Cascadia Report

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  • Vancouver shows how not to handle buses

    Vancouver is struggling with new bus lanes because of interference from cars. It’s a good lesson for Seattle, which is about to implement bus rapid transit along five corridors.

    The congestion means that bus lanes haven’t cut travel times. But the city’s report notes an improvement: “bus lanes can raise the profile of transit on a corridor and can be a symbol of transit priority.”

    The question remains why we can’t mimic the successful Rapid Ride program in Los Angeles. If you simplify the system and provide frequent service, people will ride.

  • Americans don’t know Canada or want to visit

    Americans don’t know much about Canada and aren’t interested in visiting.

    That shocking trend is contributing to a 34 percent drop in visits to the country by Americans since 2000 and threatening a chunk of a major industry in Canada, according to a recent study. Factors the study didn’t mention include the strict border rules and the rising Canadian dollar.

    Apparently prospects aren’t likely improve either:

    Boomers and their elders, tend to have a more favorable impression of Canada than Generations X and Y, who view Canada as an average, even boring, travel prospect.

  • Portland has land and plans to expand

    It must be nice to have abundant land. Consider Portland’s plans to expand its airport in anticipation of future traffic.

    The expansion would extend a runway on existing port property, in step with its master plan. It’s a contrast to Sea-Tac, which needs to become more efficient within its current footprint.

    Portland’s isn’t the only airport facing a bonanza. Oregon is considering a package of tax benefits for rural airports around the state.

  • Lesson from Japan: Boosting airport capacity

    Most visitors to Japan are funneled through Tokyo’s Narita Airport, which is a good example of how an airport can accommodate more people without growing larger. The lesson should put to rest the idea that Seattle needs a new airport.

    train station inside Narita airport terminalFor at least its first 30 years Narita was a joke. Located about 50 miles outside Tokyo, with a single runway and too-small terminals, it was the worst major airport in Japan and fell far short of those of rival cities like Seoul, Hong Kong, and recently Bangkok, Shanghai and Kuala Lumpur. Business began going elsewhere partly because of Tokyo’s travel hassles.

    Something similar could happen in Seattle, where Sea-Tac is plagued by delays and crowding even as rival Vancouver continues to stretch. A supposed solution? Site and build a new larger airport somewhere in the Puget Sound area.

    Tokyo offers a better model. On my recent trip, I noticed again how two train lines ferry travelers directly into the terminal buildings, a second long-planned runway has been added on existing airport property and — the biggest change in the last few years — the terminals have been completely overhauled to handle more people.

    Narita is also helped by the recent major improvements at Tokyo’s huge in-city domestic airport and at airports in Osaka and Nagoya. Coordinating select flights from Paine Field and other satellite airports could complement Sea-Tac too.

    Sea-Tac’s third runway will provide extra landing slots and improvements to terminals and ground transport could boost overall capacity. Faster rail between B.C. and Oregon would relieve some stress for local travel. Combined with ground improvements at Sea-Tac, such changes could meet the region’s demand and help knit it more closely together without the distraction of a new airport.

  • Vancouver wants fewer homeless than athletes

    Vancouver is considering measures to make sure there are fewer homeless people than athletes in the city during the 2010 Olympics.

    Plans call for rent support and new housing, though the idea has been derided as too little too late since market trends could swamp any progress. An analysis can be found at TheTyee.ca.

    At first glance the idea sounds similar to Seattle’s comprehensive plan, which seeks to curb the causes of homelessness in advance and then integrate the remaining homeless people into permanent housing.

  • Finally, restoring relations with Alaska

    Amid a series of trips to build international trade relationships, Washington Gov. Chris Gregoire found time this week to visit Alaska, reportedly the first visit there by a Washington governor in more than 25 years.

    Relations have been frayed between politicians in natural resource-using Alaska and more urban Washington. But there’s this fact from the AP story: “Ninety-seven percent of Alaska’s goods pass through Washington, 70 percent through the Port of Tacoma and the rest through Seattle and private docks.”

    Regardless of politics, treating Alaska as a trading partner recognizes reality. Gregoire’s other trade trips have been to Japan, Korea, China, France, Germany, the U.K., Australia and New Zealand. Mexico comes next month.

  • Lesson from Japan: Leadership needed

    One surprise I found during my recent visit to Japan was the frequent discussion of what Nicolas Sarkozy might accomplish in France. The new president was on magazines and TV shows, and I had several conversations with Japanese who were enthusiastic for the tough reforms he seems to represent.

    The issue matters for Cascadia because, as Washington Gov. Chris Gregoire likes to put it, in a globalized economy we’re more like a small nation than a state. The economy of Cascadia is in better shape than in either Japan or France, which makes it more difficult to generate the leadership needed to fix our fundamental problems.

    The weekend I arrived, the former longtime leader of the Socialist Party — the only true opposition to hold briefly hold power in Japan in the postwar era — was on the top Sunday TV talk show discussing opposition to changing the no-military clauses in the constitution. Setting aside the specifics, what’s remarkable is that the entire political opposition seems to think that saying no is adequate policy. The comments were amazing because she said exactly the same things when I interviewed her six years ago.

    The same is true for economic leadership. Though Japan’s huge economy continues to grow and there are far more opportunities than ever before thanks to reforms, there hasn’t been nearly enough deregulation or revamping of policies. With a sclerotic opposition and lack of strong leadership, cynicism will only spread. Sarkozy came up as an example of the sort of change agent Japan needs.

    You could argue that our situation isn’t much different. In King County, the passing of Prosecutor Norm Maleng opens up opportunities for younger politicians. Someone needs to spell out a not just that globalization is an opportunity, as Gov. Gregoire has, but a vision for how this region can prosper. Today’s properity is all the more reason to develop this leadership now.

  • Thinking big about urban spaces

    Here’s an example of the kind of grand thinking that the Seattle area can’t seem to do anymore: a contest to design an urban park.

    Governors Island Preservation and Education CorporationNew York City is asking desgn firms for ideas how to configure Governors Island, a chunk of land a half mile off Manhattan. Check out the latest in last week’s New York magazine.

    Then contrast that with the process to revamp the Seattle Center to meet the current and future needs of this city. There’s a citizens’ panel hashing out ideas, which appear likely to yield a series of half steps that satisfy no one.

  • France is more efficient than Cascadia

    Here’s an interesting take on the contrast in efficiency between Cascadia and France. Guess who comes out on top?

    Consider intercity trains:

    In fact, I had a bad case of high-speed train envy after taking the TGV from Paris to Marseilles. This trip, which is about the same as going from Portland to Vancouver, British Columbia, takes about 3 hours. The Portland-to-Vancouver trip takes 7 hours on our moribund Amtrak system (and you can’t even ride the train all the way there–instead, you have to get off the train in Seattle and ride a bus to Vancouver).

    I’m not sure if all the arguments about French households being more efficient translate to the Northwest. But there’s plenty to learn on transportation. For example, Seattle is building a proto-streetcar that may one day match what Paris launched months ago.

  • The case for transit and roads

    A package of transit and road projects for the Seattle area is nearly ready for this November’s ballot. It deserves support because it’s the best compromise.

    Roadstransitmap0529071The plan approved last week extends light rail beyond the starter lines currently underway. It also fixes several road bottlenecks that would make bus transit more workable (such as along 520 and 167). True, it would expand 405 perhaps too much, but it also has money to study how to incorporate the Eastside rail corridor into the future transportation network.

    The package is barely ready but there’s already plenty of opposition. One viewpoint says I should vote against any project that doesn’t directly improve my commute. Maybe the standard of living will deterioriate so much that people will stop coming here?

    I’d argue that that point is still far in the future because, even if it deteriorates, the Puget Sound will remain a better place to live than other big cities. Instead, we should invest in transportation projects that are finally beginning to be paired with development planning. It’s not enough, but it’s a start to capturing the benefits of more people and economic activity without destroying this place.

    Financing for this transit-and-roads package remains an issue, but not in the way this Seattle Times article frames it. The true cost isn’t the debt to pay for the projects, which may still be less than perfect. It’s the crippling cost of — yet again — doing nothing.