for a reception marking the launch of the new national United Church of Christ Environmental Justice Center in the Seattle area.

More info at http://www.moving-planet.org/seattle.

Neighborhood Greenways: This Thursday

2011-09-19T11:23:00.000-07:00

Mark Lear and Greg Raisman, the "dynamic duo" behind Portland's Neighborhood Greenways program, are coming to the Unversity of Washington to explain the dramatic transformation happening on Portland's street right now. Within five years, Portland will have transformed itself into a city where 80% of residents live within a half-mile of a "Neighborhood Greenway," a family-friendly street where families can safely enjoy bicycle rides together and kids can walk to school, to the park, and even play basketball in the street. Neighborhood Greenways are solving neighborhood concerns about walking and biking safety and these new streets have given residents an increased sense of community and improved quality of life.

Come listen to their stories and learn how Seattle can follow their lead:

Where: UW - Savery Hall, Room 264
When: Thursday, September 22, 7PM

Facebook Event Page:
https://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=105586422882727

If you are heading to our fundraiser first (at 5:30) you can show up to this event a little late.

Tacoma City Club this Wednesday!

2011-09-19T10:25:00.000-07:00

I'll be speaking at Tacoma's City Club this Wednesday in what should be a good event with lively discussion (and I promise fun historic photos with current day political commentary).

The topic of the program is "Buses and Bikes and Streetcars, Oh My!"

The program will run from 11:30 until 1:15 this Wednesday at the Tacoma Art Museum. To RSVP for the event just email office@cityclubtacoma.org.

Here are the full details, see you on Wednesday:

Don't forget to register today for City Club's lunch this Wednesday about the future of transportation in Tacoma! (Note, if we have confirmed your reservation via email, then we know you're coming).

RSVP by replying to this email by today, September 19, at 5:00 pm. Members: $16; Non-Members $22.

What is Tacoma's transit future? How will rising gas prices affect our mobility around the city?

Diane Wiatr, Mobility Coordinator for the City of Tacoma, and Andrew Austin, with the Transportation Choices Coalition, will speak about Tacoma's transit plans and the state of bike lanes, street car extensions, and getting people moving in Tacoma.

Lunch: Tacoma Art Museum. Doors open at 11:30 a.m., lunch is served at noon and the program ends by 1:15 p.m.

Special Pricing! City Club is trying out a special pricing option for this program. Lunch will be a light sandwich and salad option, with dessert. Price for the lunch for members is $16 (instead of a normal $22).

Members may still attend for the coffee and dessert rate of $8 and skip the lunch altogether. This is an option available to members only.

Non-members may attend the program for $22.

Park(ing) Day This Friday

2011-09-14T15:45:00.000-07:00

This Friday, TCC will be celebrating Park(ing) Day. We have rented out some parking spaces and will be turning them into the smallest, but coolest, park in town for the day. The event is designed to show how much space parking takes up in a city and how that space might otherwise be used. It will also be really fun, so stop by sometime between 9am and 3pm. We'll be on 1st Ave between Seneca and University.

Tacoma Link Commerce Street Station opens on Sept 29th

2011-09-14T15:29:00.000-07:00

Sound Transit and the City of Tacoma will welcome light rail passenger service to the new Commerce Street stop in downtown Tacoma tomorrow. The new Tacoma Link station at 11^th and Commerce Street marks the sixth stop on the 1.6-mile line that serves as a major connector in downtown Tacoma.

Downtown On the Go will host a dedication ceremony at the new stop on at 2 p.m. on Sept. 29 to celebrate the opening.

The project was paid for and led by the city of Tacoma in coordination with Sound Transit. It includes two 40-foot platforms – one on the west side of Commerce Street for southbound riders and another on the east side for northbound travelers – platform lighting, accessibility ramps, security cameras, and passenger shelters that incorporate etched glass artwork by Tacoma artist Chandler O’Leary. The new station opens at a time when ridership on Tacoma Link is growing, increasing 16 percent in the last year to 3,330 riders a day.

“Our new light rail station will not only give business district transit users greater access to Tacoma Link,” said Mayor Marilyn Strickland, “but also bring residents, commuters, and visitors to more destinations, making it even easier for people to get around downtown.”

Join the celebration on the 29th!

Portland Transit Authority: TriMet's Troublesome Transit Tax

2011-09-11T17:14:00.000-07:00

Most people never really think about how their transit agency gets its revenue. Funding is what primarily determines how much transit service will be available, so it is vitally important to understand these issues. For this installment of Portland Transit Authority, I will focus on the funding structure of TriMet, the Portland region's transit agency. In particular, I will explore how TriMet is very different from most transit agencies and what impact that has on transit service and investment. We will find that the same mechanisms that have helped create a model transit agency may also be unsustainable in the long run.

Most transit agencies receive the bulk of their funding from sales tax, but TriMet instead relies on a payroll tax of 0.6918% on employers in the transit district. Payroll taxes and sales taxes share the unfortunate quality of fluctuating in response to the overall economy, but it is worth parsing out how they are different. Payroll taxes are not as universal, since they only apply to employed people, whereas sales tax is paid by pretty much everyone. Payroll taxes are also obviously dependent on employment, and thus are arguably worse off in the current jobless recovery in which consumer spending is starting to increase but employment has yet to respond. Finally, the payroll tax is somewhat more regressive than a sales tax, assuming that essentials like food are not subject to the sales tax. After all, a person has a fair amount of control over how much sales tax they pay, while the payroll tax is a flat tax on all employees. The counterargument would be that at least unemployed people do not have to pay the tax, but of course the reality is that many gainfully employed people are still deep in poverty.

TriMet's payroll tax is also different from most transit agencies in that the tax rate goes up by a small amount each year automatically. Over the next 12 years the rate will gradually increase from .6918% to .8218%. This system has been a key to TriMet's success in building out its frequent bus network and MAX light rail system, since in normal times they have been able to rely on a steadily increasing stream of revenue over time. The recent drop in employment, however, has exposed some problems inherent in using a revenue source that only gradually increases.

The main problem is a lack of flexibility. While a Washington transit agency like C-Tran has the option to pursue a ballot measure to increase funding in response to the economic downturn, TriMet is stuck with a payroll tax that increases at such a slow rate that it will take an estimated 10 years to restore recently cut service levels. Another problem is that with an aging workforce, overall wage growth will be much lower than projections in the coming decades. With a smaller percentage of the population in the workforce, reliance on a payroll tax may not make much sense anymore.

One other funding tool TriMet has at its disposal is the ability to bond against future payroll tax revenue. This controversial practice basically involves taking away future operating dollars to use for current capital expenses. TriMet has recently borrowed $60 million in this way for the Milwaukie Light Rail project, and is also planning to use debt to purchase new vehicles over the next several years. This is could prove to be an unsustainable practice in the long-term. Without new revenue sources to pay back these bonds, TriMet will be left using operating revenue to service debt instead of investing in service hours. For the time being, debt service consumes about 5% of TriMet's total expenditures, but this will continue to grow as the agency is forced to borrow to pay for needed capital expenses.

To me it is clear that the state of Oregon needs to grant TriMet a new and different taxing authority. Otherwise the agency will continue to go deeper into debt and transit riders will continue to see falling service hours and rising fares. Highway tolls and vehicle license fees are two options often used elsewhere, and have an added benefit of making transit more attractive as an alternative to driving, leading to higher ridership and higher farebox revenues. Tolls in particular help level the playing field by making the marginal cost of driving approach the marginal cost of taking transit.

Another attractive option would be a small sales tax to supplement the payroll tax. Even a 1% sales tax in the TriMet service area would generate substantial revenue without having a substantial negative impact on area retailers. After all, it would still be far less than the 8.2% rate in neighboring Vancouver, WA. The state of Oregon has repeatedly rejected a state sales tax, but perhaps it would be appropriate look at giving cities and regions a local option to tax themselves for better service. Whatever the solution, something needs to change for TriMet to live up to its reputation as one of the nation's best transit agencies.

You ought to be in pictures!

2011-09-08T11:28:00.000-07:00

Calling all photo enthusiasts! TCC invites all budding photographers to submit photos of your favorite transportation-oriented locations for our upcoming annual fundraiser on Sept 22, “What Choices Look Like.”

Got a kickin' sunset shot along the Myrtle Edwards bike path? How about a cityscape shot taken from the light rail? Or, maybe you want to capture your favorite bus line/bus stop, pedestrian crossing, or transit hub. Submissions can be photos of locations with or without people in them, but all submissions must be original work and include a mode of transportation. Please provide a photo caption that describes where the photo was taken, and why it represents "what choices look like."

We'll leave it up to the sound judgment of TCC staff to pick the best photos, so show us what you've got! Several photos will be showcased at “What Choices Look Like,” our highly attended annual fundraiser. (Did you register yet? What better way to spend World Car-free Day on September 22?)

Buy your ticket today and get an early bird discount!

Give us your best shot! Send your photo submissions in .jpeg format in the largest file size possible to Jennifer Olegario at jennifer@transportationchoices.org by Tuesday, September 13.

Transit Oriented Communities Workshop is Tomorrow In Shoreline!

2011-09-08T10:32:00.000-07:00

Be there or be left out!

\Transit-oriented communities are all the rage right now in North King County and South Snohomish County. Sound Transit is expanding the Link Light Rail, the City of Shoreline just adopted a “Town Center Plan,” and the City of Bothell has developed a Downtown Revitalization Plan.

So what does this all mean?

To help set the vision for transit-oriented communities and discuss tools for implementation, the organizations Futurewise and Transportation Choices Coalition and the architecture firm GGLO will present an informative workshop and visual exhibit at the Shoreline Public Library on Friday, September 9 from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

“There is a real desire to improve the quality of life in our neighborhoods by providing better access to walking, biking and transit, and more affordable housing options,” said Brock Howell, King County Program Director for Futurewise. “We hope our workshop on transit-oriented communities can help inform these policy discussions.”

The workshop will feature a presentation by representatives from Futurewise and GGLO. Participants will explore a vision for compact urban areas and the protection of our farms, forestlands, and green space, and how to make it happen.

Futurewise launched its Transit-Oriented Communities (TOC) Blueprint program to encourage more housing and transportation choices for Washingtonians. The program advances vibrant and healthy neighborhoods through a comprehensive report and action plan, a traveling gallery exhibit, and community meetings across the state to promote growth near transit.

The Blueprint program is anchored by a comprehensive publication Blueprint for Transit Oriented Communities (pdf). It’s an action plan for promoting neighborhoods that give people greater access to housing, jobs, shopping, and recreation without relying on a personal vehicle. Created by GGLO, Futurewise, and Transportation Choices Coalition, the purpose of the Blueprint is to provide guidance and inspiration for the community at large, and also to serve as an advocacy manual for new legislation that will promote exemplary transit oriented communities in cities throughout Washington State.

The publication presents an image-rich vision of TOC, provides research linking TOC patterns to numerous social and environmental benefits, and lays out policy actions from the local to federal level to encourage more TOC patterns.

Alan Grainger, founding principal of GGLO, said, "For this to happen, visionary planning and design must go hand-in-hand with smart policies and attention to the unique qualities of each community."

The workshop is free and open to the public and oriented toward public officials, planners, and informed citizens.

Details:

What: Presentation & Discussion on transit-oriented communities.

Date: Friday, September 9, 2011

Time: 10:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.

Location: Shoreline Library

Address: 345 NE 175^th, Shoreline WA 98155

RSVP to info@futurewise.org.

More information about transit-oriented communities available at http://futurewise.org/priorities/toc.

Introducing new blog series "The Portland Transit Authority"

2011-08-29T17:38:00.000-07:00

Blog Note:

While TCC is a Washington non-profit that works to increase transportation choices for people across the state, we also recognize that we do not live on an island. The impacts of transportation and land-use policy decisions do not end at arbitrary political lines. We cannot advocate for high-speed rail if it doesn't extend into Vancouver, BC and Portland, OR. It is impossible to talk about growth and traffic in Spokane unless you acknowledge a lot of people commute from Idaho to Eastern Washington. In this vein, we are starting a new series on the blog looking specifically at transit issues in Portland titled "Portland Transit Authority". The author is Zef Wagner, a former Seattleite and TCC intern who is living in Portland studying urban and transit planning. His blog series (which we will generally post every other Monday ) will get past the broad statements that transit in Portland is perfect and will dive into transit issues in the Rose City with a level of nerdyness that many of you will enjoy and hopefully with enough explanation that the average reader can understand. So regardless of where you live, we encourage you to join us as every couple of weeks we put our soccer rivalries aside to explore the world of Portland's public transit. Thank you Zef for contributing to the blog and I hope you all enjoy!

We all know Portland has an amazing public transit system, right?:

"US News ranks Portland No. 1 for public transit"
--The Oregonian

"Portland is widely considered one of the nation’s leaders in public transit."
--US News and World Report

"Portland’s transit system is held up nationally as a model network, as it should be."
--Wired Magazine

These breathless exclamations of Portland's transit excellence are commonplace, but many dispute this rosy image:

"Was that u.s. news 10-best transit cities list based on anything?"
--Human Transit

"Bus service hours fell 13.3 percent from October 2008 to October 2010."
--Portland Afoot

"These cuts result in a heavier burden on the growing number of people who depend on public transportation."
--OPAL

"Many TriMet riders have seen their service degrade over the years, despite billions of dollars being spent on new investments."
--Portland Transport

So who is right? Let's take a look.

Portland certainly does have an impressive rail system, with over 50 miles of light rail, a downtown streetcar line, and a commuter rail line carrying people all over the 3-county region. Portland's 11.5% transit mode share, meanwhile, is quite high compared to most other cities of similar size (though notably far below Seattle's 19.5%). TriMet, the sole transit agency for the region, has invested billions of dollars in rail expansion over the last 25 years and has recently started construction on yet another new light rail line. A major streetcar extension is also under construction, with another in the early planning stages.

This flurry of rail expansion contrasts with a series of major bus service cuts over the last several years. Like most public transit agencies, TriMet has seen a decline in projected revenue due to the recession and has cut service accordingly. Both bus and light rail have seen major cuts in frequency, reducing the value of Portland's normally excellent grid-based network, which relies on easy connections between transit lines to function as designed. The cuts have also forced TriMet to redefine their lauded Frequent Service network from its previous level of "every 15 minutes, all day, every day" to "every 15 minutes during morning and afternoon rush hours on weekdays." That's a major shift from a network designed for people using transit for all kinds of trips to one designed mainly for downtown commuters.

The latest blow came late last year when voters rejected a $125 million bond measure meant to replace much of TriMet's aging bus fleet and improve bus stops throughout the region. This rejection may be a sign that TriMet is in the grips of the infamous "transit death spiral," in which service cuts lead to reduced public support of transit, which in turn leads to lack of funding and further service cuts.

Since my recent move from Seattle to Portland I have been fascinated by the contrast between this city's outsized transit reputation and the reality of the actual transit system. Portland is a transit leader in many ways, with its willingness to make major capital investments in both long-distance light-rail and local-circulator streetcar, but like many cities it has been plagued by a lack of operations funding and a loss of public trust.

My goal with this series will be to explore the reality of public transit in Portland and highlight major transit-related projects and issues that Portland is wrestling with during these difficult economic times.

Buses in need of replacement are a huge part of Trimet's system. Picture Courtesy of oregonlive.com

Tacoma Tomorrow: Suburbs Have not Supported Transit in Over 10 Years

2011-08-25T13:31:00.000-07:00

Chris Karnes over at Tacoma Tomorrow is diving into a series of posts about past election results for transit in Pierce County and what the agency needs to do in order to be successful going forward.

In his most recent post Chris looks at Pierce Transit election results between 2002 and more recent transit elections (2007, 2008, 2011).

The data is conclusive, Pierce County voters have not changed in the last 10 years: Tacoma, Lakewood, and Downtown Gig Harbor and Puyallup continue to to say yes to to transit, while voters in the suburbs and exurbs continue to say no.


Results from Pierce Transit Prop 1 - February 2002


Pierce Transit Prop 1, Feb 2011. Red = Failed Transit votes in 2007, 2008, 2011.

Chris goes on to point out what has changed:

In the last ten years Pierce County's unincorporated population has mushroomed. In South Hill, the population increased 65.8%. Tacoma's growth rate hasn't kept pace, only increasing a paltry 2.5%. So generally speaking, that's a lot more no votes than Tacoma's urban pro-transit voters can handle.

If voters in the suburbs say get rid of transit funding in 1999 and then reject additional transit funding in 2002, say no again in 2007, no in 2008, and no in 2011, why should we expect a yes under any circumstances?

The whole thing is well worth a read. While you are there, make sure to read his earlier post on the 163 transit hostile districts in Pierce County and the need for Pierce Transit to shrink its service and taxing area to be successful in the future.

To add my own two cents, we cannot stay in a world where the urbanized, high-transit use areas of Pierce County have sub-par transit service due to a lack of political will to pay for transit in the exurban and rural areas of the county. In the last 3 years Pierce Transit has cut around 43% of their transit service, which is unacceptable in the short and long-term. Buses stop running at 10pm and high ridership routes like the Route 1 are often overcapacity and delayed (I know this from experience and Piece Transit's data backs this up).

We need great bus service in Pierce County to keep people moving and get our economy back on track. In order to restore bus service Pierce Transit needs to get the rest of its sales tax authority. In order for this to happen they need to cut out the low ridership, high service cost, transit hostile parts of the county. To be clear, a new and improved smaller Pierce Transit would not be "Tacoma Transit" as some have claimed. The Pierce Transit of the future could provide great bus service to places where transit is cost-effective and works (i.e. Tacoma, Lakewood, Puyallup, Sumner, South Hill, Gig Harbor, Dupont, Parkland, Spanaway, and Fife) and at the same time only impose taxes on communities that receive bus service; a win-win scenario for transit supporters and anti-tax exurbanites alike!

520 Bridge Will Be Closed This Weekend

2011-08-22T15:13:00.000-07:00

This Friday night the 26th at 11pm, 520 will close from 405 to Montlake until the following Monday morning, the 29th, at 5am. Expect delays and congestion in surrounding areas.

More info at http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/Projects/SR520Bridge/WeekendClosures.htm.

Join TCC & our Clark County Partners for a Kick Off to Preserve Buses Next Tuesday!

2011-08-17T10:26:00.000-07:00

One of our top priorities over the past few years at Transportation Choices has been and continues to be saving bus service across Washington State. The transit funding crisis is hitting almost every single transit agency in Washington State as well as across the country.

Thankfully C-tran in Clark County has one of the lowest sales tax rates in the state for medium and large sized system and still has sales tax authority left. For a .2% sales tax increase (2 pennies on a 10 dollar purchase) Clark County voters will have an opportunity to stop drastic 35% cuts to their communities' bus service.

TCC is a proud endorser of the campaign and we've been helping the campaign, Preserve Our Buses, all summer. Next Tuesday at 5:30pm is the official campaign kick-off. If you are based in Portland of Vancouver please consider joining us for this exciting event. If you don't live in the area but care about saving bus service across Washington State you can donate to the cause by clicking HERE.

KICK-OFF!
Tuesday, August 23th, 5:30pm
The Atrium, 606 Broadway, Vancouver

Please CLICK HERE to RSVP. If you can’t join us consider donating to the campaign online. Every dollar you invest in this campaign will help us keep buses running on our streets.

You Did It: Buses Saved in King County

2011-08-16T14:48:00.000-07:00

Last night, the King County Council saved Metro!

The councilmembers who voted in favor of the congestion relief charge were Bob Ferguson, Larry Gossett, Jane Hague, Kathy Lambert, Joe McDermott, Julia Patterson, and Larry Phillips.

Councilmember Larry Phillips championed the cause to save metro by proposing the initial congestion reduction charge at the County Council. Thank you Larry Phillips, Executive Constantine, Joe McDermott, and the other five other councilmembers who voted in favor to save Metro buses. This was not an easy vote to take and we appreciate your leadership.

Send a thank you letter to the councilmembers.

We're in this situation because of out-dated state law that restricts local voters to only fund their transit service with the sales tax -- a funding source that is regressive, volatile, and declining.

Luckily the state legislature recognized this problem for King County Metro and gave the County Council a temporary stop-gap measure to adopt until the state comes up with a longterm, statewide solution.

The council has adopted the stop-gap measure, so let's take this time to celebrate and to thank our councilmembers.

Send your thank you letter now!

This wasn't possible without you. Together we signed and sent more than 15,000 petitions and letters. We made hundreds, maybe thousands, of calls into the councilmembers. And we stood in a two-block-long line for two hours in order to testify at a public hearing.

So, even more than a thank you to our councilmembers, this is a big thank you to you.

Together we saved our buses!

Breaking News: Deal Announced to Save King County Metro

2011-08-12T12:44:00.000-07:00

You did it!

The King County Council heard your testimony, read your emails, and saw your petitions. Thanks to you and a broad coalition, a deal was announced today to save King County Metro!

Councilmembers Hague and Lambert joined the five members of the County Council who already agreed to adopt the congestion relief charge. This gives us the votes we need to save metro for two years! For a full rundown of today's exciting announcement visit this Seattle Transit Blog post or read our live coverage of the event on twitter (@transpochoices).

Our work is not yet done!

An agreement has been made to pass the congestion relief charge next Monday, but we need to turn out transit supporters to that hearing to make sure the County Council takes the final vote to save metro. Please join us at Monday's hearing to see this exciting deal through!

The hearing is on Monday August 15th from 1:30-3:00pm at the King County Courthouse, 516 Third Ave. Join us on Monday in the final step to save King County Metro!

Thank you for all that you do!

Rally this Saturday to Preserve Buses at the Clark County Fair

2011-08-10T10:46:00.000-07:00

TCC is helping the preserve our buses campaign hold a rally this Saturday at the Clark County fair to build support to saving bus service. If proposition one passes this November in Clark County all of the revenues will be use to save existing bus service, nothing else!

Currently for just $2 you can take the shuttle right to the entrance of the fair, save a dollar on admission, and another six dollars on parking.

However, if Proposition 1 fails, the shuttle along with lots of other C-TRAN services will be cut. Please join TCC & the Preserve our Buses campaign for a rally:

Saturday, August 13th, 1pm
Clark Co Fair Grounds, NE entrance (Blue Gate)
17402 NE Delfel Road, Ridgefield, WA 98642

To RSVP please click here. For info on taking the shuttle to the fair click here. Together we can work together to preserve our buses in Clark County!

Is the Federal Gas Tax on its Way Out?

2011-08-10T10:37:00.000-07:00

The infrastructurist reported earlier this week that the federal gas tax is set to expire in September.

Under normal circumstances Congress would reauthorize the gas tax so the federal government could continue to help states fix their crumbling bridges and highways. But in this crazy time, you never know what Congress will do.

The federal gas tax is a primary source of funding for transportation for state and the federal government. Since 1993, Congress has not raised the gas tough enough to even keep up with inflation. As a result, America’s roads and transit systems are falling into a state of disrepair. If the gas tax are about to expires states would have to make up for the loss by increasing their own gas tax in order to maintain their infastructure.

A scary scenario and the article is worth a quick read.

Council Report Shows Strong Support for CRC

2011-08-09T12:17:00.000-07:00

Via Metro Matters:

A King County Council report indicates that almost 5,000 people have testified at hearings on the Congestion Relief Charge, with less than one percent opposing it. Along with 10,000 petition signatures, this is a huge outpouring of support.

The council will make a final vote this Monday, the 15th. They are no longer taking testimony, but the public is welcome is to attend.

Thanks to anyone who has attended a hearing, signed a petition, or called their councilmember!

Transportation as a Civil Rights Issue

2011-08-04T14:53:00.000-07:00

Transportation is becoming one of the biggest issues in modern life. But how the funding is used to expand public transportation it’s a big concern for everyone but especially for low-income workers and people of color.

Recent research shows that Americans make about 10.5 percent of all trips on foot, but only 1.5 percent of federal transportation funds are located to retrofitting roads with sidewalks and crosswalks, while 80 percent of federal funds go to highways. Besides that, the cost of owning a car ($9,500 dollars per year) can eat up half the income of a family living in poverty. This wired article titled, “Transportation as a Civil Rights Issue” dives into the findings of the recent report on this topic done by The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights. It is a must read.

http://www.wired.com/autopia/2011/07/transportation-as-a-civil-rights-issue/

Link to the report is here.

Seafair I-90 Bridge Closures

2011-08-04T11:51:00.000-07:00

The I-90 bridge will be closed the next few days at the following times:

Today - 1:15pm-2:40pm
Friday - 12:45pm-2:40pm
Saturday - 12:45pm-2:40pm
Sunday - 12:45pm-2:40pm

Friday-Sunday there will be shuttles from the Othello station to the Hydro course.

Click here to see if your bus route is affected by Seafair.

More at Seattle Transit Blog.

Our Summer Happy Hour is Tomorrow at 4-6pm!

2011-08-04T11:18:00.000-07:00

It is finally summer in the Puget Sound – or at least trying to be.

To celebrate the sporadic sun, instead of having our regular Friday Forum, we will be holding a Friday happy hour. Please join our members, supporters, & future members for this social event! It will be a great opportunity to bring together our friends, celebrate successes for the first half of the year, and catch up with all of you. Also, if you haven’t met our new Membership Manager, Carla Saulter (a.k.a. BusChick), you can do so on August 5th over a cocktail!

Last but not least, we will be announcing some exciting news at the event.

The event is free (though donations are always accepted), and TCC will buy appetizers, but you are on your own for drinks (unless you can get a friend or stranger to buy you one, of course).

WHAT: TCC August Happy Hour
WHEN: Friday August 4-6pm: drop by whenever you can
WHERE: The Triple Door Musicquarium Lounge 216 Union Street, Downtown Seattle

Please RSVP here so we know how many people to except!

Carla Saulter Featured in Family Transit Workshop this Saturday!

2011-08-03T15:38:00.000-07:00

King County's get in motion campaign is hosting a family transit workshop with TCC employee and transit rockstar Carla Saulter (buschick) as the headliner.

Don't miss this exciting education event!

Learn about what to carry, how to
know where the bus is going and
when it will arrive, how to keep
kids entertained, and more!

Details: This workshop will be a casual, kid-friendly discussion
group with healthy snacks provided. Free family Zoo passes (good
for 2 adults and 2 children) will be given to the first ten families
who arrive. All participants will receive a family transit guide to
take home.

When: Saturday, 8/6, 10:00 – 11:30 AM
Where: Central Area Motivation Program (CAMP)
722 18th Ave, Squire Park
COST: FREE!

Even More Bus Cuts on the Horizon?

2011-07-31T21:55:00.001-07:00

The PI's Scott Gutierrez points out that Republicans in congress have proposed a 6-year transportation bill that would cut Washington state's federal transit funding by $128 million per year. Metro estimates it would lose approximately $21 million per year under this scenario. The Congestion Relief Charge (CRC) would only raise about $25 million per year, which means Metro may still have to cut buses by 6% even if the CRC passes. In other words, that loss of federal funding would cancel out most of the benefit of the CRC. If the CRC fails and Metro loses that federal funding, that would be a double-whammy and could mean even bigger cuts than previously expected.

Cuts in federal funding would also jeopardize Sound Transit's plans to extend Link light rail. If the Republican plan decreased funding to the Federal Transit Administration’s New Starts grant program, Washington state could lose $38 million slated for Rapid Ride lines from Burien to Renton and Shoreline to downtown Seattle.

Big News and Smaller News from Sound Transit

2011-07-29T14:39:00.000-07:00

It seems like transit has dominated the news cycles recently. With the metro bus cuts hearings last week and the Sound Transit Bellevue activity this week its been all transit all the time.

In not so monumental, but still newsworthy, Sound Transit announced in its CEO Report this afternoon that the new light rail station in Tacoma will be called Commerce Street Station. They also announced that the North entrance for the Sounder Trains is going to reopen with temporary scaffolding installed to protect riders. As an infrequent Sounder rider this is welcome news. I took the train once during the closure and the lineup to get out using just the south exists was massive and time consuming.

Here is more from the afternoon CEO report:
Commerce Street Station

It's official. The name of the new Tacoma Link station is the Commerce Street Station.

The City of Tacoma last year proposed adding a station north of the Convention
Center Station on Commerce Street, just south of South 11th Street. The City of Tacoma built the new station, which is expected to open in August.

The 1.6-mile Tacoma Link line was completed in 2003 and serves the downtown area. The new station will expand access to businesses, increase ridership, and improve mobility in downtown Tacoma.

King Street Station North Entrance to open

Starting Monday, the north entrance to the Sounder King Street Station is scheduled to reopen. At that time, temporary protective scaffolding will be in place to prevent debris from falling from the overhead bridge structure.
The north entrance, which is off Jackson Street, was temporarily closed about a month ago as a safety precaution after debris from the bridge was found on the passenger platform.

As a long-term solution, the City of Seattle has designed (and we have reviewed and approved) netting for the underside of the bridge.
We appreciate the patience of our Sounder riders. I know the closure has been an inconvenience.

Today's the day The King County Council will vote on the Future of Metro

2011-07-25T09:53:00.000-07:00

Today's the day. The King County Council will vote on whether to save King County Metro.

Nothing has changed -- yet. Unless we pass critical stop-gap support, we'll lose 600,000 hours of bus hours and 4 of 5 bus riders will be significantly affected -- resulting in more congestion, pollution, and inequity.

As of this morning, a majority of the 9-member county council supports passing the "congestion relief charge." But we still need one more councilmember to adopt it.

We must hold our councilmembers accountable.

Please attend today's hearing:

Today -- Monday, July 25, 3pm
Council Chambers, 10th floor
King County Courthouse
516 Third Ave
Seattle, WA

If you cannot attend at 3pm, please consider coming early and signing-in to register your support. Early sign-ups begin at 1pm.

Together let's save King County Metro!

A Personal Teen Story on why $20 Congestion Reduction Charge Matters

2011-07-21T15:39:00.000-07:00

By Jasmine Beverly (TCC Summer Intern)

I’m not a stereotypical high school girl. I don’t go to high school dances, I have to be dragged to shop for clothes, and I’d rather spend time with my family than go out with friends. I’m seventeen and I don’t even have my permit or license yet. That’s right, a high school girl without a driver’s permit or license. Reading this story anywhere else, you’d think “Ooh, she lives in the middle of nowhere and is a little farm girl,” or “What a deprived teenager she must be! Living without a car?” or “She must be the nerdy outcast who doesn’t have any friends.” And although I’m a choir nerd, neither of those statements is true; I simply live in Seattle where public transportation is amazing. Well, for now it is.

I use the bus for everything. I take it to and from school, to the store to buy groceries, to friend’s houses, and even to visit family members. What’s the point of spending money for driver’s ed classes and gas when I can just hop on a bus? Seattle Public Schools gives high school students (with some exceptions) Orca cards. Not only do the cards have King County Metro youth passes, but this past year, they came with Sound Transit Business Passports. That enables us to right light rail or the Sounder around the city and even outside of it free of charge. It was nice for me because I was able to ride around Seattle and also visit my dad and his family in Puyallup. No more 45 minute car rides with younger sisters stuck in traffic. Just a nice, air conditioned train with free wifi and peace and quiet.

Now wait a second, what happens if Metro cuts 17% of their bus service? Let’s see, getting anywhere would take twice as long as it does now. Maybe even three times as long. If there are less buses on the road, that means more cars. And more cars mean traffic will be horrendous. So... Less buses + more cars + the same amount of people = what? This isn’t that hard of a decision to make, people. The $20 Congestion Reduction Charge needs to be implemented. There’s no way that more cars on the road can be a good thing, ever. But let’s just make life harder for people in Washington the next couple of years. Let’s force teenagers to conform to the stereotypes and buy cars, work at fast food restaurants to pay for gas, and congest the roads that much more.

I honestly can’t imagine how anyone could disagree with this. That’s just me though. The nerdy choir high school kid.

Record Ridership and New Website at Amtrak Cascades

2011-07-21T12:54:00.000-07:00

WSDOT launched a redesigned Amtrak Cascades redesigned today.

http://www.amtrakcascades.com/

On first glance, it is a little busy but overall I really like it. Too many times transit agencies and government transportation providers don't sell their services, they just provide the bare bones information. This website breaks that mold. It is combines Amtrak Cascades successful marketing campaign (tweet to Tacoma, or email to Olympia) with catchy visuals and useful rider information. Huge props to WSDOT marketing folks and whomever their outside consultant was.

In related news, their marketing efforts (and increasing gas prices) seem to be paying off. WSDOT reports that Amtrak Cascades broke another ridership record last quarter with an increase of 8% ridership compared to 2010 numbers. Between April-June this year 231,194 rode Amtrak Cascades; that means 16,550 new people chose to hop on the rails and leave their cars at home.

The bottom line is, ridership is up, Washingtonians want more intercity rail service, and thanks to Obama's rail program we are going to get increased service in the Seattle-Portland coordinator. Big props to WSDOT's rail program and all of you Amtrak riders out there.

Metro Cuts Hearing: Where in the World is Pete von Reichbauer?

2011-07-20T09:00:00.000-07:00

The next public hearing on the future of King County Metro will be at Burien City Hall at 6pm Thursday.

At the last hearing over 700 people lined the streets of Seattle supporting bus service in King County. We expect a good crowd at Thursday's hearing as well.

A lot of participants at the Seattle hearing were upset that their representatives were not there (only the four dems who supported the $20 fee to save metro were there, since then Patterson has also come out in favor of it).

So the big question for tomorrow's hearing is, will the vice-chair of the transportation committee, Pete von Reichbauer from Federal Way, be there? We hope so!

See you all tomorrow at 6pm to support buses in at Burien City Hall!.

Breaking News: Julia Patterson to support CRC to save metro

2011-07-19T18:18:00.000-07:00

This just in. Councilmember Julia Patterson has come out supporting the congestion relief fee to save 17% cuts to King County Metro!

This means with one more vote we'll get to the required 2/3rd majority that is required to pass this legislation to save metro.

Please come to the hearing in Burien at city hall on Thursday at 6pm to testify in favor of this important measure to save metro bus service!

Patterson: “Transit services a critical lifeline for commuters”

Signals support for congestion relief charge

Metropolitan King County Councilmember Julia Patterson released this statement today on Ordinance 2011-0288, the proposal to implement a temporary $20 Congestion Reduction Charge on vehicle licenses for each of the next two years to help maintain Metro Transit service at its current level:

“After finding out today that the proposed Congestion Relief Charge would save the 26,000 service hours scheduled to be cut in Council District 5 as part of the 17 percent reduction of transit service, I am ready to support Executive Constantine’s proposal.

“This was not an easy decision for me because families are already struggling in this economic recession. Before I gave my support of a fee increase, I needed to make absolutely sure that this proposal did not disproportionately burden the working poor in my district.

“South County residents commute further than anywhere else in King County. They rely heavily on bus service every day to get them to work and back home to their families.

“Without this critical transportation lifeline we will be forcing more people to get in their cars and they will spend hundreds of dollars a year on gas and vehicle maintenance – a much greater financial impact than a $20 fee.”

10,000 Petitions to be Delivered in Support of Metro at 3pm Tomorrow in Kirkland

2011-07-19T15:19:00.000-07:00

10,000 PETITIONS SUPPORTING $20 CONGESTION RELIEF CHARGE TO SAVE KING COUNTY METRO WILL BE DELIVERED TO KING COUNTY COUNCIL ON WEDNESDAY

WHAT: King County Metro bus service is in dire financial straits. Unless new revenue is found, they will be forced to cut 17 percent of King County bus service impacting over 80% of bus riders in our community.

Transportation for Washington, The Greater Seattle Chamber of Commerce, Futurewise, Transportation Choices Coalition, Fuse, and MoveOn have teamed up to build a coalition to save King County Metro. On Wednesday at 3pm the pro-transit coalition will deliver over 10,000 petitions to Councilmember Larry Phillips supporting the $20 congestion relief fee to save King County Metro!

WHEN: Wednesday July 20^th 3-3:30pm

WHERE: South Kirkland Park and Ride, 10610 NE 38th Pl, Kirkland, Washington

WEB SITE: www.stopbuscuts.com

Please note this even is open to the public so feel free to join us!

Phone Banking Party Tuesday Night

2011-07-18T18:20:00.000-07:00

UPDATE: Facebook event page.

Want to do your part to help save bus service in King County? Stop by TCC's headquarters Tuesday night (that's the 19th) at 6pm. We are located on 1st Ave between Marion and Columbia on the sixth floor of the Colman Building.

811 1st Ave #626, Seattle, WA

http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?msid=203724367905705149891.0004a861fe139e6b9e30d&msa=0

Here's our Facebook page.

And here is the event on facebook. Please let us know if you can attend my emailing Andrew@transportationchocies.org
Volunteer one evening and make a difference!

Massive Number of Bus Riders Turn out to Talk to Democrats on the King County Council

2011-07-13T10:29:00.000-07:00

Last night's County Council hearing on the future of King County Metro was an event of epic proportions.

This photo taken by our friend Jenn Olegario tells the story of how many people wanted to testify. The line was over two hours to get into the ill-equipped County Council chambers and the testimony supporting the congestion reduction charge lasted until 10:30pm.

The main story lines from last night:

This is one of the largest turnouts ever for a public hearing in King County with 500-1000 people showing up and trying to testify and many of them were not able to wait out the lines to get in, although many patient transit supporters did.
People were appalled by the potential loss of bus service and 99% of them supported the fee. The biggest message other than supporting the fee was that Metro should eventually levy more sustainable and non regressive forms of taxation to remain solvent.
Councilmembers Dunn, Patterson, Hague, and von Reichbauer were notably absent from the hearing. A lot of their constituents who were there to testify to them were very disappointed that their councilmembers were not there. None of the absent members have stated their support of approve the congestion reduction charge councilmanically. Hague, Dunn, and von Reichbauer have all stated their opposition to the short term fee without a public vote.

Here has been a lot of coverage on this event from king 5, Seattle PI, Seattle Times, and publicola.

I testified to the partial council and delivered the nearly 2,000 emails that all of you sent in to support the measure. Thank you for your support and please visit www.stopbuscuts.com to keep the pressure up!

A lot of people were livetweeting the event, to see a good rundown check out:
@ericacbarnett
@transpochoices
and @seattletransitblog
The main hastag of the day being used was #savekcmetro
Also check out Oran's flick of the evening http://tinyurl.com/5vvj4ye

TCC Announces Hiring of Calra Saulter (Bus Chick) as Our New Membership Manager

2011-07-11T14:33:00.000-07:00

Say hello to Carla Saulter, our new membership manager! A long time TCC member, Carla’s in charge of growing and cultivating our membership base. The author of the blog Bus Chick, Carla will bring her enthusiasm for all things transit to TCC. She readily admits to an obsession with the “transit culture” and believes that getting people out of their cars is not about convincing them why they should; it’s about showing them why they want to. “There’s plenty of propaganda promoting cars as the best way to get around. Those of us who ride buses and trains regularly know what everyone else is missing.” Welcome Carla and we are really excited to have her on board!

Come say hi to Carla if you are in the neighborhood at the next Transportation Choices Happy Hour in Seattle in August. Details coming soon! You can also drop her a note at Carla@transportationchoices.org

Important Metro Funding Hearing is Tomorrow in Seattle

2011-07-11T14:27:00.000-07:00

Hearing Tomorrow to Save King County Buses

Thank you for support of saving King County Metro. We have sent in over 1,500 emails supporting the measure to save metro. If you haven't done so set you still can by clicking here!

Losing 600,000 service hours -- significantly affecting 80% of riders -- will devastate our economy, environment, and communities with more congestion, pollution, and inequity.

That's why it's so important for the King County Council to adopt the $20 congestion relief charge. This state legislature-approved measure will provide temporary relief until a long-term state solution is found.

This is the most critical week in our effort to save King County Metro. The county council must adopt the congestion relief charge on July 25th.

Tomorrow's public hearing in Seattle will be the pivotal juncture. We need to turnout en masse to show strong support for the measure.

Here's the details:
Public Hearing to Save King County Metro
Tuesday, July 12, 6 - 8 p.m.
King County Council Chambers
King County Courthouse, 10th Floor
516 Third Avenue
Seattle, WA

RSVP right now.
We need to pack the room and overflow attendance into the hallways and streets. So, please bring friends and family.

P.S. We'll have stickers to show that you're a supporter. So, when you get off the elevator on the 10th floor, get your sticker from me or another organizer. Also arrive early as you'll need to get through court security. See you tomorrow!

July Friday Forums: How to Stop the Metro Bus Cuts Start Tomorrow

2011-07-07T14:36:00.000-07:00

July Friday Forums: King County Bus Cuts Coming Soon? How A $20 Congestion Reduction Charge Could Help

With 17% cuts to bus service looming at King County Metro next year without new revenue, transit funding is a hot topic in King County and across the state. Did you hear Executive Constantine on KUOW last week talking about this very issue?

Metro is facing a cut of 600,000 service hours because of declining tax revenues. So how bad could the cuts be? Consider this preliminary proposal – 84 existing routes may be eliminated, 93 existing routes may be reduced or revised - all over King County. These changes could impact 80 percent of bus riders. But there’s an opportunity to save service. A new proposal to levy a $20 Congestion Reduction fee could help stave off bus cuts if implemented this year. Learn more about this proposal and find out what routes could be on the chopping block.

Please join speakers in two lively discussions. The first will be in Seattle:

WHAT: King County Metro Cuts & the Proposed Congestion Reduction Fee: Seattle Forum
WHEN: Friday July 8th, 12:00 -1:30 pm
WHERE: Bertha Knight Landis Room Seattle City Hall, 600 4th Ave, Seattle
Speakers:

Welcome by King County Executive Dow Constantine
King Council Councilmember Larry Phillips
Seattle City Councilmember & Transportation Chair Tom Rasmussen
Kevin Desmond, General Manager of King County Metro

The second will be in Bellevue:

WHAT: King County Metro Cuts & the Proposed Congestion Reduction Fee: Bellevue Forum
WHEN: Friday July 15th, 12:00 -1:30 pm
WHERE: HDR Engineering,12th Floor, 500 108th Ave NE, Bellevue, WA 98004
Speakers:

Weclome by King County Executive Dow Constantine
Kevin Desmond, General Manager of King County Metro
And others TBA!

We look forward to seeing you there!

Friday Morning: Sound Transit celebrating Edmonds Station Upgrades

2011-07-07T14:30:00.000-07:00

MEDIA ADVISORY

TO: Puget Sound Editors & Reporters
FROM: Kimberly Reason, (206) 689-3343, or kimberly.reason@soundtransit.org
DATE: July 6, 2011
SUBJECT: Sound Transit to celebrate Edmonds Station upgrades

Sound Transit will celebrate the completion of construction upgrades at its Edmonds Sounder station at a dedication ceremony this Friday at 10:30 a.m. Speaking at the event will be Sound Transit Board Chair and Snohomish County Executive Aaron Reardon, Sound Transit Boardmember and Mayor of Mukilteo Joe Marine, Edmonds Mayor Mike Cooper, Federal Transit Administration Regional Administrator Rick Krochalis, and Washington State Senator Paull Shin.

Conceived to improve connections between train and bus service, the new $12.9 million transit hub replaces a temporary structure with a new east platform, new weather-protected passenger shelters, and a transit center consisting of three bus bays and two passenger shelters. Riders will also enjoy a repaved parking area, upgraded lighting, and secured storage for bicycles. An underground stormwater drainage system has also been installed to address frequent flooding at the site.

Public art by renowned Northwest artist Gerard Tsutakawa has been relocated to the north end of the station from its temporary placement at the SR 104 Mini-Park. Mr. Tsutakawa's 15-foot bronze sculpture, "Standing Wave," symbolizes the movement of the waters of Puget Sound and inspired the station's architectural elements. The artist's wave-like design, a common feature found in many structures in the City of Edmonds, is reflected in the new passenger shelters and four artist-created stainless steel and bronze panels that have been integrated into the platform railing near the station shelters.

Sound Transit, which dedicates a portion of construction costs to the incorporation of public art in its projects, collaborated with the City of Edmonds Arts Commission and the Edmonds Public Art Fund to initially commission Mr. Tsutakawa's iconic sculpture and relocate it to the upgraded station.

The upgraded facility will continue to offer four Sounder and three Amtrak Rail Plus roundtrips each day. Community Transit will start providing service to the new transit center later this summer.

More information on the Edmonds Sounder station can be found at http://projects.soundtransit.org/edmondsstation.

WHEN: Friday, July 8 at 10:30 a.m.
WHERE: Edmonds Sounder Station
210 Railroad Avenue

Federal Transportation Bill Update - Principles Released by House Chair Mica

2011-07-07T12:48:00.000-07:00

The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman John Mica’s unveiled his principles for a federal transportation reauthorization bill, this morning. Read his prophttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifosal here.

James Corless, director of Transportation for America, had this to say in response to the Chairman’s proposal on state flexibility, transit funding and streamlining project delivery:

“We commend Chairman Mica and his fellow drafters on the push to get this long-stalled bill moving, and we appreciate the effort to consolidate programs, leverage non-federal resources and deliver projects more quickly. However, we are skeptical that investments at this level can meet the country’s infrastructure needs.

A bill this small would need to be constrained to three key goals:

Maintaining our national highway and bridge system, which is quickly approaching its mid-life crisis;
Providing more options such as public transportation, vanpools and safer streets for bicyclists and pedestrians;
Promoting accountability through meaningful performance measures and a more strategic approach to transportation planning.

“Chairman Mica’s proposal to give states broader latitude needs strong provisions for accountability on national goals, such as economic prosperity, energy independence, equal access to opportunity and environmental stewardship. However, this emphasis on the state level cannot come at the expense of the places that are feeling the brunt of our inadequate investments to this point: local communities in both urban and rural locales. We are particularly concerned at the proposal to eliminate dedicated funding that helps provide more safe options for walking and biking.

“While Chairman Mica indicated an intent to preserve the historic share of 20 percent for transit, the overall effect is a devastating cut that leaves us well short of the amount required to meet rising demand for transit service, especially in this time of severe fiscal constraints.

“The focus on removing bureaucratic impediments to progress is encouraging, but the details on how this is accomplished are critical. We look forward to seeing more of those and other details of the bill, and we hope the Chairman will follow through on his pledge to consider other ideas in a bipartisan fashion as his committee crafts a bill that preserves our infrastructure, expands our options and hold agencies accountable for performance.”

Transportation for America was not alone in their skepticism and disappointment. Janet Kavinoky of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce said that the spending reductions would destroy existing jobs while preventing the creation of news jobs needed to lower the 16.3 percent of unemployed construction workers.

In a Natural Resources Defense Council blog post, they called Mica’s proposal “a mindless approach to cutting spending” that “represents myopia at its worst.” He said he wanted to see strong fix-it first language, an oil-savings objectives and performance measures with teeth.

Which Routes Would be Cut?

2011-07-06T17:55:00.000-07:00

In case you were wondering, here is Metro's specific plan for the 17% cuts in bus service (600,000 hours per year) if the $20 Congestion Reduction Charge is not approved. The first table lists the routes that would be eliminated completely. The second table shows those slated to be reduced or revised, which could mean they would serve different stops to run more efficiently, run less frequently, or discontinue service on evenings or weekends). The third table shows the routes that would be preserved as is. The cuts could be implemented as soon as February.

http://metro.kingcounty.gov/am/future/PDFs/p2_Metro_route_list_17percent_reduction_062411.pdf

How Can We Stop the 17% Metro Bus Cuts?

2011-06-30T12:25:00.000-07:00

In the last year, demand for Metro transit service has increased by 5%. And yet, now we face 17% cuts to bus service. Seems a little backwards, doesn't it?

What can you do about this? Write a letter to the King County Council telling them to pass the congestion reduction charge, which would stop the cuts. You can click here and submit it online. It only takes a minute.

Make your voice heard and stop the cuts!

New Pierce County Bike Map

2011-06-29T12:19:00.000-07:00

Attention, Pierce County bicyclists. Finding your way around the area just got easier.

http://www.co.pierce.wa.us/pc/abtus/ourorg/pwu/tpp/nonmotor/bicycle.htm.

The map highlights roads with wide lanes, paved shoulders, designated bicycle lanes, and shared-use trails. Enjoy!

KING COUNTY HEARINGS: Metro Cuts and Congestion Reduction Charge

2011-06-28T14:19:00.000-07:00

The King County council's Transportation, Economy and Environment Committee will be hosting three hearings to offer citizens opportunities to testify on proposed transit cuts as well as the proposed $20 congestion reduction charge on vehicles. Committee chair Larry Phillips clearly outlines the choice at stake:

“King County has a choice of cutting 17 percent of our transit service—taking the system back to 1996 service levels—or preserving current service levels" by enacting the congestion fee.

All meetings will start at 6:00 p.m. and will be held in Kirkland, Seattle and Burien. We encourage everyone in King County to attend one and make their voices heard!

Wednesday, July 6
Kirkland City Council Chambers
123 Fifth Avenue

Tuesday, July 12
King County Courthouse, Council Chambers,
10th Floor
516 Third Avenue

Thursday, July 21
Burien City Council Chambers
400 S.W. 152nd Street

All meetings start at 6pm

More info at http://www.kingcounty.gov/council/news/2011/June/LP_treemtgs.aspx

Tacoma Link: Extended Hours Wednesday

2011-06-28T14:07:00.000-07:00

Tacoma Link will operate until 12:00 a.m. on Wednesday, June 29, to accommodate crowds attending the Britney Spears concert at the Tacoma Dome. The concert begins at 7:00 p.m., with pre-event activities starting at 5:00 p.m.

Sound Transit buses, Link light rail, and Sounder trains will operate on regular weekday schedule.

Riders can sign up to receive automatic e-mail service alerts for Tacoma Link, ST Express, Sounder Seattle-Everett, Sounder Seattle-Tacoma, or Central Link. Rider Alerts can inform you about special service to events, alert you to holiday schedule changes, and help you plan your trip around inclement weather.

CONTACT: Kimberly Reason-(206) 689-3343 or kimberly.reason@soundtransit.org

Jackson Plaza Opening: A Major Transit Hub and Public Space

2011-06-24T12:29:00.000-07:00

Today, Mayor McGinn cut the ribbon on the new Jackson Plaza at King Street Station. He spoke of the plaza as an important part of a bigger plan, linking great communities like the International District and Pioneer Square with the rest of the region, and creating more pleasant, walkable spaces in the city. He praised the plaza's earthquake-proof, environmentally sustainable design. Finally, he thanked the many people and groups who made this possible.

Linda Gehrke spoke on behalf of the Federal Transit Administration. She reminded the crowd that the restoration of King Street Station has been ongoing since 1996. She spoke of the Obama administration's support for livable, sustainable communities, which led it to approve funding for Jackson Plaza.

Lorne McConachie spoke for the Pioneer Square Preservation Board. He discussed how transportation has been a huge part of Seattle's history since its inception, including the Yukon gold rush and the transcontinental railroad.

Leslie Smith spoke on behalf of the Alliance for Pioneer Square about the future of King Street Station. She predicted that King Street Station would become an even more important transit hub as it develops more connections, and would help make the city more walkable.

There was a good turnout, the sun eventually came out, and all the speakers were enthusiastic and proud of the plaza.

Grand Opening of King St Station's Jackson Plaza

2011-06-23T18:46:00.000-07:00

Check out this exciting event taking place tomorrow!

Friday June 24th, 10:30am – 11:15 am.
King Street Station, 303 S Jackson St, Seattle
Remarks by
Mayor McGinn
Linda Gehrke, Deputy Regional Administrator, Region 10, Federal Transit Administration
Lorne McConachie, Chair, Pioneer Square Preservation Board
Leslie Smith, Alliance for Pioneer Square

http://www.thenewpioneersquare.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/King-Street-Station-Grand-Opening-Invitation.jpg

Edmonds City Council Passes Complete Streets 6-0

2011-06-23T11:46:00.000-07:00

Last Tuesday, the Edmonds City Council unanimously approved a Complete Streets ordinance which pledges that the city will plan, design, and implement transportation projects accommodating pedestrians, bicyclists, and transit riders. However, the ordinance included many exceptions. The Complete Streets guidelines will not be enforced in cases where there is no identified need for them or the cost is determined to be disproportionate to "currents need or probable future uses."

TCC testified in favor of the ordinance with suggestions to strengthen it down the road by removing some of the exceptions. It is great to see more and more cities adopting complete streets across Washington State!

More at MyEdmondsNews.com.

520 Bridge Final EIS and Transit

2011-06-21T14:10:00.001-07:00

The final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the 520 bridge project is completed. Here at TCC we are working through the very lengthy document, and have some preliminary thoughts about transit and the final EIS. Transportation Choices Coalition has a long history with this project; we served on the Trans-Lake Corridor Study Committee in the late 90s on through to the mediation process in 2008.

The EIS presents the preferred alternative - a six lane corridor from I-5 to Medina that includes two general-purpose lanes and one transit/HOV lane in each direction. The option includes 1,400-foot-long Montlake lid with bicycle and pedestrian paths that connect the Arboretum, the Bill Dawson Trail and McCurdy Park, and a second Bascule Bridge across the Montlake Cut. The option preserves a space between the west approach bridge structures that could accommodate potential future light rail to connect to the University Link light rail station. The preferred alternative has a 14-foot-wide bicycle/pedestrian path across Lake Washington and a stormwater treatment facility.

Throughout the development of SR 520 plans, we have consistently focused on the need for a robust transit mitigation plan for the construction phase followed by a funded transit plan for the corridor once the bridge becomes operational. A fully funded transit plan is reliant on flexible use of tolling revenue to fund transit and other alternatives to driving across the bridge. We have also advocated for variable tolling to manage congestion on the corridor. Here are some preliminary thoughts about transit interests in the final EIS.

1. Transit mitigation plan for the construction phase

The final EIS did not alleviate our ongoing concerns that a plan for transit mitigation is not complete and not addressed in the EIS. The EIS responds to our request for a transit mitigation plan and funding, in saying, “This [transit mitigation] will be part of the overall construction traffic management plan that will be developed in conjunction with more detailed construction plans.” We are eager to see these plans and ensure that a robust and funded mitigation plan will be implemented.

2. Funded transit plan for the corridor which includes flexible use of tolling revenue to fund transit and other alternatives to driving across the bridge

We are pleased that the preferred alternative will include 3+HOV lanes. These lanes will accommodate both transit and carpools, and will help the expected 500-600 buses that will run across the bridge each weekday, operate at consistent speeds and reliability. Yet, we still have concerns that funding for the transit plan is not adequately addressed in the EIS. With the imposition of tolls and more predictable travel times on the corridor, transit usage will increase dramatically. We think that tolling revenue is an obvious source to fund adequate transit service and transit mitigation.

Currently flexible tolls that would allow toll revenue to be used for transit operations are not authorized by the legislature for this project. In response to our comments in the supplemental EIS, WSDOT states, “Redirecting tolling revenue to support transit service would require legislative changes that are unlikely in the foreseeable future.”

There is some money for transit on 520 that has been authorized. New transit facilities were funded through the federal Urban Partnership Agreement, and operating funds are being collected through property tax authorization, but more money is needed to fully implement the plan and ensure that reliable and affordable transit options are available to address economic justice concerns that come with high bridge tolls.

It is concerning that there is still no clarification where funding for the additional transit service will come. Given the current financial crisis of King County Metro and Sound Transit, increased funding for planned transit service is necessary, and if funding for this service cannot come from toll revenue, where will this increased funding come from in this time while transit agencies budgets are severely hurting? WDSOT points out that increased transit is planned, funded or implemented through the King County Metro’s Transit Now! Program, but this program is currently not bringing in the revenue that it expected because of the dip in sales tax. The state leadership must step up to ensure that the increased transit service planned for the preferred alternative can become a reality.

Furthermore, the final EIS states that because of new investments in transit services across SR 520 and rideshare and vanpool options fewer low-income populations would be adversely affected by the toll than previously assumed, because there are now more affordable alternatives to paying the toll. According to guidance that WSDOT received from FWHA, this minimizes the effect of the toll on low-income populations, coupled with the fact that everyone will benefit from a safer bridge. The analysts concluded that there would be no disproportionately high and adverse effect as a result of the toll, and therefore no mitigation is proposed. The problem with this finding is that it relies on full funding for the transit plan.

3. Variable tolling to manage congestion on the corridor

We have continually advocated for variable tolling for the 520 bridge and this option is at risk and may be prohibited if Tim Eyman gets his way. Eyman has filed an anti-tolling initiative (I-1125) and is colleting signatures for a full vote of the people in November. I-1125, backed by Bellevue developer Kemper Freeman, attempts to accomplish many things. It would require that the legislature sets tolls, not the Washington Transportation Commission, and any changes to the tolling would have to occur through the political process. It would prevent light rail across I-90, by pushing a section that requires that transportation taxes and tolls only go toward highway building purposes, and it would end variable-price tolling. If this measure goes to the voters, and if it passes, it will severely hamstring the ability to raise revenue to build the replacement and control congestion on the corridor. Everyone will be watching closely to see if this will go to a vote of the people in November. If this passes, our concerns about transit and 520 will grow deeper and more urgent for deliberate action to ensure that transit is fully funded through this transition and on the new 520 bridge.

ATTN Olympia-Tacoma bus riders: Service Changes in Effect

2011-06-21T13:25:00.000-07:00

Route 603A is now called Route 602.

Route 603 trips serving Lacey Transit Center will now be called Route 605.

(Route 603 trips not serving Lacey will still be Route 603)

Route 603 now has an additional southbound departure from 10th and Commerce at 8:05am and an additional northbound departure from the Olympia Transit Center at 6:30pm.

Route 605 has an additional northbound departure from the Olympic Transti Center at 6:30am and an additional southbound departure from 10th and Commerce at 8pm.

More info at http://www.intercitytransit.com/ and http://www.piercetransit.org/.

Innercity Transit has a full article on these changes at http://intercitytransit.wordpress.com/2011/06/02/olympia-tacoma-express-service-changes-effective-june-12/.

Pierce Transit Adopts Ridersihp Based Cuts Last Night

2011-06-14T15:23:00.000-07:00

Last night the Pierce Transit board passed their ridership-based cuts plan on a 4-3 vote. TCC has been working on this process at Pierce Transit for the past few months. No bus cuts are good cuts, but unfortunately, due to the economy and the failure of the Proposition 1 campaign last February (which we worked on), Pierce Transit cuts were inevitable. Thanks to the leadership of Marilyn Strickland and Jake Fey from Tacoma and the comments our members and supporters sent in, these cuts were done in the best way possible. The plan that went through final adoption last night, after hours of grueling and heartening public testimony, keeps over a million riders in the Pierce Transit system than the original “peanut-butter” based cuts plan did.

Transit cannot do everything for everyone and that is especially true during fiscally-constrained times. This ridership plan does the best the agency can under constrained budgets. As a silver lining, this plan makes the agency much more efficient, something the voters demanded with their Proposition 1 vote last February. Fixed-ridership system-wide right now costs $9/rider, after these cuts it will be $5/rider. Additionally, by focusing on efficiency, this plan sets the agency up for future success with the voters and rebuilding, and leaves the fewest number of riders as possible stranded at the bus stop.

Thank you for engaging on this process with us and stay tuned as we continue to work with Pierce Transit to restore lost service, especially in the evenings and weekends, in Pierce County in the months ahead.

Below is further coverage in the local media of the cuts this week:

Steve Fetbrandt. Lakewood Patch. “Pierce Transit Board Makes Cuts Official.” June 14, 2011.

http://lakewood.patch.com/articles/pierce-transit-board-makes-cuts-official-2

Monday night, Pierce Transit adopted service cuts, eliminating Route 220, which goes through Tacoma, Lakewood, and Fircrest. 140 citizens attended the hearing, many objecting strongly to the cuts.

Stacia Glenn. Tacoma News Tribune. “Pierce Transit board OKs additional service cuts.” June 14, 2011.

http://www.thenewstribune.com/2011/06/14/1704958/transit-board-oks-additional-service.html

Pierce Transit Board of Commissioners approved a second round of cuts Monday, affecting thousands of riders. Their plan eliminates 17 fixed-bus routes, while other routes will operate less frequently and for shorter hours of the day. At the last minute, the board delayed elimination of Route 496 from Sumner to Bonney Lake until February.

Jeanine Stewart. The Peninsula Gateway. “Pierce Transit issues final cuts to service reduction plan.” June 14, 2011.

http://www.thenewstribune.com/2011/06/14/1705528/pierce-transit-issues-final-cuts.html#storylink=misearch

Pierce Transit’s finalized cuts eliminated Bus PLUS Route 113 to Key Peninsula and Route 601, connecting Kimball Drive to Olympia. Route 496, along with some service to northeast Tacoma, was preserved. The cuts focused on ridership, efficiency, and serving the most densely populated areas.

John Discepolo. KOMO News. “Pierce Transit to cut another 15 routes despite riders' protests.” June 13, 2011.

http://www.komonews.com/news/local/123794339.html

Pierce Transit’s second round of cuts is supposed to help deal with a $51 million budget shortfall, but some who rely on this bus to get around fear they will lose mobility. Dozens of riders attended the hearing Monday and one voiced fears of losing her job.

Chris Daniels. KING-5 News. “Pierce Transit chops routes to overcome budget woes.” June 13, 2011.

http://www.king5.com/news/cities/tacoma/Pierce-Transit-chops-services-to-overcome-budget-woes-123790924.html

Pierce Transit has eliminated Route 113 Key Peninsula and Route 61 Northeast Tacoma-Brown’s Point. Route 496 has been temporarily preserved and officials have until February to examine a long-term plan to fund for it. Starting in October, service hours will be weekdays 6 a.m. to 9 p.m., Saturdays 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., and Sundays 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Report Shows MOST AGING BABY BOOMERS WILL FACE POOR MOBILITY OPTIONS

2011-06-14T11:57:00.000-07:00

NEW REPORT: MOST AGING BABY BOOMERS WILL FACE POOR MOBILITY OPTIONS

Seattle – The first baby boomers turn 65 years old this year and seniors in the Puget Sound area are in danger of being unable to get around. The largest generation in history, Boomers are also the most dependent on automobile travel. Yet by 2015, many seniors ages 65 and older in the Puget Sound area will live in communities with poor options for people who do not drive, according to a new report. Many metropolitan areas in Washington state will see over a 70% increase in the number of seniors without adequate access to transit since 2000.

“It’s a tragedy that funding for public transportation is stalled when the need for public transit is set to take off with this demographic explosion,” said Steve Breaux, public interest advocate at the Washington Public Interest Research Group (WashPIRG).

By the completion of the Baby Boom retirement surge in, projections estimate over 70 million Americans will be senior citizens. In the Portland, OR- Vancouver, WA metropolitan area, the number of older adults lacking adequate access to transit is projected to increase by 70% between 2000 and 2015, from approximately 83,000 seniors to 141,000 seniors. The Richland-Kennewick-Pasco area will face a staggering 91% increase, over 5000 seniors to over 10,000 seniors. In the Bellingham region, the number of seniors with poor access to transit will increase from over 6000 seniors to over 11,000 seniors, a 74% increase. The Yakima, WA region will face a 39% increase in seniors without adequate access to transit, from approximately 14,000 older adults to 19,000 older adults.

The report, Aging in Place, Stuck without Options, ranks metro areas by the percentage of seniors with poor access to public transportation, now and in the coming years, and presents other data on aging and transportation.

By 2015, more than 15.5 million Americans ages 65 and older will live in communities where public transportation service is poor or non-existent by 2015, the new study shows. That number is expected to continue to grow rapidly as the baby boom generation “ages in place” in suburbs and exurbs with few mobility options for those who do not drive.

In rural areas and smaller towns and cities, the increasing demographic strains as the baby boomers age also presents transportation challenges. Nationwide, 23% of all seniors live in rural areas. Forty percent of rural residents nationwide live in counties with no public transportation services of any kind. Seniors who live in rural areas face the same transportation needs as other seniors as they age and are increasingly unable to drive, but there often are fewer transportation options in rural areas.

One of the most common types of public transportation available in rural areas is on-demand service, where eligible residents (usually the elderly, disabled, or low-income individuals) schedule their trips to services like medical appointments ahead of time. Federal funding is available to provide rural transit service for the elderly, disabled, low-income individuals, and tribal areas, but demand for these services often outstrips available resources. Transportation for America has provided on online map showing the change in seniors’ availability to transit in the Yakima, WA region. The rural areas outside of Yakima are expected to face a sharp increase in their senior population, where there is the least access to transit.

With only a small portion of older American relocating researchers already are seeing the emergence of so-called “naturally occurring retirement communities” as seniors age in place. That phenomenon is growing as baby boomers begin to turn 65. Across the country today, 79 percent of seniors age 65 and older live in suburban or rural communities that are largely car-dependent.

“The baby boom generation grew up and reared their own children in communities that, for the first time in human history, were built on the assumption that everyone would be able to drive an automobile,” said John Robert Smith, president and CEO of Reconnecting America and co-chair of Transportation for America. “What happens when people in this largest generation ever, with the longest predicted lifespan ever, outlive their ability to drive for everything? That’s one of the questions we set out to answer in this report.”

Without access to affordable travel options, seniors age 65 and older who no longer drive make 15 percent fewer trips to the doctor, 59 percent fewer trips to shop or eat out, and 65 percent fewer trips to visit friends and family, than drivers of the same age, research shows. As the cost of owning and fuelling a vehicle rises, many older Americans who can still drive nonetheless will be looking for lower-cost options.

“Our elected officials here in the Puget Sound region need to make sure that seniors don’t end up stuck in life as they drive less, “ said Breaux. “Older Americans should remain mobile, active and independent. That’s going to require better alternatives to driving.”

Aging in Place, Stuck without Options outlines a number of policy recommendations:

· Increase funding for improved service such as buses, trains, vanpools, paratransit and ridesharing;

· Provide funding and incentives for innovative practices among transit operators, nonprofit organizations, and local communities to serve seniors;

· Encourage state departments of transportation, metropolitan planning organizations, and transit operators to involve seniors and the community stakeholders in developing plans for meeting the mobility needs of older adults;

· Ensure that state departments of transportation retain their authority to “flex” a portion of highway funds for transit projects and programs;

· Include a “complete streets” policy to ensure that streets and intersections around transit stops are safe and inviting for seniors.

The report is produced by Transportation for America, a coalition of more than 500 groups working on transportation reform today. To view the full report, the Yakima map, and to see the extended rankings, please visit http://t4america.org/resources/SeniorsMobilityCrisis2011

June 13th Panel on Transportation and Job Creation in Snohomish County

2011-06-09T11:23:00.000-07:00

This Monday, the Snohomish County Council is having a panel discussion on how transportation can help create jobs and the economy grow. Specifically, these questions willl be asked:

1. What two or three key features does a transportation system need, regardless of mode, to make Snohomish County competitive for job creation?

2. Describe the importance of a good transportation system with limited or no congestion to employers including new businesses locating here, those currently located here, and those considering expansion here.

3. Discuss the transportation industry as a job creator, of both direct and indirect jobs, including the provision of transportation service, movement of freight, and construction of projects.

The members of the panel will be:

· Steve Holtgeerts, Hogland Transfer Company, Inc

· Rich White, The Boeing Company

· Troy McClelland, Economic Alliance Snohomish County and Port of Everett

· Dave Johnson, Executive Secretary of the Washington State Building and Construction Trades.

The panel will be held Monday June 13th at 10:30 in the Jackson Board Room (8th Floor of the Drewel Building). Even if you can't make it, they'll be streaming the meeting on their website and posting the video after, so you can watch it anytime. Just click on this link:
http://snohomish.granicus.com/ViewPublisher.php?view_id=2.
Click on "Public Works Committee" near the bottom of the page in the Archives section.
Then a list of meetings will appear and you can choose the video for June 13, 2011, 10:30.

Community Transit Holds Open Houses on Cuts while Planning for the Future

2011-06-07T09:59:00.000-07:00

Community Transit CEO Joyce Elanor had a lengthy Op Ed in the Everett Herald yesterday that is well worth a read.

http://www.heraldnet.com/article/20110605/OPINION03/706059999/-1/OPINION

It is challenging to talk about long term visions for transit service in the midst of painful service cuts, but this Community Transit Op Ed does a good job at it I think. Clearly with all of the needs for much more transit service in Snohomish County, not less, it is imperative that the Legislature provide agencies like commute transit options (locally approved non-regressive taxing authority) other than long term cuts.

In the meantime, Community Transit is stating fallen revenue from reduced sales-tax funding during the recession as a reason for proposed cuts in 2012.

How do you think cuts in bus service will affect your future employment scenario? Do you have ideas on how Community Transit can plan their future service?

If you are interested in knowing more about changes to Community Transit service in 2012, please attend and open house and to give the agency input.

Open Houses

Edmonds Community College, Snohomish Hall, Room 304
20000 68th Ave W, Lynnwood
Tuesday, June 7, 2 p.m. - 4 p.m.

Monroe High School
17001 Tester Road, Monroe
Wednesday, June 15
6 p.m. – 8 p.m.

Everett Station
3201 Smith Avenue, Everett
Wednesday, June 22
10 a.m. – noon

Arlington Boys & Girls Club
18513 59th Avenue NE
Thursday, June 23
5 p.m. – 8 p.m.

Sound Transit to Alter and Cut Routes

2011-06-06T14:52:00.000-07:00

Sound Transit sent out a press release day reminding people of the express bus scheduling changes that are coming town the pike June 11th.

Many of these scheduling changes are cuts to service as a cost cutting measure as Sound Transit faces a multibillion dollar ST2 hole. Some of them are just modifications and one or two are actually increases to service.

The big changes of note:

Route 510 and 511 to Snohomish County are going to be eliminated on Sunday and replaced by the 512, which will be a combined run that will be slower especially between Everett and Seattle. This change is only for Sundays (thankfully).
Midday weekday service on the 554 will go from every 15 minute to every 20 minutes between Seattle and Issaquah.
The Burien to West Seattle portion of the under-performing 560 will be eliminated except for weekday commute hours.
The 577 express between Federal Way and Seattle will get additional service to help with overcrowding issues between two of King County's (and probably the state's) strongest transit markets.

The whole list can be found on page two of the current transit guide and more background can be found here.

Community Cuts plans to be announced today

2011-06-02T15:55:00.001-07:00

I am sitting outside the Community Transit board room in Everett.

The hallways are packed as the meeting, which was scheduled to start at 3pm, has been in executive session for 45 minutes due to discussion of a legal matter.

Once the public board meeting starts the Community Transit board will be briefed on 3 alternative cuts proposals. Like many transit agencies across the state Community Transit is facing massive cuts and layoffs due to declining sales tax revenues. With 15% cuts last year & the proposed cuts coming out today the total cuts will equal approximately 35% (about the same level at Pierce Transit's current cuts). Unlike Pierce Transit, Community Transit is maxed out on their state allowed sales tax rate at .9%.

I will post live here as more details come out about the cuts proposals at today's board meeting, which hopefully will start soon!

4:15: An hour later the board is finally back in public session. First up they took public testimony. One guy testified and said that they should sell all of their buses and run a private car rideshare transit system.

Now CT staff is discussing previous layoffs at the agency up to this point. Since the recession they have laid off 108 staff . Those layoffs have been proportionally distributed between union and non union staff (meaning that the non union staff makes up the same percentage of the agency numerically than it did before the layoffs at 24% of the people in the agency).

4:24pm: Sales tax revenue in 2011 is pretty much flat since 2010 levels... at least it is not following. CT's budget is also being strained due to increasing fuel costs.

And now there is a presentation on how the agency can hedge fuel...zzzz.

4:50: finally getting to the presentations on the cuts alternatives. Yay!

This seems a little counter-intuitive to be able to do both...

Goals of the service change in all alternatives:
-Increase productivity
-Maintain at least basic geographic coverage

The Three plans are:

Frequency reduction across the board with service 6 days a week
Frequency reduction with some Sunday service added
Route modification based more on productivity

Details of the plans at this being presented are quite vague, not getting into frequency specifics or route specifics except routes routes that are proposed to be eliminated in all three plans.

All three plans eliminate the last two hours of service at night ending bus routes at by 9:30 or 10pm. All three routes also cut some UW Seattle service, which has very high productivity numbers.

Alternative one reductive of frequencies:
On weekdays (Saturday frequency reductions would be drastically worse):
-would take 15 min service down to every 30 minutes during not peak hours
-30 minute routes would go to 60 minutes
-60 minutes would go to 90 minute frequencies (with 120+ frequencies on Saturdays).

Alternative Two, reduction of frequencies with additional skeletal Sunday service:
-Similar to alternative 1 with more cuts needed Monday - Saturday to free up hours for Sunday. Saturday service would be cut severely more, weekday midday non-peak hours with reduced frequencies would be extended by an hour.

Alternative 3, Route alternative network running Monday-Sat:
-Routes would become more efficient by straightening the bus routes, would double up routes on high frequency corridors with high ridership.
-frequency reductions on all of the routes especially high ridership routes would be much less severe.
-Saturday cuts are much less severe with this alternative.
-Seattle commuter service would be significantly streamlined and altered for money saving purposes (less one seat rides) to save money while maintaining access. North, East, and South county commuters would have a commuter feeder routes to CT and ST express buses serving park into Seattle. Some of the South County connector routes would actually be new service.

That concludes the rundown of the alternatives. Asking the board for question and approval to roll out publicly with outreach plan (even though the alternatives are now public since they were presented at the board meeting).

It is proposed that these cuts are implemented in the Feb 2012 service change.

The board moved forward with putting out the alternatives to the public, didn't have any questions about the proposals, and they gave statements on their initial thoughts to the initial plans. All of the board comments were fairly benign and didn't dive into details of plans.

New Report Finds Deferred Road Repair a Financial time bomb for many states

2011-06-01T10:26:00.000-07:00

Seattle, WA – Decades of deferred maintenance, and declining gas tax revenue have left many of Washington’s roads in poor condition, and the cost of pushing back repairs is growing at an alarming rate each year. A new report from Smart Growth America and Taxpayers for Common Sense examines road conditions and spending priorities in all 50 states as well as the District of Columbia. The report recommends changes at both the state and federal level that can reduce future costs, benefit taxpayers, and create a better transportation system.

The report, Repair Priorities: Transportation spending strategies to save taxpayer dollars and improve roads, found that between 2004 and 2008 states spent only 43 percent of total road construction and preservation funds on repair, while the remaining 57 percent of funds went to new construction. That means that 57 percent of the money was spent on one percent of the road network, while 43 percent of the money was dedicated to maintaining 99 percent of the system. As a result of these spending decisions and declining revenue, road conditions in many states are getting worse and costs for taxpayers are going up.

“Washington State is being forced to make tough budget decisions and needs to find ways to reduce costs by shifting more of our existing transportation funds toward road repair. This will create jobs today, give our state the quality roads we need and save us dollars in the future,” said Rob Johnson, Executive Director of Transportation Choices Coalition. “To get Washington moving again, we need to prioritize Washington’s spending decisions to focus on safety and repair first.”

“Spending too little on repair and allowing roads to fall apart exposes states and the federal government to huge financial liabilities,” said Roger Millar of Smart Growth America. “The cost of repair rises as roads age. Fiscally responsible leaders will recognize that prioritizing funding for repair isn’t just a matter of smoother roads, it’s a matter of protecting taxpayers from future costs.”

Washington’s current conditions and spending priorities

As of 2008, 44 percent of Washington’s state-owned major roads were not in good condition. These roads will be increasingly expensive to repair as maintenance is pushed farther back. In the same year, 56 percent of Washington’s roads were in good condition. Between 2004 and 2008 Washington spent $181 million annually on repair.

Washington would need to spend $426 million annually for the next twenty years to get the current backlog of poor-condition major roads into a state of good repair and maintain all state-owned roads in good condition. Delaying those repairs will only become more costly for the state. According to the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, every $1 spent to keep a road in good condition avoids $6-14 needed later to rebuild the same road once it has deteriorated significantly.

“We have hundreds of millions if not billions dollars worth of crumbling roads and bridges that need to be fixed in Washington State. It’s critical that we fix what we have, and not waste valuable resources expanding the road network, which only leads to sprawl, congestion and pollution,” said Tim Gould, Transportation Chair of the Sierra Club, Washington Chapter. “The need to focus on repairing our aging infrastructure has never been greater and with that focus our transportation system can work better for all road users, including transit, freight and bicycles.”

More information about the high cost of delaying road repair, how other states invest their transportation dollars to cut costs and what leaders can do to address these concerns is available in the full report, at www.smartgrowthamerica.org/repair-priorities.

Upcoming Open Houses for Proposed Community Transit Cuts

2011-06-01T09:46:00.000-07:00

Mark your calendars especially if you are a Snohomish County Bus riders. Community Transit will be launching a series of open houses leading up to their hearing on their proposed bus cuts plan. The agency is being forced to cut back additional service in light of sales tax revenue declines.

Here is a list of all of their open houses starting next week! Please go and make your voice heard.

Public Process Schedule
Open House meetings:
Mountlake Terrace Library, Large Meeting Room
Address: 23300 58th Ave W, Mountlake Terrace
Date: Monday, June 6
6 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.
Edmonds Community College, Snohomish Hall, Room 0304
20000 68th Ave W, Lynnwood
Tuesday, June 7
2 p.m. - 4 p.m.

Monroe High School Performing Arts Center
17001 Tester Road, Monroe
Wednesday, June 15
6 p.m. – 8 p.m.

Everett Station, Weyerhaeuser Room
3201 Smith Avenue, Everett
Wednesday, June 22
10 a.m. – noon

Arlington Boys & Girls Club, Community Room
18513 59th Avenue NE, Arlington
Thursday, June 23
5 p.m. – 8 p.m.

Legislative session ends without money for transit, bike/pedestrian projects

2011-05-25T12:00:00.000-07:00

This Wednesday morning a Transportation fee bill passed the House which would have created sustainable state support for transit. The bill increased various transportation fees to raise $13 million for transit agencies across the State. Rep. Liias sponsored an amendment, that passed, to ensure that $3 million of the fees will go to bike and pedestrian projects through the safe routes to school program. His amendment also added flexibility of monies for local governments to use it on local stormwater projects.

The bill then headed to the Senate for approval before the end of the special session later that night. The bill never got a vote on the Senate floor in the waning hours of the special session. It is hard to say why the bill did not come up for a vote, but it was a disappointment not to see desperately needed money going to street preservation, transit and safe routes to school projects.

Now the session is formally over and we can start to prepare for next year and ongoing legislative efforts to stabilize funding for transportation.

MUST-READ STORIES OF THE DAY: "We're on the road to becoming a third-world nation"

2011-05-19T12:47:00.000-07:00

Northwest Cable News: The Mayor McGinn recall effort, led by Greenlake Community Council president Michael Cornell.

The Tacoma News Tribune: Much of Federal Way is furious that Sound Transit has delayed construction of light rail there until 2040.

Mynorthwest.com: The host of the History Channel's Inspector America recently inspected the viaduct and seawall, and he is convinced "we're on the road to becoming a third world nation."

A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words:
Space efficiency - Car vs. bus vs. bike

Breaking News: Bill to Temporarily Save Some Metro Bus Service is Signed into Law

2011-05-16T16:21:00.000-07:00

It is official. King County Metro Transit has received some temporary funding needed to avoid major cuts to bus service thanks to a bill signed into law today by Governor Chris Gregoire.

Senate Bill 5457—sponsored by Sen. Scott White, D-Seattle—would allow the King County Council to implement a temporary congestion reduction charge to fund Metro bus service if they can muster a 2/3rd majority (or if they decide to send it to the voters). The fee is temporary and would expire in 2012.

“A healthy transit system is a vital component of our local economy in King County,” White said. “Not only do many families rely on transit service on a daily basis to get to school and work, now more than ever we need a safe and reliable public transit infrastructure as we seek to reduce our carbon footprint and reliance on nonrenewable fuels."

County Executive Constantine is expected to send the proposal to the County Council as early as next month, where two-thirds of councilmembers must approve the proposal in order for it to take effect. Alternatively the council could decide to send the temporary measure to the voters.

“With $4 per gallon gas prices, demand for transit is rising, yet King County Metro is facing drastic cuts that will leave thousands of people stranded at the bus stop,” said Rob Johnson, Executive Director of Transportation Choices Coalition. “This legislation, which follows the recommendation of the Metro Regional Transit Task Force, is desperately needed in the short-term to keep Metro buses running while we continue to work on a sustainable, long-term funding solution for transit across Washington State.”

It is a relief to see the legislature (finally) do something for bus service in King County and having the potential to save thousands of hours of bus service is without a doubt a win. But, we are still facing a huge transit funding crisis in other communities across the state and this measure is a temporary band-aid that will try to hold together a gaping wound.

UW Board of Regents Approves Universal U-PASS

2011-05-16T13:26:00.000-07:00

We received the ASUW press release below today. Background information can also be found at this Board of Regents meeting site.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE May 16, 2011

CONTACT:
Chris Jordan
ASUW PR Coordinator
Phone (206) 543-1780
asuwopr@uw.edu

UW Board of Regents approves Universal U-PASS fee
Survey found overwhelming support for program among UW students

SEATTLE, WA – The University of Washington Board of Regents voted Thursday, May 11th to approve a proposal for implementation of a universal student fee to fund the U-PASS program.

The proposal was brought forward by the Associated Students of the University of Washington (ASUW), Graduate and Professional Student Senate (GPSS) and UW Commuter Services after a combination of factors caused the program cost to increase in recent years. ASUW and GPSS sought solutions through the Student Transportation Task Force and conducted a survey of the study body which found 79 percent of UW students in support of a Universal U-PASS fee.

“I applaud the Regents’ decision to approve this proposal and save the U-PASS program. It so important that we preserve sustainable, low cost transportation for UW students,” said Madeleine McKenna, President of the ASUW.

With implementation of the Universal U-PASS, every student will be included in the program, thus broadening the funding base and stabilizing the cost over the next five years. 7,000 UW students were surveyed on the idea of a universal fee, and even the majority of those who currently choose to opt-out of the U-PASS expressed support for a universal funding model. The new student fee of $76 will begin in the fall of 2011, and will remain at $76 for at least eight quarters, thus preserving predictability for students.

“We believed that maintaining the U-PASS was a very important priority for our UW community, but only if we could lower the cost for students and maintain predictability. I am excited that we were able to achieve both of those goals,” said GPSS President Sarah Reyneveld.

In fact, most students will see their transportation costs decrease by 23 percent from today's level as a result of this action. They will also avoid the projected cumulative fee increase of 50 percent that would have occurred over the next two years were the program to continue on an opt-out basis. By year two of the Universal U-PASS, the U-PASS fee will be 48 percent lower than the projected U-PASS fee were the program to continue on an opt-out basis, and the typical student will save $72 per quarter on U-PASS fees.

The U-PASS was originally established in 1991 by the ASUW, GPSS and UW Transportation Services. The program provides students with unlimited access to bus, train, and light rail services of six regional transportation agencies. Students receive many other benefits, such as Zipcar discounts, vanpool subsidies, discounted carpool parking, access to the NightRide shuttle service, as well as improvements to bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure. As a result, the program reduces traffic congestion and greenhouse gas emissions in the University District.

In recent years, several factors caused the cost of the U-PASS program to increase, including the economic recession. As a result of declining local tax revenue, local transit agencies implemented fare increases. In addition, funds that the UW used to subsidize the program began to dry up.

In 2008, Transportation Services was forced to increase the price of a U-PASS from $50 to $99 in order to cover these costs and maintain the program. Student participation rates dropped and in response, student leaders began searching out solutions. Implementation of the new Universal U-PASS will begin in the fall of 2011.

What do Transit Cuts Mean to you Video Series Launched

2011-05-12T09:24:00.000-07:00

Over on the Transportation for Washington Page we've launched a new video series telling the personal stories of how transit cuts affect people in communities across Washington. Go to the video page to check out the first video on how transit cuts would impact Judy Gilbert from Lakewood, WA.

Bike Alliance Job Posting for Policy Director

2011-05-11T16:21:00.000-07:00

Our Friends over at the Bike Alliance have a job posting for a Policy Director position.

Check it out:

Description
The Bicycle Alliance of Washington advocates for a bicycle friendly state, educates people of all ages to increase transportation safety, develops more inclusive communities for cycling, builds a coalition of organizations, and seeks to make bicycling accessible to everyone.

As a statewide organization with offices in Seattle, the Policy Director is a senior member of the staff leadership team and will lead our organizational and program strategy at the state level. Reporting to the Executive Director, the Policy Director works with our contract lobbyist in Olympia and staffs the Legislative and Statewide Issues Committee. The Policy Director is responsible for all policy programs including direct advocacy in Olympia, working with agencies and stakeholder groups, bicycle clubs, building political support for our agenda; developing messages; running the policy component of legislative organizing legislative coalition partners around our priorities; directing policy interns and interacting with the media. We seek a dynamic individual with 7+ years of transportation, public policy, government relations, or experience in a related field to lead our policy programs. Some direct advocacy and/or legislative experience is also a must.

Flexible schedule with some night and weekend work required. Statewide travel and significant travel during Washington’s Legislative session is also required.

Key Responsibilities
·         Direct all aspects of our policy and legislative program including developing broad coalitions to advocate for bicycling
·         Develop and manage the Bicycle Alliance’s policy program including advocacy for increased bicycle safety and funding, climate and transportation policy, planning reform, roadway pricing policy and budget issues
·         Oversee and increase outreach with stakeholders including Seattle and Washington Departments of Transportation, State Department of Health, State Transportation Commission, and other organizations with aligned interests
·         Develop productive relationship with League of American Bicyclists, Regional and Metropolitan Transportation Planning Organizations
·         Promote Bicycle Alliance’s advocacy efforts related to current or upcoming priorities via media outreach

Other Responsibilities
·         Provide assistance raising funds from individuals and member organizations
·         Collaborate with other staff on program and organizational strategy
·         Organize events such as workshops, forums and fundraisers

Minimum Qualifications
·         7+ years in transportation, public policy, government relations, or a related field
·         Grassroots Advocacy and/or Legislative experience
·         Experience with media and communications, including online and social media
·         Experience developing and implementing transportation policy strategies
·         A self-starter who is comfortable working in a team environment, listening deeply, thinking creatively, collaborating effectively, and communicating well with coalition partners and volunteers

Additional Qualifications
·         Demonstrated ability to prioritize, manage and coordinate multiple tasks
·         Flexibility and willingness to work evenings and weekends
·         Proficient computer skills including comfort with word processing, spreadsheets, databases, web and e-mail software
·         Strong writing, editing and public presentation skills
·         Ability to leverage available resources
·         Staff and/or volunteer management experience
·         Fundraising and strategic planning experience
·         Strong desire to change the world!

Salary and Benefits
·         Annual salary $45,000-$55,000 based upon experience
·         Excellent health, dental and retirement benefits

To apply please send a cover letter, resume, references, and one writing sample to:
Bicycle Alliance of Washington
Attn: Policy Director Search
309A Third Ave S
Seattle, WA 98104
or by email: info@bicyclealliance.org
Subject Line: Policy Director Search
Posting open until May 31, 2011

TCC Membership Survey - Tell us What You Think!

2011-05-06T09:42:00.000-07:00

TCC Membership Survey - Tell us What You Think!

We are looking to revamp the Transportation Choices Coalition membership program and as a current or prospective TCC member, we’d love to get your opinion about our membership program, planned upgrades and things that we could be doing better. It takes a few minutes to fill out the survey and as a thank you, we’ll enter you into a drawing for a pre-paid ORCA card (we are Transportation Choices after all!) or a VISA gift card.

Take this short survey and be entered into a drawing to win a pre-paid ORCA card or a VISA gift card*.
https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/CCNBH8C

Thanks for sharing your opinion.

* You must complete the online survey, including all required fields, to enter the drawing. Alternatively, you may submit your entry by sending an e-mail message to shefali@transportationchoices.org, with your complete contact information. Please type “TCC Membership survey” in the subject line of the e-mail message. Limit: one entry per person.

Thanks for all

Complete Streets Bill Signed Into Law by Gov. Gregoire

2011-05-05T09:57:00.000-07:00

I am standing outside the halls of the Governor's office with a gaggle of other people waiting for the bill signing of ESB 1071, our complete streets grant program.

We anticipate the governor will be signing this without any problems.

I'll update here once this bill, which establishes a complete streets grant program and directs WSDOT to apply complete streets principals to their projects inside of cities, becomes a law. A great victory for us this session!

Thank you for all of your help as advocates on this victory.

UPDATE: ESHB 1071 was just signed into law by Governor Gregoire! Great news!

Sound Transit Fare Change on June 1st

2011-05-04T13:03:00.000-07:00

Starting June 1, 2011, fares on Sound Transit Express buses will change. How will the changes affect you?

Currently, trips within King County can be one or two zones depending on whether you cross a fare zone boundary within King County. Trips within Pierce or Snohomish counties are one zone and the one zone adult fare is $2.00. As of June 1st, King County will become one zone and the one zone adult fare will be $2.50.

The current two zone adult fare will no longer exist. Adult trips that cross a county (zone) line will cost $3.50. This is a .50 cent increase from current fares.

One-zone youth fares will increase from $1.00 to $1.25, but the multi-county youth fare will remain the same.

Click here to learn more about these and other June 1, 2011 fare changes.

Update:
Also as a reminder link fares will be going up as well. This just in from Sound Transit:
Starting June 1, 2011, adult Link fares will rise 25 cents. Link tickets for adults will start with a base fare of $2.00 and add five cents to the base fare for every mile of your trip. See the fare chart for more details.
Starting June 1, 2011, all youth Link fares will become $1.25, for all one-way trips on Link light rail.
All reduced Link fares will remain 75 cents, for all one-way trips on Link light rail.

Sound Transit's Union Station 100th Anniversary Celebration!

2011-05-02T14:53:00.000-07:00

Join Sound Transit on Friday, May 20, 2011 for a community open house celebrating the 100th anniversary of Union Station and the launch of "Trail to Treasure," a historic interpretive trail through Pioneer Square. The celebration will feature walking tours, information about planning efforts affecting the neighborhood, a live brass band and model train exhibit.

For more information, visit www.soundtransit.org/UnionStation100.

Need to know which train or bus to take? Try the Regional Trip Planner at www.soundtransit.org

Friday, May 20, 2011
2 p.m. – 7 p.m. — Open house
5 p.m. — Speakers and presentation

Union Station
401 South Jackson Street
Seattle, WA 98104

May 5 League of Women Voters Forum: "Smart Transportation Choices"

2011-04-27T13:10:00.000-07:00

The League of Women Voters of Greater Seattle invites the public to examine our current local transportation choices and how best to fund them, Thursday, May 5 at Seattle First Baptist Church (Harvard and Seneca) 7:30 - 9:00 PM. The Forum is free; audience questions are welcome.

Speakers from three local government agencies, Deputy King County Executive Fred Jarrett, Director of the Seattle Department of Transportation Peter Hahn, and Deputy CEO of Sound Transit Celia Kupersmith will address the "perfect storm" of shrinking revenues, increasing congestion and pollution affecting how we will plan for moving people, goods and services. Journalist Erica Barnett will offer a perspective from covering local transportation processes.

150 years have passed since Northwest settlers arrived using waterways as our first highways. Then the popularization of the automobile held sway for the next hundred years culminating with the interstate highway system and the gradual diminishing of public transportation services. Only recently have voters begun to question the demands for more roads and their related impact on the environment and the community.

For more information please contact the League office www.seattlelwv.org or call 206-329-4848.

$9 Billion Transportation Budget Approved by Both Chambers

2011-04-22T12:05:00.000-07:00

The Transportation budget is on its way to the Governor’s desk. In March we posted a comparison of all of the proposed budgets from the Gov, House, and Senate. So how did we fare in the final budget?

The total transportation budget is $9 billion, which includes operating and capital expenses. This is slightly higher than the 2009-2011 biennial transportation budget, and represents the largest transportation budget ever. The primary sources of revenue in this bill are bonds, motor vehicle fuel tax (gas tax), federal funds, and license, permits and fees, and ferry fares. The budget includes over $4 billion for highway construction, a record amount for Washington that reflects the peak of spending for the Nickel and TPA projects. State Patrol receives $364 million of the total package. Transit, vanpools, bike and pedestrian spending make up about 1% of the total budget.

Public Transportation

We are very pleased to see the final budget includes $40 million for the Regional Mobility Grant program which is a crucial grant program funding transit agency capital and operating needs. This is restoring $20 million in cuts that the Governor proposed, and gets the program back to previous funding levels. Also, the budget includes $17 million for rural mobility grants and $25 million for special needs transportation provided by transit agencies and non profits.

The final budget includes $6 million for a vanpool grant program, including $520,000 for vanpools at the Joint Base Lewis-McChord. It also includes $2.3 million for the tri-county connection service for Island, Skagit, and Whatcom transit agencies.

Unfortunately, the public transportation division at WSDOT took a hit, reducing the department by 7.8 FTEs. Drastic cuts are happening throughout the agency, this budget directs a cut of 800 engineering staff by 2015.

Non- Motorized

The final budget includes $11.8 million for safe routes to school and $9.8 million for bicycle and pedestrian safety projects. To put this in funding in perspective, WSDOT received 124 Safe Route to School applications with total requests of $43 million. Pedestrian and Bicycle Safety Program applications are by invitation only- but there are at least $5million in contingency projects that have applied.

Stormwater

The final budget included $10 million is provided for WSDOT to meet its obligations under federal permit requirements. Funding will support the completion of planning activities and basic infrastructure investments. Governor Gregoire originally proposed $15 million to meet federal obligations, but the final budget did not reflect this amount. There is no money in the budget to address the need for stormwater retrofit projects at the local level.

Rep. Upthegrove (D-33) did not approve the budget because of the political maneuvering that altered the regional mobility grant project list. He joined two other Democrats with his "no" vote. Rep. Hasegawa and Rep. Carlyle.

Temporary Transit Bill Is On Its Way to the Governor

2011-04-22T10:27:00.000-07:00

Many thanks to Sen. White and Rep. Liias for their leadership that led to the final legislative approval of the "Congestion Reduction fee". It just received final approval by the Senate and will go to the Governor for her approval.

The bill, ESHB 5457, will generate about $25 million per year for two years to help preserve transit service while lawmakers explore how to fund transit with a more stable source than the sales tax, which is vulnerable in tough economic times.

Here is the Transportation For Washington press release:

Emergency congestion fee bill for transit passes Legislature

Bill to provide short-term local option funding for King County Metro sent to Governor’s desk

OLYMPIA – The legislature today passed SB5457 to help King County Metro stave off double digit service cuts to bus service. After passing both the state Senate and House today, the legislation will be sent to Governor Gregoire for her signature.

Introduced by Sen. Scott White (D-Seattle), with a companion bill sponsored in the House by Rep. Marko Liias (D-Edmonds), the legislation would allow the King County Council to implement a local option fee, called a congestion reduction charge, of $20 per vehicle in King County.

“Transit is critical for thousands of riders in King County, from Seattle to the south county and, of course, the eastside. Commuters, seniors and students depend on buses to get them to work, school and around their community,” White said. “When people are struggling to make ends meet in this economy, we must do what we can to keep transit services available and affordable. This bill helps bring critical funding to King County Metro at a time when budget cuts have significantly reduced transit services in our communities.”

The congestion reduction fee, if enacted by the King County Council, would be temporary and expire in 2013.

“Strong communities have good transit, and this short-term fix will help Metro continue delivering a key service for the Puget Sound region,” said Liias. “While transit agencies are making every efficiency possible, the recession has resulted in Metro Transit and other agencies cutting hundreds of thousands in bus hours just when they need it most.”

If signed by the Governor into law, to implement the congestion reduction fee, 2/3 of the King County Council must vote to approve the fee before it can be collected.

“The last thing our local economy needs is to make our traffic worse and leave riders stranded at bus stops. By funding transit, we are relieving congestion on our roads and providing an affordable alternative for people to get to their jobs,” said Kathy Huckabay, Board Chair of Transportation Choices Coalition and former Sammamish City Councilmember. “The thousands of riders who depend on Metro everyday cannot afford any more cuts. I urge the King County Council to act swiftly to use this tool to fund vital transit service.”

# # #

Transportation for Washington is a multi-year, statewide campaign that lays a new vision for Washington around protecting our air and water, fixing what’s broken, expanding transit choices, and building great, healthy communities. The campaign is led by Futurewise and Transportation Choices Coalition and is supported by a coalition of more than 55 public officials, businesses, labor unions, and environmental, faith, health, and neighborhood organizations.

www.T4Washington.org

Breaking News: Supreme Court dismisses anti-transit lawsuit

2011-04-21T10:32:00.000-07:00

Here is our Statement on this exciting development:

For Immediate Release: April 21, 2011
Contact: Viet Shelton, 206-719-8598

Transportation for Washington praises State Supreme Court decision to dismiss anti-transit lawsuit

SEATTLE - Transportation For Washington released the following statement from Rob Johnson, Executive Director of Transportation Choices Coalition, praising the decision by Washington State Supreme Court to dismiss Kemper Freeman’s anti-light rail lawsuit:

“In 2008, the voters of Puget Sound overwhelmingly said they wanted more light rail, and they wanted it to cross I-90 to the eastside. This frivolous lawsuit brought on by Kemper Freeman and his anti-transit colleagues was just a cynical attempt to thwart the voter’s will and derail transit.

“The Supreme Court recognized this and wisely decided to throw out the suit and let the project move forward.

“With this lawsuit dismissed, we hope that everyone involved; WSDOT, Sound Transit, the communities and elected officials of east King County will continue to work together to connect both sides of the lake with light rail across I-90.”

If you want to get really wonky, go here to read the whole decision.

TCC is Hiring a Membership Manager

2011-04-20T16:03:00.000-07:00

Things are buzzing at the TCC office today because we are officially putting a job announcement out into world for a new position, a membership manager. Our new staff member will have a lot of work on their hands but huge opportunity to make an impact and work with one of the best staff teams around. Could it be you?

Here is the full listing on idealist.

Position Announcement
Transportation Choices Coalition
TCC is hiring a Membership Manager

Accepting applications until May 15, 2011

POSITION DESCRIPTION
TCC is hiring for a new position with the responsibility to increase TCC’s individual donations. To increase our individual membership retention rate and recruit new members we would like a candidate to develop a suite of membership benefits and incentives that would be attractive to current and prospective members. This position would be responsible for identifying and securing the support of businesses, non-profits, and other partners to participate in a TCC member benefit package to be rolled out at the end of 2011.

The Membership Manager’s other primary function will be to plan, coordinate, and execute TCC’s fundraising events. The position will support other TCC staff on fund development projects including major donor cultivation and corporate partner funding. The selected candidate will report to TCC’s Executive Director and work closely with other staff. This is a position with growth opportunities!

King 5 Picks up on Pierce Transit Bus Cuts

2011-04-19T10:29:00.000-07:00

King 5 has a fairly long piece on the bus cuts in Pierce County that we have been tracking diligently. The last rider in the video is waiting for the bus on his way to a job interview to get himself back to work. Sometimes pictures speak louder than words.

Here is the Link: http://www.king5.com/news/local/Pierce-Transit-cuts-120113924.html

Pierce Transit Set for Heart-wrenching Stories

2011-04-16T09:43:00.000-07:00

This blog post was originally posted on the Transportation Washington Blog Here. Follow it!

People across the state are struggling to pay their bills and provide for their families. On Monday we heard 50+ people testify in Pierce County on how they depend on bus service to get to work, the grocery store, and critical medical appointments. Most of these people either moved to live near a bus line for its efficiency or -- more frequently -- couldn't afford to own a car and were transit-dependent.

Pierce Transit has a huge 35% budget hole. This isn't the agency's fault. Over the last few years, time and time again they've cut overhead and administrative costs and made the bus lines more efficient. But behind-the-times state law restricts local transit agencies to only get local revenue through the sales tax, which has been decreasing with the economic recession.

It's a fact: no matter what we do, many Pierce Transit bus riders will no longer be able to use the bus. The personal stories will be bad. Our obligation -- and that of Pierce Transit -- is to minimize the number of those stories. The best way to do that is to use the existing resources to maximize ridership -- making sure the most people possible can ride the bus
.
Well, how to make that picture a reality is getting clearer. We recently got ridership information on all of Pierce Transit’s routes. Unsurprisingly, the exurban bus plus routes are the lowest ridership routes in the system.

Click here to get the chart (PDF).

The highlighted blue are routes the 10 lowest ridership routes in the system. You’ll notice on the bottom of the page many of the low ridership routes will not be cut. These bus routes carry 10-40 people per day and cost on average $27 dollars per passenger in places where transit doesn’t work. By comparison, the average cost per rider on Route #1 is $2.76 and that route carries 7,600 people per day. The entire fixed-route system (with all of its efficient and inefficient fixed routes) costs on average $6.83 per rider

During financially constrained times, we cannot afford high cost, low ridership bus routes. We must focus our efforts on where we get the most bang for our buck and hurt the fewest number of riders.
So, why is Pierce Transit cutting the highest ridership routes by 30-40% but not cutting our heaviest subsidized bus routes at all?

Intercity Transit Authority Seeks Comment on Impacts to Express Service

2011-04-15T11:48:00.000-07:00

The Intercity Transit Authority invites comment on the impact of the proposed cuts to Olympia-Tacoma Express service. Intercity Transit is not cutting its service. However, Pierce Transit is proposing 50 percent cuts from its Olympia-Tacoma Express trips (8 of 16 trips). The Pierce service cuts, which would impact Intercity Transit customers as well as Pierce rider, come as a result of the failed Pierce Transit sales tax measure and are proposed to happen sooner (June instead of October) due to the recent loss of Pierce Transit's compressed natural gas fueling plant.

Intercity Transit's opportunity to comment is occurring now through a public hearing on Wednesday, April 20 at 5:30pm at its business office, 526 Pattison Street SE in Olympia. If you use transit to get to the hearing, you can ride routes 62A, 62B, and 66.

Call the Comment Line: If you cannot attend the public hearing, submit your comments over our telephone comment line at 360-705-5852. Please leave your comment for consideration by 4 p.m. on April 20, 2011.

Send an E-mail: You can also e-mail your comment to tellus@intercitytransit.com. Please send your comment for consideration by 4 p.m. on April 20, 2011.

Pierce Transit also has a comment period under way:
http://www.piercetransit.org/

While encouraging public comment and considering the impacts of Pierce Transit cuts to commuters - especially those who regularly use the Olympia-Tacoma Express service - Intercity Transit staff is also exploring the feasibility of vanpool service to help mitigate the loss in bus trips and help ensure people can continue to get to their jobs.

In addition to the public hearing, the Intercity Transit Authority has scheduled a discussion on the above topic. Intercity Transit action on the Olympia-Tacoma Express, if any, is anticipated to occur at the May 4 Authority meeting.

Complete Streets Passes the Washington Legislature

2011-04-13T17:25:00.001-07:00

We have some great news to report out of Olympia today. Rep. Moeller's Complete Streets bill, which we first proposed last year, House Bill 1071 passed the House concurrence vote today by 53-43.

This is incredibly exciting news for one of our 2011 Legislative priorities. The bill is now officially passed the Legislature and moves onto the Governor's desk. If she signs it, it becomes state law!

Thank you for everything you did as advocates & at transportation advocacy day to help us pass this bill. We'll post an action alert soon so you can encourage the Governor to sign the bill into law!

Positions Open: Intercity Transit Authority Citizen Advisory Committee

2011-04-13T16:06:00.000-07:00

The Intercity Transit Authority has four open positions on their Citizen Advisory Committee (CAC). Chosen applicants (including a new youth position (1-year term) for ages 15-19 and current vacancies for 3-year terms) will have an impact on public transportation in Olympia, Lacey, Tumwater, and Yelm.

Check out the Intercity Transit Authority blog link above for more information.

Application information is also available at http://www.intercitytransit.com/SiteCollectionDocuments/cac-recruitment-packet-2011.pdf.

Otherwise, contact Rhodetta Seward at 360.705.5856 or rseward@intercitytransit.com for more information about the CAC or the selection process.

Applications are due Friday, May 20.

Reminder C-Tran Board Meeting is Today at 5:30pm to Save Bus Service

2011-04-12T10:47:00.000-07:00

Speak up to Save Bus Service: C-Tran Board Meeting Today at 5:30pm

This is just a quick reminder that the C-Tran Board is poised to vote to put a .2% sales tax measure on the ballot next Tuesday in order to give voters the option to prevent devastating 40% cuts to bus service! There are two important reasons people should attend & testify at the C-TRAN Board Meeting on Tomorrow, April 12th at 5:30pm at the Public Service Center. If you can't attend CLICK HERE to send an e-mail to the board.

#1 -- We need to support our core bus service. There will be many who attend this meeting that do not support buses. Without a measure on the ballot this year, C-TRAN will face cuts of about 40% next year. This will leave many in our community simply stranded.

#2 -- We need to delay a light rail and bus rapid transit vote until next year for several reasons. The NoTolls group and the other anti-bus, anti-light rail, spokespeople will be there to try to force a vote this year. They want this in front of voters before the technical requirements have been met and before voters have had the chance to see what they will be getting for their small investment. They also know that asking voters for two things at once will make it tougher for both measures to pass.

We can't let them win.

Please SHOW UP AND SPEAK UP at this meeting to ensure our success and to make sure your voice is heard. If you can not attend the meeting CLICK HERE to send the C-Tran Board an email and tell them to save bus service

WHAT: C-Tran Board Meeting to Put a Bus Measure on the Ballot

WHEN: TOMORROW, Tuesday April 12th, 5:30pm

WHERE: Public Service Center, 1300 Franklin, Vancouver, 6th Floor Hearing Room

Update: I am not liveblogging this meeting but you can follow updates on our twitter @transpochoices . Public testimony on ballot measure is almost over. Testimony has been all over the map on the ballot measure issues.

Pierce Transit livevblog at T4WA

2011-04-11T16:34:00.000-07:00

Brock from Transportation for Washington will be livebloggin the Pierce Transit hearing on the proposed bus cuts.

The room is packed with impacted riders and the meeting is just starting, so make sure to tune into the T4WA blog to track the conversation.

http://org2.democracyinaction.org/o/5153/p/salsa/web/blog/public/?blog_entry_KEY=1497

Front of the room also full!

4pm Meeting is full all the way to the back of the room

Reminder: Pierce Transit Cuts Hearing Tonight at 4pm

2011-04-11T08:57:00.000-07:00

Just a quick reminder that this afternoon is the most important public hearing on the proposed cuts at Pierce Transit.

It is at 4pm at the Pierce Transit headquarters 3701 96th Street Southwest, Tacoma, WA
CLICK HERE to RSVP for the meeting and tell the Pierce Transit board not to cut bus service where transit works!

If you are taking the bus there catch the route 48 or the route 300. If you are a shuttle user call Pierce Transit to arrange a ride.

If you can not attend the hearing CLICK HERE to send Pierce Transit a letter.

Stop the Bus Cuts in Pierce County

2011-04-08T10:47:00.000-07:00

Transit in Pierce County is in crisis. Due to the out-dated way the state funds bus service, Pierce Transit has a 35% deficit it must balance.

Unfortunately, Pierce Transit plans on balancing its budget by cutting the heaviest used routes the most.

In other words, Pierce Transit is becoming less efficient and, as a result, workers, students, senior citizens, and people with disabilities will needlessly be left without bus service. This is wrong.

Attend Monday's public hearing to tell Pierce Transit to stop their bus cuts!

The top three bus routes---the #1, 2, and 3---carry 60% of the Pierce Transit's riders. But the agency plans to cut the routes 30 to 39 percent, eliminating service for more riders on these routes than any other route.

In February, the voters nearest to the heavily-used routes strongly supported Prop 1 to save our buses. The voters farthest away that use the buses the least voted against Prop 1. Why should those who supported Prop 1 now suffer the most?

Speak out! Attend a public hearing near you:

Monday, April 11, 4-6pm, Lakewood
Monday, April 19, 4-6pm, Gig Harbor
Thursday, April 21, 5-7pm, Tacoma
Monday, April 25, 4-6pm, Puyallup
Thursday, April 28, 5:30-7:30pm, Bonney Lake

This Monday's public hearing in Lakewood is the most important. The Pierce Transit Board of Directors will be on hand and may direct agency staff to make changes to their proposal.

RSVP today. We'll follow-up with directions and key talking points.

Community Transit to Cut Another 20%: Hearing Announced

2011-04-08T08:33:00.000-07:00

In another piece of sad transit news yesterday, Community Transit announced that they will be cutting service by another 20% next February. This will bring the totality of their cuts to 35%, which is the same amount that Piece Transit will be cutting this fall. Unlike Pierce Transit, Community Transit is maxed out on their state allowed sales tax at .9% so they do not have an option to ask voters to save their bus service.

The Seattle Times and Seattle Transit Blog broke the story yesterday. Lindblom's story did a good job telling the story that bus cuts are a regional and statewide problem. No transit agency is safe from this recession with volatile sales tax as their only option for funding transit.

We are working hard right now to encourage people to turnout to the Pierce Transit hearings on the proposed cuts that disproportionally high ridership routes. The first hearing on that is at 4pm at PT's headquarters in Lakewood. We'll do similar engagement and turnout efforts for the community transit hearings.

It is not an easy time for bus service in Washington State right now. I think this news highlights the need for the Legislature to come up with short term and long term funding solution to prevent draconian cuts to transit service. One more positive thing to remember is in the last 4 years 15/18 transit ballot measures in Washington have passed, which tells us that even in tough times citizens will often support their transit service. Unfortunately for Community Transit they do not even have the option to ask voters for temporary help. More on this soon, I am sure.

Here is the list of public meetings from CT:

Open House meetings:
Mountlake Terrace Library, Large Meeting Room
Address: 23300 58th Ave W, Mountlake Terrace
Date: Monday, June 6
6 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.
Edmonds Community College, Snohomish Hall, Room 0304
20000 68th Ave W, Lynnwood
Tuesday, June 7
2 p.m. - 4 p.m.
Monroe High School Performing Arts Center
17001 Tester Road, Monroe
Wednesday, June 15
6 p.m. – 8 p.m.
Everett Station, Weyerhaeuser Room
3201 Smith Avenue, Everett
Wednesday, June 22
10 a.m. – noon
City of Arlington Community Room, Hadley Hall
18513 59th Avenue NE, Arlington
Thursday, June 23
5 p.m. – 8 p.m.

Rider Forums
Dates and Times TBD
Community Transit staff will hold rider forums at park & rides and transit centers throughout Snohomish County.

Public Hearing:

Rose Hill Community Center
304 Lincoln Avenue, Mukilteo
Thursday, July 7
5 p.m. - 8:30 p.m.

C-Tran Board to Vote on Bus Funding Measure Next Tuesday

2011-04-06T16:35:00.000-07:00

C-Tran Board Meeting to Decide on Fate of Bus System Next Tuesday the 12th at 5:30pm

The C-Tran Board in Clark County is poised to vote to put a .2% sales tax measure on the ballot on Tuesday in order to give voters the option to prevent devastating 40% cuts to bus service! There are two important reasons we are encouraging people to attend & testify at the C-TRAN Board Meeting on Tuesday, April 12th at 5:30pm at the Public Service Center.

#1 -- We need to support our core bus service. There will be many who attend this meeting that do not support the buses. Without this measure on the ballot this year, C-TRAN is facing cuts of around 40% next year. This will leave many in our community simply stranded.

#2 -- We need to delay a light rail and bus rapid transit vote until next year for several reasons. The NoTolls group and the other anti-bus, anti-light rail, spokespeople will be there to try to force a vote this year. They want this in front of voters before the technical requirements have been met and before voters have had the chance to see what they will be getting for their small investment. They also know that asking voters for two things at once will make it tougher for both measures to pass.

We can't let them win.

Please SHOW UP AND SPEAK UP at this meeting to ensure our success and to make sure your voice is heard.
WHAT: C-Tran Board Meeting to Put Bus Measure on the Ballot
WHEN: Tuesday April 12th 5:30pm
WHERE: Public Service Center, 1300 Franklin, Vancouver, 6th Floor Hearing Room

Sound Transit Seeks Volunteers to Serve on an Agency Oversight Panel

2011-04-06T14:17:00.000-07:00

Sound Transit is seeking volunteers in South King County and Pierce County to help the agency plan, build and operate the regional mass transit system. The agency has two immediate openings on the Citizen Oversight Panel (COP). Sound Transit relies on the oversight and expertise from this dedicated and independent group of volunteers.

The COP was created in 1997 to independently monitor Sound Transit and make sure it meets its commitments to build and operate a regional bus, light rail and commuter rail transit system. Voters approved local funding for the system in November 1996 and then again for major expansions in 2008. The 15 COP members represent a variety of interests, professional expertise and experience. The COP meets twice monthly during normal business hours and acts as an independent oversight entity by digging into agency details, asking hard questions and reporting its findings to the Sound Transit Board of Directors.

To Apply

Submit both a one-page letter and a resume to Aaron Reardon, Sound Transit Board Chair, 401 South Jackson Street, Seattle, WA 98104-2826.

The letter should include:

• Brief statement of interest in serving on the panel
• Specific qualifications for serving on the panel
• Highlights of related experience and expertise

To Qualify You Must:

• Be a registered voter within the Sound Transit District
• Reside and/or work in King County, Pierce County or Snohomish County within the Sound Transit district boundary
• Have experience/skills in one or more areas of expertise related to the panel's responsibilities-business and finance management, engineering, large projects construction management, public facilities and service, government processes, and public policy development or review
• Be able to attend meetings twice each month during normal business hours.

Appointment Process

Copies of all letters and resumes will be provided to the Sound Transit Board for its review. The Board's Executive Committee will review the nominations and recommend candidates. The Board of Directors will confirm the appointments.

Sound Transit actively seeks to include persons from diverse backgrounds and professional areas of expertise to support agency oversight, planning and operations. Persons of color and women are encouraged to apply.

Pierce Transit Announces Cuts Hearings: Act Now to Demand Fair Bus Cuts

2011-04-05T09:30:00.000-07:00

Pierce Transit Announces Cuts Hearings: Act Now to Demand Fair Bus Cuts

During the campaign you helped us raise awareness about the importance of saving our bus service. Unfortunately we didn't get to a yes vote, but that doesn't mean our advocacy work is over or our voices are not important.

Pierce Transit announced last week that they will be holding a series of public hearings on the proposed 35% bus service cuts coming to our community in October. It is crucial to attend one of these hearings and to tell the Pierce Transit board what the proposed cuts mean to you.

The first hearing will be in Lakewood at the Pierce Transit's Headquarters at 4-6pm on Monday April 11th. (note time correction)

The Tacoma meeting will be on Thursday April 21st from 5-7pm at Tacoma City Hall. For a full list of hearings you can attend in your community, CLICK HERE!

The voters have demanded that Pierce Transit be as cost efficient as possible, yet the board is proposing cutting high ridership cost efficient routes disproportionally more than the overall cuts. The current proposal will cut high ridership routes like the 1, 2, and 3 by 30-40%. These levels of cuts will lead to overcrowded buses that leave riders stranded at the bus stop in high ridership areas.

Go to the cuts hearings and tell Pierce Transit to make cuts to service based on ridership and efficiency!

If you can not attend a hearing then CLICK HERE to send an e-mail to Pierce Transit to make your voice heard.

Remember to send an e-mail today to Pierce Transit if you can't attend the upcoming hearings.

Breaking News: Complete-Main Streets Bill Passes State Senate!

2011-04-04T15:18:00.000-07:00

House Bill 1071 the Complete Streets and Main-streets Bill just passed the Washington State Senate by a 29-19 (with one excused) vote! Passing this bill, which we first proposed last session, is a great news!

There were some small changes to the House Bill in the Senate, so now its final step before going to the Governor's desk is a quick concurrence vote in the House.

Sen Haugen spoke in favor of the bill and said "This bill will encourage our cities to take a more holistic look at our streets".

Here is the breakdown of what ended up to be a mostly party line with Republicans Hill, Fain, Litzow voting in favor.

Thank you Senators for your vote and activists for your help!

Yeas: 29   Nays: 19   Absent: 0   Excused: 1
Voting Yea:  Senators Brown, Chase, Conway, Eide, Fain, Fraser, Hargrove, Harper, Hatfield, Haugen, Hill, Hobbs, Kastama, Keiser, Kilmer, Kline, Kohl-Welles, Litzow, McAuliffe, Murray, Nelson, Pridemore, Ranker, Regala, Rockefeller, Sheldon, Shin, Tom, and White
Voting Nay:  Senators Baumgartner, Baxter, Becker, Benton, Carrell, Delvin, Ericksen, Hewitt, Holmquist Newbry, Honeyford, King, Morton, Parlette, Pflug, Roach, Schoesler, Stevens, Swecker, and Zarelli
Absent:
Excused:  Senator Prentice

Is North Link Alignment Decided from the Get-Go?

2011-04-04T12:32:00.000-07:00

SeaShore Transportation Forum: April 1, 2011

Last Friday, the SeaShore Transportation Forum met at Shoreline City Hall to discuss Sound Transit’s North Corridor Transit Project and a few other issues. First, Kenmore Mayor David Baker expressed concern that transportation earmarks like TIGER are being cancelled or delayed by congress, noting that Washington State is not slated to receive any federal transit funding this year. Baker also pointed out that many small cities depend on earmarks to fund road work and other transportation projects.

Then Sound Transit Government Relations Director Patrice Hardy and Capitol Hill Station/TOD lead Michelle Ginder presented their North Corridor Transit Project update. The project will connect Lynnwood to Northgate, at its eventual Link station. Sound Transit has already proposed a North Link light rail extension. However, to obtain a full federal grant, they must submit a thorough analysis comparing their plan to other alternatives. Sound Transit surveyed local residents, who expressed a preference for light rail over Bus Rapid Transit as well as an alignment along I5 or SR99 rather than along 15th Ave.

Sound Transit will analyze a light rail alignment along I5 and one along SR99 and decide in the Fall which is best. The I-5 option, their preferred alignment, goes straight to Lynnwood. It's the fastest, most cost effective route by their account. The SR99 route involves laying extra track west to 99 and then back to I5 in Lynnwood, which means it would be slower and more expensive. The upside is that it there is more opportunity for development along that corridor. Light rail could not run at-grade along 99 because there are too many traffic lights, while an elevated or underground line would be expensive. The main purpose is to connect Lynnwood to Northgate, so they prefer I5 because it does so more efficiently. North Link is intended to be a "backbone," and feeder lines can be considered later.

Councilmember Rasmussen warned that many of his constituents feel Central Link is too slow due to its at-grade segment in Rainier Valley. He encouraged Sound Transit to pick the fastest alignment, arguing that the main benefit of light rail is that it's faster, so slowing it down diminishes its value. He said that many of his constituents resent the light rail's detour through Rainier Valley, where it runs more slowly and has to deal with traffic lights (it couldn't have been elevated because Rainier Valley values its views of Rainier immensely and tunneling would have been very expensive).

King County Executive Alternate Chris Arkills defended the alignment, pointing out that the slower speed through Rainier Valley (for only 4 miles) only slows the trip to the airport by 4 minutes. He believes that ridership is more dependent on reliability than speed. "People don't care if it takes 33 minutes to get the airport instead of 29 minutes as long as the trains run often enough." He also said that ridership would have been low had Central Link bypassed Rainier Valley since few people would board along the Duwamish and there was less potential for development there, in contrast to the great potential for development in Rainier Valley. Thus, Arkills argued, efficiency must be balanced with reliability and potential for development. However, he supports the I5 alignment for the north corridor. Rasmussen acknowledged Arkills's points, clarifying that he was only referring to voter perceptions while implying that those perceptions should still be addressed.

Finally, they discussed Seattle’s upcoming commercial parking tax increases and UW’s bid to be exempted in order to fund their U-Pass program. While some agree with this, it has prompted other schools and hospitals to apply for exemptions as well, greatly complicating the situation.

Corrections:
Patrice from Sound Transit called me to let me know that they don't have a preferred alignment yet because they are still in the middle of the alternatives analysis process. The I-5 alignment is the "presumed alignment" in original the ST2 plan.

I initially attributed comments by Chris Arkills to Chris Eggen.

100 Useful Tips for Car-Less Living: Find the Perfect Everyday Bag

2011-04-01T15:43:00.000-07:00

Some at TCC's headquarters call me bag man. I am happy to say I've earned this title with pride. It is true, I have a lot of different bags that I often switch around over zealously, but there is a reason for that, good bags are crucial to living car-less or car-free happily.

As a car-free transit dude I know the importance of good bags, and their importance cannot be overstated. I grew up in car-oriented America and like many people across the county I practically lived out of my car. In high school I could pile overnight clothes, hiking gear, soccer cleats, a guitar, and a even a blow up mattress into my car at all times. Having all of that crap on hand at a moments notice is a huge advantage of personal automobiles. Being able to carry what you need even for a day can be a challenge for us transit dudes and dudets, but good bags can help mitigate the problem, and maybe down the road even help free us from being attached to so much stuff!

Here is review of everyday bags, enjoy and let me know if you have any feedback, trips, or ideas.

Everyday bags:

Option 1-The Hand Held or Shoulder Briefcase.

Advantages: Stylish, urban, sleek, people won't look at your weird when you get to meetings, great option for holding a small amount of things.

Disadvantages: Want to carry an extra pair of shoes or clothes for the gym after work? Sorry, you are out of luck. You better not pack much at all if this is your bag of choice. Also some models might not hold up well in Pacific Northwest weather for non-car commuters.

Option 2- The Omnipresent Bike Messenger Bag

Advantages: Stylish, hip, holds more than a briefcase, easy to access quickly (why they were designed in the first place for bike messengers).

Disadvantages: Potential to look like a hipster, people might think you are from Portland and support the worst team in the MLS (they are the worst, not kidding), and you are still limited in capacity. Worst of all, I've found if you over stuff messenger bags they can lead to painful shoulders and backs especially if you are carrying books/computers etc.

Option 3- The Good Old Fashioned Backpack

Advantages: Most good backpacks can hold a ton of stuff (extra pair of shoes, gym clothes, overnight change of clothes, toiletries, computer, and work stuff all no problem) and simultaneously not hurt you back at all (unlike messenger bags). Also they are great for sprinting to buses because you can tighten them to your back and they don't bounce around, also are good for biking for this reason.

Disadvantages: Take 5 seconds longer to access than a messenger bag, they are not stylish, not cool, and you show up to meetings and everyone things you are a college or graduate student intern.

Option 4- The One-Day Roller

Advantages: Umm.... ummm... Ok, I will admit, you can fit a lot of stuff into these bags and it will never hurt your back.

Disadvantages: This list could be long but I'll just name a few: people will assume you are an older woman regardless of your age and gender, if you are forced to walk in place with anything but perfect sidewalks you will not have a good day, climbing hills is difficult (little problem in Washington), biking and running to the bus are both impossible, and lets be honest your friends are going to make fun of you a lot.

The winner for my everyday bag Review? The basic backpack! My backpack is from an awesome local company based out of Bellingham called Brenthaven, but I know that Jansport, REI, and others also have some good daily use urban styled backpacks.

Need to pack shoes, change of clothes, computer, and books or a kindle for your commute? No Problem!

I'll post at a later date about grocery bag and travel bag options, stay tuned! Happy Friday, enjoy the rain.

Reminder APRIL FRIDAY FORUM: Transit Funding in a Divided Congress is Today

2011-04-01T09:16:00.000-07:00

Reminder APRIL FRIDAY FORUM: Transit Funding in a Divided Congress & What it Means to You is TODAY at NOON!

A few weeks ago we sent out an action alert to asking you to help us save King County Metro's Rapid Ride from drastic funding cuts proposed by the House Republicans in Congress.

Tomorrow we will be bringing you an all star panel to give you all of the information you need on what is going on with transit and transportation funding in Congress.

Looking into the crystal ball isn't easy, but with these rock star panelists, we'll give it our best shot. As always feel free to bring your lunch and there will be plenty of time for Q and A!

Speakers:

Sheila Babb, Deputy State Director for U.S. Senator Patty Murray
Larry Ehl, Federal Relation Manager, WSDOT
Ron Posthuma, Deputy Director, King County DOT

WHAT: Federal Transportation Funding in a Divided Congress and What it Means to You!
WHEN: Friday APRIL 1st, 12:00 -1:30 pm
WHERE: Seattle-King County Public Health - Chinook Building, Room 121, 401 Fifth Ave.,Seattle

T4America Bridge Report Clips

2011-03-31T15:15:00.000-07:00

Our friends at Transportation for America recently released a report about the state of bridges in America. WSDOT Secretary Paula Hammond was featured on the tele-briefing roll out of the report yesterday.

The report found that 5% of Washington's bridges are structurally deficient but we are the 6th best state in the nation when it comes to bridge maintenance and repair.

Here are some local clips covering the report that are worth a read:

Good News about Bridges; We are #46
Seattle Times
Mike Lindblom
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/politicsnorthwest/2014642367_good_news_about_broken_bridges.html

Report: 5 percent of Washington bridges ‘structurally deficient’Scott Gutierrez
Seattle Post-Intelligencer
March 30, 2011
http://blog.seattlepi.com/transportation/2011/03/30/report-5-percent-of-washington-bridges-structurally-deficient/

State ranks high for bridge maintenanceKNDO (Kennewick, WA)
March 31, 2011
http://www.kndo.com/Global/story.asp?S=14354264

Report: Washington bridges more structurally sound than other statesJordan Schrader
Tacoma News Tribune
March 30, 2011
http://blog.thenewstribune.com/politics/2011/03/30/report-washington-bridges-more-structurally-sound-than-other-states/

I-405 Closure April 1st (no foolin')

2011-03-31T12:12:00.001-07:00

WSDOT is closing I-405 between NE Eighth Street and SR 520 in order to remove the old NE 12th Street Bridge (part of the Bellevue Braids project).

The closure will last between 11pm on Friday April 1st and 4am on Monday April 4th.

The City of Bellevue has a well updated page for traffic advisories in the area (not just this weekend's closure).

In general, ChooseYourWayBellevue.org is a great website for finding travel alternatives in Bellevue.

BICYCLE ROUTES DURING I-405 CLOSURE

If you plan to ride your bicycle in the vicinity of I-405 this weekend, you will most likely already avoid the closure area due to lack of bicycle-friendly conditions.

112th Ave NE may be affected due to heavier vehicle traffic. The other routes indicated as the best biking lanes in Bellevue should be relatively unaffected by detoured vehicles.

Check out Google Map's best bicycle routes in the City of Bellevue, compared to vehicle detours suggested by WSDOT due to I-405 closure.

TRANSIT ROUTES DURING I-405 CLOSURE

No Metro, Sound Transit, or Community Transit rider alerts have been issued to indicate any rerouting effects from this construction:

- Metro Reroutes
- Sound Transit Rider Alerts
- Community Transit Rider Alerts

Most likely, the largest effect will be slight delays due to detoured vehicle traffic onto roads such as Bellevue Way, 112th Ave NE, NE 8th St, and 148th Ave NE.

Be sure to keep an eye out for potentially delayed route timing on One Bus Away.

VEHICLE ALTERNATIVES

Lastly, be sure to heed WSDOT's vehicular advice:

"During the I-405 closure, drivers should avoid the area or take alternate routes. Use the recommended regional routes unless you plan to visit Bellevue. Downtown Bellevue will be open for business. Drivers should expect heavy traffic on the detour routes and throughout the region."

Also, be sure to watch for real time traffic congestion over the weekend.

More Events Than you Could Ever Ask For

2011-03-31T11:03:00.000-07:00

Transportation continues to be a hot topic in the Puget Sound and across Washington State.

We've been busy at TCC tabling and speaking at various events around the region and there are ton coming up in the next few days and weeks. For all of those transportation nerds and political junkies there are plenty of events to chose from. So pick one or five, and we'll see you there.

TCC's April Friday Forum on federal transit funding in a divided Congress is tomorrow at noon at the Seattle-King County Public Health - Chinook Building, Room 121, 401 Fifth Ave.,Seattle
Great City is putting on an equitable growth dialogue summit this weekend, Friday and Saturday. This is shaping up what looks to be a great event. Friday's event is unfortunately the same time as our Friday Forum at City Hall. Saturday is a full day of panels with yours truly speaking on the transportation panel with Mayor McGinn and Councilmember Rassumsen. It should be a lively discussion to say the least. Update: STB had a full agenda posted for Saturday.
In a non work related event the Seattle MS walk is on Sunday. I'll be with the throngs of thousands walking. If you like seafair clowns come by gasworks park to say hi. In a work related alert, if you are a Burke-Gilman trail cyclists, stay away Sunday morning between UW and gasworks. You will not be happy with your travel times.
April 8th is the Ms home opener! Take the bus or train there!
As we mentioned in a previous post Pierce Transit's hearings on proposed 35% bus cuts this fall are starting on April 11th in Lakewood and going on through the month of April. If you take the bus in Pierce County please try to attend of of these hearings. If you can not attend a hearing please send Pierce Transit an e-mail about the proposed cuts HERE!
The Second of two series called Getting from Here to There, put on by the Pacific Science Center, Seattle Councilmember Mike O'Brien,'s office, and Streets for All Seattle will be on April 12th at 6:00pm at the Seattle Vocational Institute. We'll be there tabling before the main event.
Also on April 12th the C-Tran public transit board in Clark County will be voting on a measure to put a sales tax vote to the voters this November to save bus service across Clark County. Clark County folks, please go and testify in support of saving bus service!
Publicola reports that King County Metro's report on trolley buses says Metro should replace the aging trolley buses with... trolley buses! There will be a meeting on the findings on April 19th at Plymouth Congressional Church, 1217 6th Ave., Seattle.

Do you have enough to do now? See you out there!

TNT Reports "Pierce Transit cuts to stay""

2011-03-29T09:08:00.000-07:00

The Tacoma News Tribune is reporting that the temporary cuts that Pierce Transit enacted due to the fueling station fire are here to stay. The cuts, which have amounted to a 20% reduction, will stay in place until October when there will be an additional 15% reduction in service. As it stands right now the high frequency trunk routes 1,2, and 3 will be cut by 30-40% in October from their original levels, which will directly hurt the areas that supported proposition one the most.

Safe to say, it is a tough time for transit riders & advocates in Pierce County right now. The good news is the cuts plan is not finalized and advocates and citizens can make comments to the Pierce Transit Board about the proposed cuts at a series of upcoming public meetings.

I heard from Pierce Transit that they have not had to lay off any drivers yet at the agency because they have to have all drivers working to keep buses on the street and fueled. That said, it is a tough time for bus drivers in Pierce County right now with massive layoffs equaling 20% of the workforce on the imminent horizon.


Pierce Transit Riders and Drivers are Running out of Options

More from the Pierce Transit Press Release:

Pierce Transit Chief Executive Officer Lynne Griffith stated, “In response to comments we heard from our riders, the focus of this service change will be to get people to jobs and school and reduce low ridership routes and trips.” The June 2011 service change will begin to incorporate elements of the reduction plan. These service levels will be similar to the current emergency reduced service levels. Details of the June service change will be published in The Bus Stops Here booklet available at the usual locations in early June.

Beginning April 2, the Reduction Plan Rider Alert pamphlet will be available on-board buses, at Bus Shop locations, at Pierce Transit Headquarters, and at piercetransit.org. This pamphlet provides route-by-route information about the proposed service reductions.

SHUTTLE paratransit service for people with disabilities will also be reduced on October 2, 2011. This service operates on the same days and during the same time within ¾ of a mile of bus routes. As bus service is reduced, SHUTTLE service will be reduced.

Complete Streets bill passes Senate Committee!

2011-03-28T14:11:00.000-07:00

One of TCC's top legislative priorities, the Complete Streets bill, ESHB 1071 passed out of Senate Transportation today. Sen Haugen, the Chair of the Senate committee, asked for support of the bill saying it is a good bill that gets Washington, "looking at things in a more holistic manner". The bill had bipartisan support with all members of the committee voting for the bill except Sen. Erickson (42nd). Now the bill will wait in the Rules committee until it is ready for full Senate action.

TCC at FROM HERE TO THERE: Discussions on Transportation in Your Neighborhood

2011-03-28T14:05:00.000-07:00

Seattle City Council is co-hosting two community discussions with Pacific Science Center and Streets For All Seattle. These discussions are part of a series of events that gather community input on different aspects of the City Council’s priority issue of carbon neutrality.

Transportation Choices Coalition and Cascade Bicycle Club, among other organizations, will be on hand to give information and answer questions on your way in to hear the panelists before 6:30pm on both nights. Please stop by to say hello!

While these events are free, remember to RSVP by calling (206) 443-2896 or visiting pacificsciencecenter.org/community-science-forums.

Tuesday, March 29, 6-8:30 p.m. – Lake City

Meadowbrook Community Center
10517 35th Avenue NE, Seattle

Featured Speakers:
• Ref Lindmark, King County Metro Transit
• Kari Watkins, OneBusAway & UW Civil Engineering
• Notable community representative

Tuesday, April 12, 6–8:30 p.m. – Central District

Seattle Vocational Institute
2120 S. Jackson St., Seattle

Featured Speakers:
• Mark Hallenbeck, Director of the Washington State
Transportation Center at UW (TRAC)
• Jennifer Wieland, Seattle Dept. of Transportation
• Transit blogger Carla Saulter, a.k.a. “Bus Chick”

More information can also be found on the event flier.

Seattle Transit Communities: Seattle Planning Commission March 10th Meeting Report

2011-03-25T14:16:00.000-07:00

On March 10 at City Hall, the Seattle Planning Commission presented and discussed its Seattle Transit Communities report, released last November. The commission outlined their vision for walkable, livable, transit-accessible communities and the steps they suggest to achieve this. They emphasized that their report details how to create transit communities rather than the best way to implement transit across the region. The report identifies 41 different transit destinations, categorizes them by four different typologies, and prioritizes 14 communities that have the highest need and readiness for transformation.

A discussion followed the presentation, offering a chance for the audience, which was fairly large, to ask questions. The commission mentioned the decline of the hub-and-spoke model of transit, with households needing access to more destinations, especially dual-income households. They noted that Seattle is one of the fastest growing cities outside the sunbelt and that this growth would be best managed with increased density. They also emphasized that residential density in mixed-use neighborhoods is crucial for businesses to flourish. The commission expressed the need to plan ahead for upcoming transit development. They pointed out that Roosevelt is already trying to sell some land to potential retailers in preparation for the opening of their light rail stop in the 2020.

However, a few Roosevelt residents attended the meeting and expressed dissatisfaction with not being consulted during the planning process thus far. Residents were concerned that they had spent lots of money on their high school, intending it to be a historic anchor to their community, and they feel they have been ignored. Specifically, Roosevelt High School was intended to be the tallest building in the neighborhood, but the Roosevelt Design Group has proposed building a 12-story unit near the future station, which would conflict with Roosevelt’s neighborhood plan. One resident insisted, “We are a community, not a quarter-mile circle.”

The commission responded first by emphasizing that they do not have authority over development, but they have been encouraging the city to change its approach to development. They also said they have strived to build their plan around existing plans and buildings and are eager to listen to Roosevelt residents and to work with them on this plan. They encouraged everyone to read the entire report and reminded residents that they have years to discuss their concerns before development actually begins. Finally, the commission emphasized that community development is very complicated, but they are confident they can reach an acceptable solution for everyone.