Seattle takes another big transit step

(TWIP mobile post) Construction work is about to begin on Seattle's next streetcar line ( http://bit.ly/HAomKJ ), between downtown and First Hill.

Not only does the project mean better transit in the state's densest neighborhood, it will also improve road safety with installation of a cycle track on Broadway, and a kickstart of a local streetcar manufacturing industry.

Not another agency

(TWIP mobile post) West Seattle Blog is reporting today about plans to revive elevated transit in 'Seattle's west side transportation corridor' -- http://bit.ly/GLs1Rn

I have been aware for a few months that this organization -- 'CenTran' -- has been in the works. However I had been under the impression what it's about is Son Of Green Line.

Instead, it looks like they're intending a 16-mile monorail+PRT (pod transit) system in the West Seattle to Ballard corridors.

Visionless

The worst local news of the past week pertaining to urban livability comes from Seattle City Hall, where City Councilmembers thanked citizens for reelecting some of them by proposing to eliminate from the city budget the $1.5 million for planning streetcars and light rail requested Mayor McGinn.

Local planning is a prerequisite for federal grant applications. Therefore, applying for federal support to expand the rail network would be delayed by whatever amount of time it would take to marshal the will to fund and carry out such studies.

Seattle streetcar deal

It means jobs. Will it expand the official vision of which technologies belong in which corridors? Let's hope so.

Streetcar Network: Keep going

I just had an in-person gander at Sound Transit's Link presentation of its North Corridor plans, courtesy of the agency's public meeting at Ingraham High School. Nice job by the staff.

Now I want readers to weigh-in in favor of the (CLICK! >) L2 Main (solid line) Alternative option. Then I want you to think how to connect it to the Seattle Streetcar Network. I dare you to not get excited about the possibilities.

Turn out tonight to back Highway 99 light rail - UPDATE 1

Sound Transit is holding a public meeting TONIGHT on the next stage of light rail between Northgate and Lynnwood.

The meeting will be at 6pm at the Embassy Suites on 44th Avenue West in Lynnwood.

The agency's preferred options are I-5 (option L1) and Aurora/Highway 99 (options L2 and L3) --

"Two 'most promising' options"

L2 is mixed elevated and surface, while L3 is elevated.

Route K9

Before I got my dog, one of the things I hadn't considered was that as a transit user, I would be taking him along on the bus.  But I've discovered a wide disparity in how different public transit agencies treat man's best friend:

• King County Metro buses & Seattle streetcars: Dogs* allowed, must be on leash
• Sound Transit buses & rail: Dogs* must be in carriers
• Washington State Ferries: Dogs* must be in carriers
• Community Transit (Snohomish County): Dogs* must be muzzled

Music On Rails!

This week the news again comes from south of the big river. Yesterday evening Portland celebrated a decade of streetcars in the Rose City, with a mobile music festival of eight bands. Hey, Seattle should do that too -- except each set would be over in about 10 minutes. We have to pay for more miles of track if we're serious, Seattle.

Think before spraying

Even in environmentally-conscious Seattle, there are still chances to witness bonehead moves. My turn came today while passing by this block near Carkeek Park:


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These are known as Outcomes

The esteemed emeritus Prof. Jerry Schneider recently posted a link in the Transport-Innovators group to a piece by the editorial board of the Oregonian newspaper in Portland. Here it is in full:

September 05, 2011
Binding the community together

The doors open. We step inside, a little groggy, newspaper tucked under an elbow, latte in hand.

Celebrate this fact, Portland: After 25 years, the MAX light-rail system is so integral to our lives that we don't stop and think about it very much.

We don't have to stop and think about it very much. That's the beauty of it. MAX is just there, moving quietly in the background from 3:30 a.m. to 2 a.m. -- 22.5 hours a day.

Taxing argument

'Dumb criminal' stories tend to litter the pages of the daily newspapers, but on those publications' websites the most popular subject is, I submit to you, the bashing of bicyclists.

Today brought two such letters in the Seattle Times, one typical and one not.

...Automobile registration, and a license to drive one, does not also qualify a person to drive a semi-truck, school bus, motor coach, motorcycle -- or a bicycle -- on public streets. That’s the favorite ploy of freebie bike advocates to suggest that taxes paid for operating a motor vehicle provides a free pass for pedaling around on a motorless vehicle as well... Ride a bike -- ante up! Dean Trier, Redmond

Yes to East Link

On KUOW's The Conversation for Wednesday, Dec. 12, Publicola editor Erica Barnett put on her list of under-reported stories for the year November's election of an "anti-light rail" slate to the Bellevue City Council: Don Davidson (Mayor), Conrad Lee (Deputy Mayor), Kevin Wallace, and Jennifer Robertson. Together the four comprise a majority on the seven member council. This presents a good opportunity to stake out some nuance in the area of Puget Sound personal rapid transit advocacy.

Seattle disposal bag fee - Aug. 18 Referendum

Seattle's 20-cent per bag fee on paper and plastic must get past an August 18 ballot measure. The run-up to the vote pits environmentalists versus an out of town, chemical industry-funded campaign.

Correction Although the referendum was submitted by fee opponents, a Yes vote will let the fee stand.

To avoid the fee, shoppers need only bring their own bags when they shop.

Seattle hold-out house to become 'public'

It was her home, an anti-corporate symbol, and then a tattoo. Now Edith Macefield's house in the Ballard neighborhood will become a kind of park (Seattle P-I):

The literal elevation refers to [real estate "coaching firm"] Reach Returns' plan to elevate the home to the height of the surrounding commercial building and create a two-level open space underneath. The open space would feature plantings and water features and be available to the public during business hours. People can pay $250 to $5,000 (depending on the size) for a tile on which they can write their credo, according to the Credo Square Web site. The tiles would then be installed on the site. The project is also charging $75 (for an individual or family) or $200 (for a company) to have names etched into a wall on the site.

= = = = =

Credo Square Update: Buyer has criminal history (+ links)

Seattle creek sees daylight again

A new smart growth development next to Seattle's Northgate Mall has replaced a parking lot -- and exposed the headwaters of Thornton Creek to the light of day for the first time decades.

Before

Tattoo parlor honors woman who resisted

Remember Edith Macefield of Seattle, who wouldn't budge when developers wanted her home for part of a Trader Joe's?



A business in the neighborhood has created a unique product in her honor. Link

Germs

November, for all the joy the presidential election brought, ended up being lost time for me. I spent much of it flat on my back with pneumonia.

Based on average incubation times, I figure the nasty little bacteria took up residence in my lungs on or about Halloween. A big reason for the lengthy recovery was that it wasn't until the second week that I stopped treating it as the flu, and got my hands on some serious antibiotics.

I spent the second week musing about how and where I picked up the bacteria. The odds were pretty low that it happened at home. Not that I'm a cleanfreak -- my partner used to be a surgical assistant and workplace OSHA supervisor. She set up some simple procedures around the house that allow us to easily avoid things like cross-contamination in the kitchen.

Plastic oh no ban, industry says

Don't celebrate the Seattle 20¢ plastic bag fee/styrofoam ban just yet, canvassers are gathering signatures on a petition that would put a bag fee repeal on the November ballot.

Who could possibly want a repeal of the fee? Why, the plastics industry. Of course, they call it a tax:

Paper nor plastic? - Part Deux

The Seattle City Council today approved the measure imposing a 20 cent fee on plastic and paper shopping bags, to encourage the adoption of reusable bags. The council also passed a ban on use of foam containers by businesses that serve food.

The City will distribute reusable bags, and the per-bag fee will start in January 2009. Then the choice of whether to pay the fee is up to the individual shopper. As the next mayor of Seattle, Richard Conlin, says: "You only have to pay it if you choose not to use reusable bags."

The foam ban has three phases. This coming January, restaurants and the like will have to stop using polystyrene and styrofoam. Then a year after that, all other plastic containers and utensils must be replaced by biodegradables.

RoboTrike

I made a quick trip to the Bay Area last weekend. Saw some sights, rode the BART out to Pleasanton, the full tourist experience. But the oddest thing I saw was when I was back home on Sunday, on the ground at SeaTac airport:

"The Future of Policing" (The Stranger)

Also today:
Kill a protected species (and be part of a club killing 2,000 of them a year), don't go to jail