Cascadia Report

Category: Seattle

  • Getting representatives who match the region

    There’s a mismatch between the Seattle area’s dependence on global commerce and its political system. Jim Vesely made that point well in his Sunday column in The Seattle Times:

    The city is run by representatives of two major and influential cohorts: neighborhoods and highly specialized interest groups. That may fit a less-competitive era, but if this region is going to need every brain and every molecule of stamina, it must have a much higher caliber of contestants for public office.

    Those candidates would be knowledgeable on the Shanghai school methods, on the bridging of both space and dollars for transportation, on the depth of connections between here and Chile or China. Only a few are.

    That’s why whenever council members venture away from the narrow into the broad currents of national or state policies — or even pro sports — they appear woefully parochial, despite representing one of the most-dynamic and exuberant city-states on the planet.

    So what’s the recipe for change? The fact is that voters select representatives who most clearly speak to their interests — and in Seattle that’s usually neighborhood issues. By definition, candidates speak about those issues to the media. Instead of bemoaning the lack of ideas, I’d like to see The Seattle Times promote wider perspectives.

    For starters, the news pages should examine the benefits of Gov. Gregoire’s trade-promotion efforts and her groundbreaking meetings with British Columbia’s premier. Why not demand that representatives learn from the rest of the world on issues like transportation? At least ask leaders what they learned about transportation from their recent trip to Japan.

    Even the opinion pages could help. It would be fascinating to hear the questions that Vesely asked and the candidates’ responses. Why not post those online?

  • Shift freight to rail, cut traffic congestion

    Shifting freight traffic to rails would cut congestion and pollution, according to a study by Demographia:

    In the Seattle area alone, shifting 25 percent of freight from trucks to trains by 2025 would mean 43 fewer hours in commuting time every year, compared with what is likely to occur otherwise. That same shift also would decrease air-pollutant emissions in the Seattle area by as much as 11,635 tons and save thousands of gallons of fuel.

    The trick, of course, is making the change. Improving and expanding the Eastside rail line and also adding rail capacity throughout the Vancouver-to-Portland corridor could handle the traffic. Curbing the subsidy for cars and trucks on freeways would make the shift financially sensible.

  • A proposal to get 520 fixes moving now

    State transportation planners spent lots of time this week explaining long-term plans for fixing 520 between Seattle and the Eastside.

    But what about easing the commute now?

    At an open house at Bellevue High School Tuesday night, there were detailed displays about plans for a new six-lane bridge, including features like bike lanes and steps to treat runoff water and use new quieter cement. Assuming passage of the transportation tax package this fall, the new bridge would be open for traffic … in 2018.

    That distant date explains why commuters are so unenthused. Why give up a sunny evening to discuss a project that seems like it will never happen? No one can say planners haven’t been inclusive, with open houses and hearings ad nauseum. (On Tuesday DOT staff sometimes outnumbered the public.) What’s missing is anything to help now or build enthusiasm for change.

    So here’s an idea: Immediately move 520’s westbound HOV lane to the left side from Redmond to Seattle. Instead of being stopped by merging traffic in the right-hand lane, buses and three-person carpools could speed through the corridor. Forcing cars with one passenger to merge from two lanes into one before crossing the bridge would be a dramatic incentive to take transit or carpool.

    The change could be made almost overnight and would boost capacity. Demand for buses would soar and suddenly people would be willing to carpool, even if it meant sharing rides with (gasp!) strangers. If drivers really wanted more lanes they would be incented to support funding a new bridge.

    As it stands, taking the bus usually isn’t an appealing option and there’s plenty of opposition to the 520 replacement project. One protester at the Bellevue event this week handed out flyers urging a vote against this fall’s tax plan because he wants politicians to craft a better one someday. Instead of risking that kind of delay — and keeping us all stuck for years — transportation leaders should make relatively small changes necessary to improve movement now.

  • We’re all paying for your milk

    Market-bending crop subsidies only prop up the Midwest, right? Think again.

    washington state farm; sharpandhatley.comFarms in Washington got $266 million in federal subsidies from 2003 to 2005, while Oregon got $99 million, according to a national database by the Environmental Working Group. Wheat and barley got the most help in Washington, while dairy got $1.3 million in King County alone.

    Some subsidies are designed for worthwhile goals, such promoting conservation. But most of those objectives could be met with zoning or smart economic development alternatives. The current system is costly and wasteful. Subsidies make a mockery of America’s lip service to “free trade” by distorting markets, especially impacting developing countries that depend on agriculture. And they are even linked to obesity.

    The database addresses the 2002 Farm Bill, not windfalls like, for example, tariffs and forest road building to help the timber industry. The database is searchable by state, county, congressional district and program.

  • Seattle: A big city with a lake down its middle

    New population data show Seattle has a shrinking share of the region’s population. That’s unless you consider the metropolitan region as a single big city facing the same regional challenges. Think of Seattle as a city with 22-mile-long Lake Washington running through its middle.

    According to state figures released today, Seattle city grew 1.8 percent during the last year to 586,200, while King County overall grew 1.4 percent to 1,861,300. This story dives into reasons behind the trend.

    Now the city of Seattle is less than one-third (31.4 percent) of the county’s population — and a smaller share (14.7 percent) if you consider the metropolitan population of roughly 4 million. The city was more than 78 percent of the county total in 1930 and 46 percent in 1970.

    You could argue this trend means the city of Seattle should be starved of infrastructure dollars in favor of suburban roads and other projects. But people are drawn to a broadly defined “Seattle” rather than the suburbs, just as they’re drawn to “Vancouver” instead of Richmond or Surrey (which are booming).

    Projects simply need to serve a wider area than ever. It’s clear that the area needs a variety of solutions, matching development with transportation. the Seattle area needs a system of rail along existing and future high-density corridors and a network of bus and carpool lanes connecting other areas. Incentives should promote the most efficient use of that regional infrastructure.

  • FEEDBACK on Why Seattle’s buses don’t work

    This account of a recent bus commute drew a lot of feedback. Two emails came from Rep. Judy Clibborn, the chair of the state House Transportation Committee.

    She explained that she’s arranging to ride through the 520 corridor with the Department of Transportation to see what can be changed. Yet there will be opposition to any tinkering with the status quo:

    I agree that we have some issues and will be working to get some of that merger smoothed out before we reach the new bridge and later implementation of tolls etc. I am interested in what comes out of the Urban Partnership regarding some of what you mentioned but I am also aware of the political reality of what we can do without support from the citizens. It will take a lot of education.

    For info on the partnership, see the link for the Puget Sound Regional Council.

  • Landlord wants a Rockefeller Center in Seattle

    Friday’s Wall Street Journal has an interesting update on plans to dramatically redevelop a large swath of land near downtown Seattle, an opportunity to create “something akin to Rockefeller Center,” according to the landlord.

    Clise Properties has long had big ideas for its 13 acres in the so-called Denny Triangle, which was rezoned for tall buildings last year. Coverage of those plans includes this Seattle Times piece from over a year ago.

    The Journal’s story raises the question of whether Clise waited too long to sell the property, with long-term interest rates now at five-year highs. Scion Al Clise is quoted as saying he may take the land back off the market if he doesn’t get a lucrative enough offer. He also says he’s open to uses such as green space and cultural facilities, in addition to the usual office towers and expensive condos.

    UPDATE: Both Seattle dailies posted stories on the huge redevelopment plan by late Friday morning, citing press releases or statements from Clise. Both seem to assume that a major project is inevitable. Neither credited the Journal.

  • Vancouver trying to speed city buses

    Vancouver is changing the way passengers board buses in an attempt to speed service. It seems like a partial solution to some of the delays that also plague buses in Seattle.

    Passengers on select bus lines will be required to have proof of payment and will be able to board through all the doors on the bus. Critics suggest the transit agency’s real motive is the crack down on riders even as it plans yet another fare increase.

    Motives aside, this is exactly the kind of change necessary to make bus rapid transit work. Seattle should adopt similar steps as it rolls out the new bus service that taxpayers agreed to fund last fall.

  • Vancouver (but not Seattle) a world commerce center

    Don’t let clogged traffic, overpriced real estate and a lack of major businesses fool you. Vancouver is a top center of global commerce.

    So says a new study by MasterCard ranking the top 50 cities as “world centers of commerce” based on their contribution to economic activity. Vancouver ranked 28th (between Montreal and Brussels), according to the index of six characteristics. It got high ratings for legal framework, ease of doing business and economic vitality. Those outweighed poor scores for being a financial center, knowledge/info economy and being a business center.

    Seattle didn’t even make the list, which included eight other U.S. cities. Vancouver’s result comes despite the city’s steady loss of headquarters and relatively weak corporate environment. Of course, the presence of two University of British Columbia professors on the nine-member panel that set the rankings could have something to do with it.

  • Testing Seattle’s buses for a cross-lake commute

    I’d like personally to be part of the solution to Seattle’s transportation problems, by building demand for transit and curbing related pollution. So last night I tried commuting by bus from Redmond to Seattle.

    520 bridge traffic; by lightrailnow.orgWas it even close to competitive with driving? Consider the results:

    — Walking from office to bus stop. 9 mins.

    — Waiting for bus. Sound Transit buses supposedly come every 10 mins, but I missed one by about 30 seconds. 9 mins.

    — Riding the bus from Redmond to Seattle’s Montlake stop. The bus took a circuitous route through the Overlake Transit Center instead of using a freeway-ramp stop. Then the HOV lane was blocked for six of the seven miles leading to the 520 bridge because of cars trying to cross to merge or exit. 64 mins.

    — Walking from Montlake stop to home. The neighborhood bus isn’t designed to meet commuters, takes a roundabout route and stops running at 6 p.m. The other option is riding past Montlake to downtown and then backtracking by local bus to my neighborhood. I just walked, wending my way through several pedestrian-unfriendly 1960s-era intersections designed purely to move cars. 29 mins.

    — Total travel time: One hour and 41 minutes to go 12 miles.

    I’ve had blood-boiling commutes before and this one wasn’t especially bad. But it was slower than driving myself. Plus, sitting on the bus isn’t much less stressful than being alone in a car (especially if you’re in one of those comfy BMWs, Lexuses or Audis clogging the highway). There was a bit of financial benefit since my bus pass is free and I saved roughly half a gallon of gas, maybe $2 — or less than the cost of a coffee. I also feel more green, of course.

    But clearly we need more than warm feelings to move people better. Reports today that variable tolls may be introduced in 2009 is a step in the right direction but is still too distant. The replacement of the 520 bridge (if voters approve funding in November) would eventually provide HOV lanes and and eliminate the merger jams. The need for road improvements that make transit work better is a huge reason to vote for transit-and-roads plan this fall.

    Since those fixes are still years away, here are some interim ideas:

    1) Immediately move the HOV lane to center to avoid merger congestion east of the 520 bridge. The main consequence would be cutting off a single freeway bus stop just east of the bridge.

    2) Add buses in the corridor from Redmond to the densest neighborhoods in Seattle, such as Capitol Hill, the University District, Ballard and Green Lake.

    3) Begin charging a toll to cross the bridge as buses are added — not in 2009. Ideally this would be congestion priced, to incentivize taking transit.

    Without immediate changes to speed transit, it’s simply not practical to expect commuting patterns to change.