Cascadia Report

Category: Cascadia not cities

  • Why everybody’s building transit

    As big votes on whether to fund more transit in the Seattle area loom this fall, consider this: It seems everybody else is doing it.

    Planners in San Francisco want to give people alternatives to driving, including more train, ferry and bus service. Even Vancouver, Wash., may add streetcars. Tacoma already said it’s looking at a citywide streetcar system.

    This kind of improvements should be made in tandem with gradually adding tolls on existing roads to encourage more efficient behavior. As long as there are alternatives, tolls won’t penalize people with less income. Gradually changing behavior is part of the solution to gridlock.

    The San Francisco Chronicle quotes the head of that area’s transit planning agency this way: “There’s no one silver bullet in dealing with congestion.”

  • The best news in years: Feds to fund tolls

    Seattle just got its best transportation-related news in years. Now state policy makers must act.

    Seattle beat more than 20 metro areas competing for a federal grant to fund innovative solutions to traffic gridlock. Being named one of the five recipients means money to start tolling on 520, new buses, improvements to park and rides and better ferry service on Puget Sound.

    The grant requires King County to have tolling on 520 in place by 2009 or it will lose almost all of the $139 million. Of course tolls should be phased in immediately in order to gradually build the incentive for lifestyle changes required to keep the region moving. (And don’t forget providing alternatives.)

    Though officials reportedly welcomed the news, the state legislature still has to approve the concept of tolling on 520. But instead of explaining what’s at stake, today’s Seattle Times oddly emphasizes the “irritated motorists” who won’t want to pay to cross the bridge and even quotes a critic of congestion pricing. Another quote says the federal grant means this fall’s ballot measures to fund transit and road improvements shouldn’t pass.

    The fact is that people will adjust, as we saw just this week on I-5. The region needs major transportation investments and starting tolling asap is a key step to making them wisely.

  • What to do about the Sonics

    It’s a shame that the Sonics appear destined to leave Seattle after their stadium lease expires. So what to do?

    Considering the benefit of having pro sports (like great theater, music, restaurants, etc.), it makes sense for some public investment in a stadium. But any deal should be off if the owners are happy to leave this prosperous area for a smaller market.

    Instead, this column suggests we treat them with Uptight Seattle politeness:

    You know what I’m talking about. We’ve got to fight back with our strength. Let’s give these oily Okies a three-year blast of the Seattle Freeze.

    For you fans, that means: Be polite but aloof. If invited to a Sonics game, say you were thinking of going hiking. Don’t really go hiking. Don’t go to the game either. Be maddeningly noncommittal.

    For civic leaders, if you run into an Oklahoma oilman, smile without showing any teeth. Say “let’s get together sometime.” Don’t return calls.

    If they make demands, appoint a blue-ribbon commission. If they get impatient, talk earnestly about the process. Use the terms “inclusivity” and “community stakeholders.”

  • Road closes and life goes on

    For months, Seattle-area residents have been warned that the partial closure of northbound I-5 leading to downtown would result in an apocalyptic traffic jam stretching all the way to Tacoma. Instead commuters taught the region a lesson.

    seattle sounder commuter train; trainweb.orgWhat happened? As the P-I put it, “looks like a little planning goes a long way.” People adjusted by finding alternate routes, taking transit or working remotely. Traffic sailed by on the two open lanes of I-5, buses and the Sounder trains (including an extra run added for the 19-day closure) were at full capacity. Apparently alternate roads were busy but far from gridlocked.

    The clear takeaway is that people are more flexible than they think. In this case, there is a strong incentive (not wasting hours in traffic) to find alternatives. It’s exactly what would happen if the viaduct freeway were replaced with a combination of better transit and a more efficient network of surface streets. It’s exactly what would happen if there were tolls based on the amount of congestion on the roads. As long as there are effective alternatives (like far more transit, better carpool lanes) people will take them.

  • Questions about port rivalry

    News that one of Seattle’s oldest port customers is moving to Tacoma brought a variety of reactions. And unanswered questions.

    The Port of Seattle seemed alarmed, saying Tacoma’s wooing of NYK Line put the relationship between the ports at risk. Today Bill Virgin notes that, if they can’t cooperate, maybe Tacoma should take over Seattle’s port.

    A few remaining questions:

    — If NYK Line (or another company) wants to operate its own piers, why does Seattle keep its arrangement with operator SSA?

    — What does the deal cost Tacoma? Reportedly the project is $300 million, which may include building costs for any port tenant. What will the NYK arrangement cost taxpayers?

    — What’s the competitive advantage of Tacoma (or Seattle) versus other ports along the West Coast? Seattle has been losing business and Tacoma’s recent gain is Seattle’s futher loss. Both will have to answer that question to beat regional rivals.

    I’d like to see the region’s mainstream media tackle those questions next.

  • Tacoma’s parking plans lead region

    Tacoma may set an example for other Cascadia cities with a comprehensive parking plan that includes provisions for more transit and bicycle facilities.

    Best of all is talk of combining market forces and public investment to make the city work better. Here’s how the city manager put it:

    When it comes to parking, “nobody wants to become Seattle,” Anderson said. “Portland is the one that’s held up as pretty good, but we’d like to be better than Portland.”

    Among the recommendations:

    — Make the city’s parking system self-supporting with revenue from pay stations and garages. Use cost to regulate demand and setting parking prices at a level that maintains a 15 percent vacancy rate. (Brilliant! Why not do it with meters around the clock?)

    — Build a citywide streetcar system that connects downtown with other neighborhoods.

    — Build a citywide system for bikes and pedestrians using trails and street rights-of-way.

  • Running a global business from Cascadia

    Getty Images is moving some of its headquarters functions from Seattle to New York City, reportedly because it’s easier to do some international business there.

    It begs the question: Is operating a global business from the Northwest a hardship? Nintendo plans to move. Six years ago, the departure of Boeing’s headquarters was blamed partly on the difficulty of doing business from Seattle.

    Yes, global firms like Microsoft, Weyerhaueuser, Starbucks and Paccar somehow muddle through. But maybe there’s a wake-up call for the region in the latest moves.

  • Even Idaho may move on transit

    Even the governor of Idaho is identifying steps that can be taken now to improve traffic congestion.

    The Idaho Statesman reports that the anti-tax Republican plans to boost the number of employees who telecommute and to do more to eliminate daily trips. Unfortunately there’s little talk of changing the car-dependent layout of towns that inevitably brings congestion.

    In addition to managing demand for roads, it seems clear that infrastructure is needed to move more people. Luckily the community is on board with the idea of improving Boise’s transit system, at least according to this report.

    Meanwhile, back in Seattle, there’s a new ad campaign seeking to convince voters that doing nothing is a better strategy. Let’s hope the region doesn’t miss its latest opportunity.

  • Seattle-area candidate ratings released

    There are several mild surprises in the Municipal League’s ratings of candidates for 26 races in the Seattle area.

    The annual nonpartisan ratings, released Tuesday, are based on four criteria: Knowledge, Involvement, Effectiveness and Character. They assess each candidate’s potential to be effective in office and ability to serve the community. They don’t consider political affiliations or stands on particular issues.

    I’m a trustee of the League so I’ll just pass on the news, including a few upsets:

    — At the Port of Seattle, challengers Jack Block Jr. and Gael Tarleton got Outstanding ratings while incumbent Bob Edwards was rated Good. Commissioner Alec Fisken got an Outstanding while challenger William Bryant got a Very Good.

    — For Seattle City Council position 1, incumbent Jean Godden got a Good, the same as challenger Joe Swaja. For position 7, challenger Tim Burgess got an Outstanding while incumbent David Della got a Very Good.

    The rest of the results and complete definitions of the ratings are posted here.

    This year’s ratings are the result of the work of more than 60 citizens who studied the public record, reviewed candidate questionnaires, checked references and conducted live interviews with the candidates. (As a League trustee, I was one of the people who reviewed the ratings.)

  • Solving Seattle’s housing crunch

    Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels wants to give more tax breaks to developers to encourage them to build moderately priced housing. But there are better ways to make housing affordable.

    The mayor’s plan would expand tax breaks for developers who build homes for people who earn middle-income wages. That’s a well-intentioned step to meet a legitimate need.

    Instead the city would be better off encouraging significantly larger buildings, especially along transit corridors. Why not allow 25-story condos in places where there’s good infrastructure and they don’t overwhelm neighbors? How about along I-5 near the UW, on major corners of Capitol Hill and next to the light rail station in the Rainier Valley? On this issue, even Federal Way is ahead of Seattle.

    Other critical steps are improving in-city transit to serve those buildings and then making neighbohoods more walkable. Expand the streetcar and bus system (and replace the Viaduct with busways) so people can more easily survive without a car. If a middle-class family of four could survive with one car or no car, suddenly Seattle would be a lot more affordable.

    It won’t be easy to build support for these changes, even though more housing supply would lower prices for middle-income and poorer residents. The city would need to guarantee good design, which hasn’t been the case with cookie-cutter townhomes overtaking some neighborhoods.

    What’s clear is that cutting property taxes starves the city of resources to provide services like parks, police and transit. Even so it’s far from clear that extra tax credits would be enough to lure more development.