Link Light Rail

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Sound Transit Link Light Rail is a new transportation project for the Greater Seattle region. It currently consists of two lines, Tacoma Link, which is in service now, and Central Link, which is scheduled to be completed in 2009.[1] The University Link line connecting downtown Seattle to the University of Washington has been approved with construction slated to begin in 2009. There are several other lines that are currently being considered, as well as an option to connect several lines to form one integrated system.

Contents

[edit] History

[edit] Early years

In 1996, voters in King, Pierce, and Snohomish counties approved increases in sales taxes and vehicle excise taxes to pay for a US$3.9 billion transit package that included $1.7 billion for a 25 miles of light rail system. The system included a line in Tacoma, Washington and another line from the University District in north Seattle to Sea-Tac Airport south of Seattle to be open for use in 2006.[2] Two years later the recently created Sound Transit revealed an environmental impact study that increased the cost of the project to US$2.2 billion and added three miles to the line by adding connections to Northgate.[3] However, the EIS was quickly met with objections from the poorer neighborhoods south of Seattle in Rainier Valley, Seattle, Washington that complained that the plan unfairly impacted their neighborhoods by having the line running on the surface instead of below ground like much of the rest of the route starting at Beacon Hill.[4] Tukwila city leaders were also concerned that route bypassed the important shopping district around Southcenter Mall.[5]

[edit] Dark years

Beginning in early 1999, the light rail program became beset with problems that mired Sound Transit and local governments in political ire. In late February 1999, a financial analysis stated that building light rail out as far as Northgate might not be possible for over a dozen years due to decreases in the amount of federal grant dollars available to local transit authorities and Seattle-North King County having used so much of its local taxing authority and ability to borrow money to pay for light rail.[6] A vote by the Sound Transit board on February 25, 1999, that made only minor modifications to the route, did little to ease the concerns Seattle's southern neighborhoods and northern and southern suburbs.[7] Increasing land values and the changes to the route voted in by the board added hundreds of millions of dollars to the cost,[8] requiring cuts to the plan to bring the project back to within budget.[9] The cuts were finalized in a November vote that deferred construction on two stations, to only partially build the station under Beacon Hill, and route modifications.[10]

Differences between the University of Washington and Sound Transit over station locations, impacts to the route running under several science buildings on the campus, and construction impact deferments threatened to delay the project and raise costs.[11] After months of negotiations, University regents and Sound Transit reached agreement in April 2000 with Sound Transit agreeing to install dampeners on the rails that run under the science buildings, air cushions to tables in the science buildings, and to mitigate environmental impacts due to construction and traffic impacts from having the station on university grounds.[12] However, in November, the Sound Transit board voted to defer construction on the tunnel to the university when the construction estimate came in $171 million over budget. This news prompted concerns that Sound Transit could lose out on $500 million in federal grants, but King County Executive Ron Sims said he had been in contact with FTA officials who said the grant was still possible.[13] This announcement coincided with the resignation of light rail's chief, Paul Bay. Two weeks later, Lyndon Wilson Jr., the man credited with turning around Portland's MAX Light Rail project, was tapped as the systems interim director.[14]

Within days of Wilson's arrival, more bad news came out as new estimates from Sound Transit staff increased the cost of the 21-mile project from $1.9 billion to $3.8 billion and added three years to the construction time. The report cited the frequent changes made to the route in order to appease community members, third-parties, and the wishes of board members and the ambitious construction schedule as reasons for the cost increase.[15] Just days later, Capitol Hill business and civic leaders withdrew their support from the project due to concerns that two years of construction needed to build the station on Capitol Hill would drive customers away from area businesses and force those businesses to close.[16]

In January 2001, the Sound Transit board accepted a $500 million grant from the FTA even though the FTA had not completed the review of the project it started when the cost overruns were announced in December and had not offered Sound Transit the grant. The decision effectively locked Sound Transit into building a 7-mile route from Lander Street to the University of Washington.[17] Days later, the chairman of the House Appropriations transportation subcommittee, Hal Rogers (R-KY) sent a letter to Transportation Secretary Rodney Slater saying his committee could not approve the grant and requesting a review by the Inspector General. Despite this, Sound Transit was still optimistic that the grant would be approved later that week.[18] Representative Jennifer Dunn (R-Bellevue), Washington's ranking House Republican, voiced her support for the independent audit, but stopped short of calling for the FTA to not approve the grant.[19] Despite these questions, on his last day as Transportation Secretary, Rodney Slater, signed the agreement granting Sound Transit $500 million in annual installments through 2006.[20]

However, the grant approval still was not enough to prevent the resignation of Sound Transit's executive director, Bob White. White cited a need for new leadership to guide the agency through the billion dollar cost overruns of its light rail project.[21]

March was another difficult month for the light rail project. On March 9, Sound Transit's citizen oversight committee criticized the agency's optimistic assumptions about building costs and receiving federal grants and were concerned that the agency was in danger of repeating prior mistakes.[22] The next day, Representative Rogers summoned Sound Transit and its opponents to Washington, D.C to testify in front of his subcommittee about the "problem" project.[23]

[edit] Current Lines

[edit] Tacoma Link

Main article: Sound Transit Tacoma Link

Tacoma Link is a free light rail line running through the densest parts of Tacoma. This light rail system connects the Tacoma Dome Station (a regional hub for local and express bus, and commuter train service) with downtown Tacoma. Link trains run every 10 minutes, Monday through Saturday, and every 10 to 20 minutes on Sunday. It has stops at Tacoma Dome, S 25th Street, Union Station, the convention center, and the Theater District. The Union Station stop is next to the University of Washington's Tacoma campus and several museums. Tacoma Link has a daily ridership of 3,000, surpassing the prediction of 2,000 per day by 2010.[24]

[edit] Central Link

Main article: Sound Transit Central Link

Construction is under way on a new 14-mile Central Link light rail line that is a critical piece in this region’s transportation future. The trains will begin carrying passengers in 2009, stopping at 12 stations and running 4.4 miles on elevated tracks, 2.5 miles in tunnels and seven miles at grade. To support the line, Sound Transit is retrofitting the Downtown Seattle Transit Tunnel and four of its existing stations for joint use by both light rail trains and buses. Sound Transit is also building new light rail stations in the following locations (from North to South): Near Qwest Field and Safeco Field, in the Sodo district at Lander Street just south of downtown Seattle, on Beacon Hill, in the Mount Baker neighborhood at McClellan and Rainier, in the Columbia City neighborhood at Edmunds and Martin Luther King Jr. Way, in the Rainier Beach neighborhood at Henderson and MLK, and in Tukwila on Tukwila International Blvd. Soon after this initial segment of the light rail line opens, Sound Transit will extend the line another 1.7 miles to the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, adding a thirteenth station. The Beacon Hill tunnel is one of the main components of Central Link. Its west portal, or opening, will be under I-5, east of Airport Way. The underground Beacon Hill Station will be located at the southeast corner of Beacon Avenue South and South Lander Street, approximately 150 feet below grade. The east portal, or opening, will be east of 25th Avenue South and south of South McClellan Street, where the light rail line will emerge to an elevated trackway as it approaches the Mount Baker Station near the intersection of Rainier Avenue South and South Stevens Street.[25]

[edit] University Link

Main article: University Link

In November 2006, the US Federal Transit Administration approved SoundTransit's plan for extending the light rail to the University of Washington after completion of an Environmental Impact Study. Actual construction will last approximately from 2009-2016.[26]

[edit] Future Lines

Sound Transit's Long Range Plan, published in July 2005 under the name of ST2 (Sound Transit Phase 2), proposes future goals of a regional light rail system.

[edit] North Link

North Link is a light rail project being considered as a future light rail segment. It would connect the University of Washington, the University District, Roosevelt, and Northgate. Once North Link is complete, the major urban centers of downtown Seattle, Capitol Hill, the University District, and Northgate will be connected via light rail. It is a top priority for Sound Transit, as it would it would add 103,000 people to the daily ridership of Link Light Rail, which is about twice the projected daily ridership of the Central Link segment. There currently is not enough funding to build North Link, so there will need to be a request for federal funding or a ballot proposal for the North Link sub-section.

[edit] Tacoma Link West Extension

Sound Transit is considering extending Tacoma Link Light Rail west to Tacoma Community College. The proposed route would be at grade, and would serve key destinations including Stadium High School, Mary Bridge Children's Hopspital, Tacoma General Hospital, and the University of Puget Sound. It is projected to boost the daily ridership of Tacoma Link by 8,000 people. There are two proposals for this route. One would have the extension use Central Link technology, and the other would use Tacoma Link technology.

[edit] Tacoma Link to Central Link connection

Sound Transit is considering connecting the south end of Central Link, SeaTac Airport, with the east end of Tacoma Link, the Tacoma Dome. The proposed route would have stations at Fife, South Federal Way Park-and-Ride, Federal Way Transit Center, Renodo Heights Park-and-Ride, Highline Community College, and South 200th Street. The length of this connection would be aerial, and would drop down to grade at the Tacoma Dome. It would mostly follow Highway 99. There are many stakeholders, so agreements must be made with all of these organizations, including the Washington State DOT, before it is built. There is a projected daily ridership of 38,000, and it would fulfill one of the main goals of Sound Transit: to connect Seattle and Tacoma via light rail. However, this will not be possible unless Tacoma Link is retrofitted with Central Link technology. Tacoma Link currently runs on 750 volt power, while Central Link runs on 1500 volt power. It uses different types of cars and different sized stations as well. Sound Transit has announced that it will put several of the projects on the ballot in the fall of 2007. The projects on the ballot will probably be extension north to Lynnwood, extension south to connect with Tacoma, and the East Link project.[27]

[edit] Everett Link

Sound Transit is considering building a starter line through Everett. This line would be completely at grade, and would be built under the assumption that, in the future, North Link will be extended to Everett. It would have termini at Everett Station and Everett Community College. It would mostly go along Broadway, and is promoted as being good for the redevelopment of the Broadway Corridor. The main problems with it are that it would not serve the core of downtown Everett, and that would be at grade.

[edit] Everett Link to Central Link connection

The main purpose of Everett Link is to, in the future, be able to take light rail from Everett to Seattle and Tacoma. Therefore, the Everett Link to Central Link connection will be necessary if they Everett Link is built. Connecting Everett and Seattle by way of light rail is consistent with Sound Transit's long-range plan. The route has yet to be determined, but is expected to run along I-5 by way of Ash Way Park and Ride.

[edit] East Link

East Link is a potential second line of light rail. This line would split from North and Central Link just south of the International District Station in downtown Seattle. It would serve Redmond by way of Bellevue. It is divided in to three segments. The first would provide stations on I-90 at Rainier Avenue and Mercer Island. The second would include four stations in Bellevue: one at a regional park-and-ride, two in downtown Bellevue, and one at Overlake Hospital. This segment could be either elevated or underground. The third segment would continue east of downtown Bellevue to the Overlake Transit Center with a connection to a light rail vehicle maintenance facility. This segment of East Link would have three stations which would serve the Bellevue-Redmond Road corridor, the Overlake neighborhood, and the Overlake Transit Center.

Potentially, East Link would also include an extension to downtown Redmond with two stations, but that has not yet been established.

[edit] 2007 Package

Sound Transit announced its 2007 package to be put to voters. It will include the following light rail extensions:

[edit] References

  1. ^ SoundTransit website. Retrieved on 2007-01-19.
  2. ^ David Schaefer. "Voters Back Transit Plan On Fourth Try", The Seattle Times, 1996-11-08. Retrieved on 2007-02-26.
  3. ^ David Schaefer. "Big Plans For Light Rail -- Sound Transit Suggests 24-Mile Route From Seatac To Northgate", The Seattle Times, 1998-12-04. Retrieved on 2007-02-24.
  4. ^ Tom Brune, Barbara A. Serrano, Tan Vinh. "The Light-Rail Transit Plan -- On Wrong Track? -- Many People Who Live And Work Along Martin Luther King Jr. Way South Believe The Current Transit Plan Unfairly Favors Residents Of North Seattle", The Seattle Times, 1999-01-27. Retrieved on 2007-02-26.
  5. ^ Lisa Pemberton-Butler. "Hearings To Begin On Light-Rail Line", The Seattle Times, 1999-01-13. Retrieved on 2007-02-27.
  6. ^ David Schaefer. "Light Rail To Northgate? Maybe Not For 12 Years -- Report Says Finances, Limited Taxing Authority Might Delay Expansion", The Seattle Times, 1999-02-23. Retrieved on 2007-02-27.
  7. ^ David Schaefer. "Rail Route Creates Hard Feelings -- Northern Cities, Rainier Valley, Tukwila Feel Slighted", The Seattle Times, 1999-02-26. Retrieved on 2007-02-27.
  8. ^ Kery Murakami. "Rising Costs For Light Rail May Require Further Cuts", The Seattle Times, 1999-06-03. Retrieved on 2007-02-27.
  9. ^ Kery Murakami. "Sound Transit Is $216 Million Short -- Project's Initial Phase May Be Scaled Back Further", The Seattle Times, 1999-07-01. Retrieved on 2007-02-27.
  10. ^ Alex Fryer. "A Milestone For Light Rail -- Regional Board Selects Station Sites, Alignment", The Seattle Times, 1999-11-19. Retrieved on 2007-02-27.
  11. ^ Roberto Sanchez. "All aboard? UW dickers on light rail", The Seattle Times, 2000-01-28. Retrieved on 2007-02-27.
  12. ^ Andrew Garber. "UW rail tunnel gets boost", The Seattle Times, 2000-04-06. Retrieved on 2007-02-27.
  13. ^ Andrew Garber. "Price puts tunnel on hold", The Seattle Times, 2000-11-17. Retrieved on 2007-02-27.
  14. ^ Cindy Zetts. "Sound Transit taps Portlander", The Seattle Times, 2000-11-29. Retrieved on 2007-02-28.
  15. ^ "Light-rail cost soars $1 billion", The Seattle Times, 2000-12-13. Retrieved on 2007-02-28.
  16. ^ Tim Boyer. "Transit doubt runs deep on Capitol Hill", The Seattle Times, 2000-12-21. Retrieved on 2007-02-28.
  17. ^ Andrew Garber. "Sound Transit votes to take $500 million", The Seattle Times, 2001-01-12. Retrieved on 2007-02-28.
  18. ^ Andrew Garber. "Congressman wants to delay light-rail money", The Seattle Times, 2001-01-18. Retrieved on 2007-02-28.
  19. ^ Andrew Garber. "Dunn backs rail-project review", The Seattle Times, 2001-01-19. Retrieved on 2007-02-28.
  20. ^ ((cite news | url=http://archives.seattletimes.nwsource.com/cgi-bin/texis.cgi/web/vortex/display?slug=sound20m&date=20010120&query=%22light+rail%22 | title=Half-billion allocated for Sound Transit | publisher=The Seattle Times | author=Andrew Garber | date=2001-01-20 | accessdate=2007-02-28}}
  21. ^ "Sound Transit executive director resigns", The Seattle Times, 2001-01-23. Retrieved on 2007-02-28.
  22. ^ Andrew Garber. "Its own watchdog bites Sound Transit; panel fears light-rail budget unrealistic", The Seattle Times, 2001-03-09. Retrieved on 2007-02-28.
  23. ^ Andrew Garber. "Light rail labeled 'problem' project", The Seattle Times, 2001-03-10. Retrieved on 2007-02-28.
  24. ^ Tacoma Link: The Little Tram That Could. Retrieved on 2007-01-19.
  25. ^ Link Light Rail Fact Sheet, June 2006. Retrieved on 2007-01-19.
  26. ^ The Daily: Feds give light rail green light. Retrieved on 2007-01-19.
  27. ^ SoundTransit website. Retrieved on 2007-01-19.

[edit] See also

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