Speaking of the 520 Bridge and Tolls... Come to our Two Friday Forums in Feb.

Speaking of 520 Publicola picked up on the King 5 poll today.

I also failed to mention in my blog post yesterday that our Friday Forums next Month and Seattle and Bellevue will be all about 520 design and tolling, so make sure to join us for February's Friday Forums!

FEBRUARY FRIDAY FORUM: 520 Design and Tolling Update

For the month of February we will be having two Friday Forums, one in Seattle and one in Bellevue.  The topic of this month’s forum is State Route 520 and it will be your opportunity to get a comprehensive update on the tolling and design plans around the 520 project.  Don't forget tolling will begin on the 520 bridge this Spring!  Please join us as we host Washington State Department of Transportation staff for an interactive discussion on State Route 520 in Bellevue and Seattle!

WHAT: 520 Design and Tolling (Seattle Forum)
WHEN: Friday February 4th, 12:00 -1:30 pm
WHERE: Seattle-King County Public Health - Chinook Building, Room 121, 401 Fifth Ave.,Seattle

WHAT: 520 Design and Tolling (Bellevue Forum)
WHEN: Friday February 11th, 12:00 -1:30 pm
WHERE: Parametrix Bellevue, Conference Center on the Ground Floor, 411 108th Ave NE, Bellevue

As always, feel free to bring your lunch!

The Seattle Presenters Will Be:

Kerry Ruth, SR 520, I-5 to Medina Project Engineering Manager

 Janet Matkin,WSDOT Toll Division Communications Manager

Bellevue Presenters Will Be:

 Janet Matkin,WSDOT Toll Division Communications Manager

Daniel Babuca, SR 520, Eastside Transit & HOV Project Design Engineering Manager

Breaking News: Amtrak Cascades Now Equiped With Wifi!

Amtrak Cascades and WSDOT just announced that Wi-Fi on Amtrak Cascades has arrived!  This much anticipated event is great news for business and pleasure travelers taking Amtrak Cascades between Eugene and Vancouver B.C.

This is great news and timing with two new round trips between Seattle and Portland coming online in the next few years.  So enjoy your new found Wi-Fi on the train and you can e-mail your way all the way to Portland!

Here is the information:

Amtrak Cascades® now connects you to more than your destination. Our customers asked for Wi-Fi service, and we answered by equipping every Amtrak Cascades train from Vancouver, B.C. to Eugene, Oregon with FREE wireless Internet service. Now you can stay connected to the office, e-mail, entertainment, and anywhere else the Internet takes you along your route. Just remember to pack your laptop, smartphone, and other portable Wi-Fi-enabled devices the next time you travel. Hop aboard, hop online, and enjoy the journey.

King 5 Releases Poll on What People Will Do When Tolls on 520 Arrive

King 5 News has released a survey results of 500 participants regards how they will react to tolls on 520.

Here are the highlights:

—Use of 520: 54% say they will try to avoid 520 all together once tolls are imposed.  25% say, they will probably reduce their use of 520.
—Alternate routes:  75% say they’d consider an alternate route.  So what would that be?  19% say they’d go around the north end, 71% say they’d use I-90.
—Effort to avoid a toll:  We asked how much time people would be willing to spend to avoid a toll.  10% say, five minutes or less.  But 36% say they’d invest an extra 5-10 minutes to avoid a toll.  And 32% say, they’d be willing to make a 10-15 minute detour.  14% say, they’d be willing to drive more than 15 minutes longer.
—Public transportation:  18% say they’d be more likely to use transit.  17% say they’d be more likely to carpool.
—Major life changes:  13% say they’d actually consider moving.  16% say they or someone in their family would consider changing jobs to avoid the toll.

I find this polling information very interesting.  A few observations:

1. Diversion of traffic onto I-90 is going to be a very real issue very quickly.  I predict that within the first year of tolling 520 there will be active discussions about tolling I-90 as well due to the very large traffic diversion that takes place with 520 tolls starting (not to mention 520's incomplete financing plan).
2. In good news, transit use and carpooling is predicted to see a strong surge once tolling starts.  Sound Transit bus routes between downtown Seattle and Microsoft are already overcapacity during the peak times.  There is going to be demand for more transit service in the corridor, not less.
3. If metro doesn't secure additional funding options from the legislature there likely will be cutbacks of metro service on 520 in the next few years making the demand versus service imbalance worse.
4. Senator Haugen, chair of Senate Transportation, and a host of Republicans dropped a bill (Senate Bill 5416)  yesterday that would prohibit all tolling revenue ever collected in Washington to go towards transit service in the tolled corridor.  If this bill passed (or Tim Eyman's proposed initiative that does the same thing passes) a small portion of tolling revenue could never be used to help meet the drastically increased demand for transit the tolled corridors.

Emergency Transit Funding Bill Dropped in the House

Publicola and the Seattle Transit Blog broke the news about Rep. Marko Liias' congestion relief emergency transit funding bill that he has introduced to the House Transportation Committee.

The bill is similar to previous efforts for emergency transit funding.  It is a $30 temporary vehicle license fee that can be collected until 2013 and can be collected only for King County Metro, Community Transit (in Snohomish County), and Pierce Transit.

The Bill is titled House Bill 1536 and it is has an impressive list of co-sponsors including Republican Mike Armstrong (the ranking minority member on House Transportation), House Transportation Chair Judy Clibborn.

This legislation is a top priority for Transportation Choices Coalition this year.  With Community Transit already cutting all of Sunday service and Metro Transit facing draconian cuts, temporary relief to save transit service is long overdue.  We'll keep you informed on the blog on what's going on around this legislation and make sure to stay tuned to Carrie's weekly updates on Legislative Session for the scoop.

Most importantly, if you care about transit service and you care about this legislation please SIGN UP for Transportation Advocacy Day on Feb. 10th where this bill will be one of our three priorities.

“People here know good transit options benefit the whole community, not just those on the train or bus,” said Liias, D-Edmonds.  “While the economy struggles, more people are choosing to save money by using transit, making this exactly the wrong time to stand idly by while massive cuts are made.”

Next Week In Olympia- Week 3

The House and Senate Transportation committees have a lot of new members. Many of the new members are not just new to transportation issues, but new to the legislature as well. The calendars for the first few weeks of session in both of these committees have been filled with worksessions, which continues this week. On Thursday, all of the new members in House Transportation will enjoy a worksession about public transportation. They will hear how plummeting local sales tax revenues have left transit agencies with insufficient funding, forcing service cuts amid record ridership. The committee will hear how the demand for transit by an aging population is growing rapidly, and by 2030 some Washington Counties will have 40% of there population over 65 years old. They will hear about the need for short term transit funding that fills the funding gap until a long-term revenue package comes to fruition. Here is more about the week ahead.

Monday, January 24, 2011

3:30 pm House Transportation
House Hearing Rm B
Work Session:

1. Introduction to Public-Private Partnerships and Washington State's Program.
2. Public-Private Partnership Case Studies from around the United States and Canada.
3. Update on Transportation Mega-Projects, WSDOT.

3:30 pm Senate Transportation
Senate Hearing Rm 1
Public Hearing:

1. SB 5205 <http://apps.leg.wa.gov/billinfo/summary.aspx?year=2011&bill=5205> - Concerning high capacity transportation system plan components and review.

TCC has concerns with this bill. Some rapid bus systems may be appropriate for the planning requirements in this statute. We will work to clarify these circumstances.

2. SB 5252 <http://apps.leg.wa.gov/billinfo/summary.aspx?year=2011&bill=5252> - Streamlining the process applicable to reducing speed limits on state highways.

Tuesday, January 25, 2011

3:30 pm House Transportation
House Hearing Rm B

Public Hearing:
1. HB 1217 <http://apps.leg.wa.gov/billinfo/summary.aspx?year=2011&bill=1217> - Authorizing local authorities to establish maximum speed limits on certain nonarterial highways.

3:30 pm Senate Transportation
Senate Hearing Rm 1
Work Session:

1. Aviation Division, Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT).
2. Introduction to Washington ports, Washington Public Ports Association.

Public Hearing:

1. SB 5131 <http://apps.leg.wa.gov/billinfo/summary.aspx?year=2011&bill=5131> - Expanding certain public facilities eligible to be credited against the imposition of impact fees.

TCC supports this bill.

Wednesday, January 26, 2011

3:30 pm House Transportation
House Hearing Rm B

Work Session:

1. Freight System: Trade and goods movement through Washington State.
2. Freight Mobility Strategic Investment Board, introduction and update.

3:30 pm Senate Transportation
Senate Hearing Rm 1
Public Hearing:

1. SB 5130 <http://apps.leg.wa.gov/billinfo/summary.aspx?year=2011&bill=5130> - Prohibiting commercial motor vehicles in express lanes during peak hours.


Thursday, January 27, 2011

3:30 pm House Transportation
House Hearing Rm B
Work Session:

1. Snoqualmie Pass Project briefing.
2. State Route 167/509 Tolling Studies.

3:30 pm Senate Transportation
Senate Hearing Rm 1

Work Session: Introduction to public transportation:

a. 2010 Statewide Blueprint for Public Transportation.
b. Public Transportation Division, WSDOT.
c. Washington Transit Association.
d. King County Metro-2010 task force.
e. Special needs transportation.
f. Commute Trip Reduction Board.

Friday, January 28, 2011

8:00 am Local Government
House Hearing Rm E

Work Session: The William D. Ruckelshaus Center - Summary and update information from the Agriculture and Critical Areas Project.

The Bus Ad versus no Ad Debate Flares in Whatcom County

The Bellingham Herald Transportation Blog reports that the Whatcom Transportation Authority (WTA) Board rejected a contract that would have increased the agencies' ad revenues from $35,000 to $90,000.  A few years ago a similar debate flared up in King County over the prolific expansion of their bus wrapping program.  While transit agencies only get a small fraction of their budgets from advertising, it seems to me that any thing that can keep buses running on the streets during this funding crisis is a good thing.  I don't know about you, but as a transit rider I'd rather have a bus wrapped in ads than no bus at all.

North Sounder Service Update

With all of the rain recently there have been a lot of service disruptions to the North Sounder line due to mudslides on the narrow track.  Here is the most recent update from Sound Transit:

On Thursday afternoon, January 20, 2011 Sounder Northline service will operate between Seattle, Edmonds and Mukilteo.   Back-up bus service will continue between Everett Station and Seattle. 

Full service will resume on Friday morning, January 21, 2011 if no additional slides occur. 

EVENING SERVICE – Thursday 1/20: Seattle - Edmonds:  Operating normal Sounder schedule. Seattle - Mukilteo:  Operating normal Sounder schedule. Seattle - Everett:  Direct express bus service will depart 4th Ave S & S Jackson St at 4:05 p.m., 4:33 p.m., 5:05 p.m., and 5:35 p.m. Riders may also board regularly scheduled ST Express Route 510 at 4th Ave S and S Jackson St. * Please monitor www.soundtransit.org for updates to Sounder Northline service prior to the morning commute on Friday, January 21, 2011.  * Southline Sounder service between Seattle and Tacoma is not affected and will run as scheduled.