Cascadia Report

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  • Tolls could be $10 on new 520 bridge

    Tolls on a new 520 bridge could be between $7 and $10 when it opens in 2015, according to a report released Monday. The tolls would be at the low end of that range only if a similar charge were levied on the I-90 bridge.

    Such a hefty flat toll would help defray construction costs and would certainly deter traffic. It would spur use of carpools and transit, though adequate transit options to handle the shifting demand are years away. It’s unclear if a variable pricing plan has been seriously considered.

  • Ferries hit by bias toward roads

    The price for a car and two passengers to go by ferry from Mukilteo to Whidbey Island — less than three miles — yesterday: $10.50. The cost for the 165-mile return trip on highways? Nothing.

    puget sound ferry; photo by psat.wa.govSome Washington lawmakers say this bias toward highways should change. They argue that ferry users are already paying their share, so the state should kick in more to support the ferry network. Surely the gap that makes roads seem essentially free should be narrowed.

    Fares reportedly accounted for about 74 percent of the ferry system’s operating budget last year (up from 60 petcent a few years ago) and plans call for another increase in fares. By comparison, bus fares cover 20 to 25 percent of King County Metro’s costs. Fares continue to rise across Cascadia. Meanwhile, except for a few cents a gallon in gas tax, the cost of maintaining highways isn’t reflected at all.

  • Whistler debates opening of another chain store

    Debate over whether a drug store chain should be allowed to open in Whistler Village has driven a wedge between small retailers worried about being run out of business and residents hungry for bargains. Residents are torn: a recent survey found that they want lower prices for goods but prefer local stores over national chains.

  • Tacoma lacks space for companies downtown

    Tacoma has turned down commercial tenants in its reviving downtown for lack of office space, but no one will build more until the non-existent space is leased.

    By contrast, Seattle reportedly has about 550,000 square feet of office space under construction and Bellevue has more than 1.9 million square feet under construction. Tacoma? Aside from two smallish buildings – zero. The reason, according to a local leasing agent: “Tacoma is not Bellevue. Although were just 35 miles down the road, its completely different demographics. As different as Tacoma is from Centralia.”

  • Who should pay for a better waterfront

    If replacing Seattle’s viaduct freeway with a tunnel will create a more valuable waterfront, why are taxpayers being asked to foot the bill at all?

    The state has offered to pay most of the $2.8 billion to build a new elevated freeway. It’s tempting to think that tolls and a charge on nearby property would cover the extra $1 billion or so for a tunnel. Unfortunately, several reports suggest that’s unlikely.

    Property assessments wouldn’t work because too few building sites are directly affected, according to this analysis in the Seattle P-I:

    With many parcels already built out — and protections afforded by the Pioneer Square
    Historic District — fewer than two dozen sites adjacent to the route appear likely
    candidates for redevelopment today, according to the city’s rough guess of what property
    owners might do.

    A new viaduct would be a disaster for the region that would last for a century, yet there’s no sign of regional support for more funding. Concern that the city could live without the car capacity and that the money could be better spent helps the case for a package of transit and street improvements.

    This hasn’t kept Mayor Greg Nickels from counting on a grab-bag of funding, including an assessment on land near the viaduct that supposedly would generate about $250 million — the limit without drastically eliminating future open space along the waterfront.

    Still, removing the viaduct would have economic benefits, likely spread across the region. At least two reports found benefits totaling several billion dollars. Opponents say the figures are inflated and don’t recognize that anything but a rebuild is a luxury the city can’t afford. So far there’s almost no support outside the city for having the region pay for a tunnel, even though the region would benefit.

  • Which would you sacrifice: your latte or your car?

    A poll found that people in British Columbia, by a margin of more than three to one, would rather give up their lattes than their cars to save money. The Vancouver Sun contrasts that with eastern Canada: “While Quebecers may still be sipping lattes, they are more likely to be doing that on public transportation.”

    The survey should have asked what part of their day people would like to give up. Most Cascadians would likely trade their cars for a better experience if there were an alternative. Unfortunately no city in the region will ever replicate transit in Montreal. Vancouver’s Sky Train falls far short and Seattle isn’t even close (see post below).

  • A reminder of the need for transport fixes

    It took two hours and five minutes to go the 12 miles from Redmond to Seattle on 520 Wednesday evening. Apparently a single stalled car was the culprit, making me 45 minutes late for a 6:30 appointment and providing another reminder why the region needs comprehensive transportation fixes.

    traffic on 520=I was angry at everyone. At the drivers who weave between lanes trying to save a car length. At the guy in front of me who repeatedly let cars cut. At the cop who stopped a full lane of traffic around the stalled pickup. And at myself for entertaining the thought that maybe running out of gas or having a car that stalls should be punishable with heavy fine or death.

    Of course, I’m at fault for putting myself in that position, for choosing to live in Seattle and work in Redmond. You could argue that people like me should live near work. Perhaps this area should devolve into a medieval state where we rarely travel more than a few miles.

    Incentives to shape behavior should be part of the answer. Yet our city would fragment if traffic meant people in one corner hardly mixed with those in another, a la Jakarta or Delhi. That’s why we need a combination of steps to keep the area moving and make a more sustainable community: zoning for density, congestion pricing to smooth demand, and a series of transit that provides an alternative to gridlock.

  • New push for alternative energy in Oregon

    Oregon Gov. Ted Kulongoski called for a cap on carbon dioxide emissions and creation of a trading system designed to reduce the state’s output. He said the proposals would stimulate business in the state:

    “You know we’ve turned a corner when Wall Street banks are telling you that investments in renewable energy and other technologies to combat global warming are among the largest economic opportunities now and in the coming decades,” he said.

    Electricity production reportedly accounts for 42 percent of the state’s greenhouse gas emissions. Kulongoski would have a task force propose details of a cap-and-trade system while he advances bills to promote biofuels and require a quarter of Oregon’s energy to come from renewable sources by 2025.

  • Tolls may not be enough

    Tolls wouldn’t generate enough revenue to cover the costs of a new road near Portland, according to a new study. The results suggests that tolls won’t work if there are feasible alternative routes or if the tolls are too high.

  • Ports oppose plan to tax shipping

    Washington state ports are opposing an influential legislator’s plan to tax containers to pay for transportation projects that would help move freight. The ports should offer an alternative way to pay for the improvements.

    An extra per-container charge would steer more traffic to rivals in Vancouver or California, which are already competing effectively because of superior transportation links to larger markets. Yet, with rising construction costs making the regional to-do list more daunting, it’s not enough to expect voters to pay entirely through up-front taxes. Why not advocate congestion pricing across the region, which would alleviate crowding on roads and provide incentives to use alternate transportation.