Down at The Pencil Yard

Steve Carter shot this photo at the new Light Rail yard next to Alaskan Way in Seattle. I call it The Pencil Yard because of the tall dangerous looking poles that pepper the property. This shot was taken at night, which gives is an otherwordly lighting perspective.

Look for more of Steve's great pictures HERE.

Federal Way Weighs In on Light Rail

After Proposition 1 failed with voters last Fall, Sound Transit was forced to go back and redraw their vision for light rail. The proposals they have written up so far have any trains coming south out of Sea-Tac to dip down into the Kent Valley before heading to Tacoma.

This bypasses Federal Way entirely, and they're not too happy about that.

I can see why. As I've mentioned before, Federal Way is highly populated and grossly overloaded with vehicle congestion. If there ever were a suburb that could be considered poster child for mass transit, FW would be a start. The city needs it more than many surrounding it.

Plan to Connect Portland MAX with Vancouver WA

Plans for a light-railline to Clark County are getting more tangible, with a proposal to extend an existing MAX route over the Columbia River and into downtown Vancouver. Amazingly, the money for this conservative proposed plan is already available, and Clark County is very receptive to the idea of having a light-rail connection.

Eastside Corridor Sale Approved

King County signed over the rights for purchasing the Woodinville Subdivision to the Port of Seattle yesterday:

Rail corridor plan approved

It's not over yet, but on its way. The line needs to be purchased by December 31, 2007, otherwise BNSF will offer it to private buyers. I'm not surprised, because BNSF announced they wanted to sell the line at least 4 years ago. What yesterdays paperwork does is clear the way for public ownership of the line, by an agency that can afford it. How it is used - or even dissected - in the future is still up in the air. But by the end of the year at least it should be safe from being developed into condos etc.

Design of UW light rail station on display

Everything happens in baby steps. There's been a lot of press this week about light rail and about street cars. I'm happy to see this progressing.

Design of UW light rail station on display

Sound Transit Urged to Try Again

Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels told Sound Transit to try again in 2008 in their efforts to get buy in for future transit projects, stating that younger voters in the coming year will better understand the motives of the Authority.

Like all us current voters are decrepit and don't understand the regional value of a good train...

Voters Tow "Roads & Rails" to The Dead Line

Proposition 1 - regionally known as the "Roads and Rails Plan" - was resoundingly rejected by voters in Pierce, King and Snohomish Counties. The plan was massive and would have provided money - through taxation - for road projects in three counties plus light rail to Lynnwood, Redmond, and Tacoma.

But the public message back to the State was, "it asked for too much at once, and asked for more when Sound Transit hasn't even finished the first segment of light rail yet."

For the record, I voted yes on Proposition 1. I saw it as a bittersweet opportunity to move forward in our efforts to get around the Puget Sound region more easily. But most voters disagreed in more ways than one. Overall they sent a message larger than just this measure; if you look at how people voted on other ballot items, the voting trend we saw on Tuesday said, "Use the money we've already given you, and keep your hands off our wallets." Not only did the public say no to several tax measures, but they also made it harder for the lawmakers to raise taxes without public input. There was a tightening of belts region-wide.

Danny Westneat from the Seattle Times had a decent editorial on the subject, saying we need to look at our transportation issues in smaller doses. "But big new stuff?" he asks. "Forget it. It costs too much. And there's too little trust." That lack of trust appears to come from the notion that Olympia is not wisely using what is already given to them.

So what happens now? Olympia has said they will look to other funding for vital projects, and we may see a gas tax increase (for which I'm not surprised). Eastside developers will continue developing along the proposed light rail corridor despite this vote. This also may put the Woodinville Subdivision back in play, as a way to get transit to the Eastside without spending on a entirely new line.

Although I voted yes for Prop 1, I am now breathing a sigh of relief that lawmakers have to go back and try again.

Planning a Future Around Light Rail..or Not

In an October 26th Seattle P-I article, speculation, or just good planning, has many developers looking at property around proposed light rail stations, even before they are being planned. Mostly evident in East King County, developers in Bellevue and Redmond along what may become a light rail line (if funding is appropriated through the upcoming vote on Proposition 1) are buying up land and planning new communities. One essentially felt they had a good spot and that rail service was secondary "icing."

I can't help but to think about what we lost here when the Interurban Railway went out of business in 1939; had it stayed in place we would be over 60 years ahead of the game right now, and there would probably be rail already headed towards the Eastside. There are plenty of theories why the Interurban is gone, the biggest of which being the "Great Bus Conspiracy" brought on be vehicle manufacturers and oil companies. Doesn't matter what happened now, because the tracks are gone. So we have to move forward and rebuild.

Maybe this time the lines will stick around a while.