Cascadia Report

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  • Seattle viaduct debate goes national

    The Seattle-based online environmental magazine Grist is running a short series on why the debate over how to replace the viaduct freeway is a national issue. My post on their blog mentioned there’s a disconnect between two Seattle ideas: building a new highway (even in a tunnel) and trying to curb emissions linked to climate change.

    Here’s the jist from another post on the blog:

    In some sense this is a local decision, of course. But in an age of climate change, such decisions are never purely local. Every transportation choice made by a big U.S. city will either lock in or avoid hundreds of thousands of tons of GHG emissions over the coming decades. What governs the choice?

  • New Vancouver terminus could boost traffic

    Moving the terminus of Seattle-to-Vancouver trains to Surrey would boost tourism and make adding to the timetable more feasible, according to a report in a Canadian paper.

  • Vancouver transit planning may go regional

    A package of reforms could make Vancouver’s transportation planning even more regional.

    Under a new plan, the elected 12-member board of directors of TransLink — which already leads planning for the metro area — would be replaced by a three-tiered system of appointed and elected leaders. The area governed by the agency would expand, reaching from Pemberton to Hope.

    The proposal apes ideas under consideration for the Seattle area,where at least six agencies control transportation. Sound Transit, the most visible, has an 18-member board made of 17 elected officials from the region and the state transportation secretary. None is directly accountable for transportation issues across the entire region.

    The revamped Vancouver agency would have greater power to direct development around transit infrastructure and hopefully more efficiently manage the growing population. Critics question the accountability and funding mechanisms. But the key lesson is that politically fractious metropolitan areas need a regional government that can make regional decisions.

  • Small steps toward climate, housing goals

    Seatle Mayor Greg Nickels called for curbing climate change and adding affordable housing during his State of the City speech this week. But his policies are only small steps in that direction.

    Nickels wants a six-lane tunnel to replace the viaduct, which would maintain vehicle capacity without adding transit or incentivizing fewer car trips in the city. Meanwhile his administration has so far shied away from challenging Seattle’s restrictive zoning, which sets aside more than two-thirds of land for single-family homes. Limiting supply drives up costs so that workers have to live far from their jobs.

    To be sure, Nickels has made some progress by promoting a package of bus improvements, building the beginning of a streetcar system and encouraging dense development downtown. The problem is that those moves aren’t bold enough to bring the benefits that would convince naysayers. Frustration with the city will grow without a fundamental commitment to transit and more efficient development.

  • Union disputes need for more tech workers

    Bill Gates told the U.S. Senate Wednesday that restrictions on the number of skilled foreign workers allowed into the country on H1-B visas are hindering innovation. The cap should be raised from 65,000 a year to maybe 300,000, he argued.

    Such a move would keep wages down and some skilled workers here unemployed, the largest union representing tech workers responded. WashTech makes the same case every time someone proposes steps to expand the skilled workforce, either through better education or immigration reforms. Brier Dudley links to the union and has more on the issue on his blog.

  • New trains may get a step closer to Whistler

    Plans for expanded train service between Seattle and Vancouver might be the first step toward extending the corridor north.

    train inches into stationRelocating the current terminus from downtown Vancouver a few miles southeast to Surrey would be a start. The change would eliminate the need to rebuild a bridge, cut the total travel time to Seattle and save more people in the metropolitan area a trip downtown to board, according to a local newspaper report Tuesday. SkyTrain would still provide a link to downtown.

    Most importantly, serving more people in the area would build public support for trains. That’s critical since funding for improvements would come from Canada. The new station could spur transit-oriented development in the area and eventually boost ridership from the Vancouver-area by 7 percent, assuming five trains a day to Seattle, according to a report by the Washington transportation department (it’s in Appendix E).

    British Columbia has studied options to implement train service to Whistler that’s competitive with driving. Though the cost would be high, it could become realistic as the financial and time cost of driving rises. The Washington study bases projections for future ridership between Seattle and Vancouver on a series of projected fares and similar calculations of return on investment could be made further north.

  • Start over on rail corridor deal

    At least one person with authority over the proposed land swap involving an Eastside rail corridor is opposing it. King County Councilman Larry Phillips says the deal would shortchange county taxpayers for Boeing Field.

    More importantly, he calls for a new deal that would explicitly spell out plans for high-capacity transit through the corridor:

    Preserving the rail corridor that Burlington Northern Santa Fe wants to abandon is imperative. The corridor is a regional transportation connection that crosses two counties and eight cities, and is of statewide and federal significance. A study undertaken by the Puget Sound Regional Council envisions the ultimate configuration of the corridor as a recreational trail alongside a high-capacity transit corridor.

    I wholeheartedly support co-location of rail and a trail in this corridor, yet the current proposal leaves that vision uncertain and unfunded. What asset will King County need to give away to pay for rail transit in the corridor? Harborview Hospital? Marymoor Park?

  • Seattle urged to cast blank ballots on viaduct

    Seattle residents should return blank ballots in the ongoing mail-only election on how to replace the viaduct freeway, according to an op-ed article in the Seattle Times today by the Municipal League of King County. (Note: I’m a trustee of the league.)

    My personal preference is to vote “no” on both options because neither does the job. Yet returning a blank ballot is a way for voters to express their disgust with the political process that got us to these poor choices. Blank ballots still get counted though defaced ones are discarded.

    It’s worth then sending an email to the city council, mayor, governor and House Speaker Frank Chopp demanding a real solution — not a quick fix that will scar the city for generations. How about a combination of improved transit and surface streets to accommodate people and freight at lower overall cost?

  • Support in B.C. key to regional transport

    It’s easy to get carried away with dreams of improved train service across Cascadia. The latest example: the plans to add another daily train between Seattle and Vancouver.

    One key to making these transportation dreams come true is political will in British Columbia. Before any talk of things like Vancouver and Seattle jointly hosting World Cups, fans of regional integration will need to pry funding from B.C.’s Liberal-party government — which has shown so little interest in investing in public facilities like trains. In multiple reports last week the B.C. transportation ministry spokesman explained that the latest deal is simply to add a single track in Delta, B.C. Clearly it’s only a start.

    Yet that’s the true significance of the second-train plans, which will make travel more convenient for Vancouver residents. Hopefully this small project will build public support for the investment and the government will follow.

  • How to save the mix of residents downtown

    Cascadia’s cities have made housing unaffordable downtown over the years by cleaning up areas of old buildings. Unless they create incentives to boost the supply of housing, they will destroy the mix of people that makes being in cities desirable.

    Substitute any city for “Portland” in this passage and it still works:

    Portland’s vaunted livability attracts people with money. But let’s not end up like San Francisco, where dot-com money took over the city, driving the middle class to the suburbs and the poor to the streets.

    The Oregonian article addresses laws to maintain affordability. Even more important is investing in transportation to relieve the costly burden of car ownership (insurance, gas, payments and parking) and make privately funded dense housing more attractive. Then allowing taller units near transit and requiring smarter development will increase supply and eventually cut the price of housing.