Tacoma Tomorrow

Hilltop Link: Examining the J St Couplet (B2)

2014-01-06T09:16:00.002-08:00

Two options for Hilltop Streetcar alignments: B1 or B2

There are two options presented by Sound Transit, B1 and B2. The B1 option is pretty self-explanatory. It would include double track along Division Avenue, turn on MLK Jr Way and terminate at S. 19th St. The B2 option presented is a couplet on MLK Jr. Way and J St. For those unfamiliar with what the concept of a “couplet” is, it would mean that trains would run on a single track southbound on MLK Jr. Way and then loop back at S. 19th along J St northbound on a single track until it meets Division Avenue and continues onward back to Downtown Tacoma and Tacoma Dome Station. B2 is slated to cost $5m more than B1 and $10m more than B1 operating on single track, but is slated to provide no additional access to more redevelopable land.

Facebook comments have been relatively supportive of B2 (Couplet)

I have been reading several conversations on Facebook who support the B2 alignment because they think that it would provide greater coverage of service, transit-oriented development, and would enable front-door access to St. Joseph Medical Center for those with mobility issues. But that is not the only opinion out there.

Hilltop Area Plan Street Designations

The Hilltop Subarea Plan supports B1 (Double-Track)

The Hilltop Subarea Plan developed by a wide range of community stakeholders and advocates over the last year, supports the B1 double-track option on MLK Jr. Way. In the final plan, J St. is recognized as an access way for medical vehicles for St. Joseph and Tacoma General hospitals at either end of Hilltop. J St. is also called out in Tacoma’s Mobility Master Plan as a bikeway; bike-streetcar safety issues are anticipated. Business owners and community advocates expressed the desire for service to be focused on MLK to encourage transit oriented development along the corridor. MLK Jr Way is called out as a “transit priority street” with a configuration that improves the speed of transit, whereas J St is called out as a “bicycle boulevard.” A bicycle boulevard is generally a traffic-calmed street with lower vehicle speeds and a configuration that makes it easier for new cyclists and families with younger children to cycle through their neighborhoods.

Councilmember Lauren Walker, who represents District 3, which includes Hilltop, voiced the same concern that B2 would not be in agreement with the subarea plan at a study session several weeks ago.

Future Expansion / Station Locations point to B1

The B1 options, both single and double track, are generally better for expansion of Tacoma Link into the future. At the south end of the line, the Hilltop Subarea Plan actually sees the eventual terminus for Tacoma Link (in that area) to be S. 24th, near it’s historic terminus in that neighborhood. While that is generally not considered to be an in-scope item on the table, attempting a couplet on J St. would make expansion to near S. 24th problematic due to narrower roadways (and more specifically turning radii) in that neighborhood.

At the northern portion of B2, the issue that alignment concept runs into is that an ideal station on Division Ave at MLK Jr. Way that would serve Tacoma General, Mary Bridge, and the North Slope neighborhood would not be feasible. If a station location on Division Avenue were attempted in a B2 case, the best we could do is a station on J. St., which would be nearly 350 meters away from both the front doors of Tacoma General and Mary Bridge – necessitating a second station, which would lengthen trip times or otherwise reduce access. At the same time, if B2 were selected, a station location in front of Tacoma General Parking Garage at S. 3rd and MLK Jr Way would be used to access the hospitals, while one would need to walk down the hill to S. 3rd and J St. in a dark alley next to another parking garage. Not the most ideal option if you’re wanting to encourage access to both Downtown and to the Hospitals.

Now here comes the transit wonk

A B1 option on the other hand could have a joint station on Division and K, which could be shared with a future line to 6th Avenue. If it were deemed necessary to provide front door access around S. 4th it would put the stations less than 200m apart, which would affect runtime and utility of the route, or a Division Ave station would have to exist closer to L St if an extension ran on Division Ave and would require a short walk to transfer to the MLK branch. This kind of a decision would be similar to the alignment choice that Portland selected in its Yellow line, which compromised the system and required a 1/4 mile walk between the Red-Blue-Green lines and Yellow line at Rose Quarter Transit Center.

Ideally, from my view, two stations roughly 400m apart, which would serve the interests of Tacoma General, Mary Bridge, and the North Slope neighborhood, connect with Pierce Transit’s highest ridership route, Route 1, and would also serve the Evergreen State College Tacoma campus would be a B1 option with stations at Division and K St. and 6th Avenue and Martin Luther King Jr. Way.

Pierce Transit's 2014 Budget: Cost savings everywhere

2013-11-25T08:00:00.000-08:00

Pierce Transit's 2014 Budget includes grant-funded frequent service on Route 1

Cost Savings Everywhere in Wages, Benefits, Fuel and More

The story you can glean from Pierce Transit’s 2014 budget is that it is a triumph for the interests of Pierce County’s taxpayers and Pierce Transit riders. The agency’s efforts to hold down costs are working. These efforts are preserving vital public services that keep thousands of cars off the road each day and ensure that thousands of workers get to jobs and students get to school. They're also carving out room for minor, but significant improvements in custom service for outlying communities.

Let me run through a few highlights of the operating budget.

Fuel costs are down: Costs down by 52%, Now '20 cents a gallon'

The agency’s smart thinking in securing long term renewable natural gas contracts has cut the price of fuel for Pierce Transit’s fleet in half. To run Pierce Transit’s fleet of natural gas buses, fuel costs are going down from $1.5 million to $753,000. On top of that the agency has positioned itself to receive an alternative fuel grant from the federal government. When all is tabulated, Pierce Transit’s buses are now “running on fuel that’s the equivalent of 20 cents a gallon”, Pierce Transit’s Finance Director said.

Wages: Decrease by $80,000

Wages have been held down and have actually decreased as a portion of the budget by 0.1%. Labor agreements have zero wage increases for this year. Further, older Pierce Transit operators at the top of their pay scale are retiring in greater numbers as the agency’s average age hits 55.

There’s been no change in overall headcount at the agency. 85% of all staff will be serving in operations or 737 people operating bus service, with 56 in the finance division, 53 in administration, and 20 working for the Office of the CEO.

Benefits: Increase below rate of inflation

Benefits increased by a paltry 2.2%, which is substantially lower than previous years, when that rate was closer to 15%. Pierce Transit’s restructuring of health benefits has led to a substantial long term cost savings for the public.

Insurance: Costs down $751,000

Insurance costs are projected to be down by 85%. This is mainly driven by the fact that as Pierce Transit is no longer a shrinking agency, which means that unemployment insurance claims will not be nearly as much of an issue.

Putting the News Tribune's “Growth” comments in perspective

While The News Tribune indicates that Pierce Transit is growing service, the 2.6% increase in service is really only thanks to a regional mobility grant to enhance commuter service on Route 1 along Pacific Avenue-SR7. It also doesn’t change the fact that Pierce Transit’s 2014 budget is off 30% from our peak level of service in 2008. That means that service is at the same level that it was back in 1990, and again in 2002 following the passage I-695. From transit-hostile state initiatives and the impact of recessions and heavy reliance on the sales tax we have literally lost two decades of progress on local transit development in Pierce County.

These cuts have meant that in many cases we have had to cut entire routes, shrink routing, reduce hours of operation and reduce frequency. The agency has tried to keep preserve high ridership routes to prevent overcrowding, so a 30% service cut is felt disproportionately on some routes where service has gone from 30 minute service to 60 minute service operating only for half of the hours in the day that they were operating before. It is pretty uninformative of the Tribune to be calling a one year 2.6%-grant-funded growth in local service hours an “expansion.” Even with the seasonal trolley service in Gig Harbor (to be jointly funded with the City of Gig Harbor), community connectors in the Fife, Milton, Edgewood area with 60-minute headways, and custom bus service with only single weekday trips to Olympia from Puyallup and University Place, we are still not anywhere close to where we were. Most bus service to the North End of Tacoma ends around 6-7 o'clock, when it used to run until 11pm or later.

If anything, the new additions in service can almost directly be attributed to some of the cost saving measures that the agency has undertaken. While the reductions in service have been able to be postponed indefinitely because sales taxes have increased more than projected, the Tribune insinuates with it’s language that the agency has fudged numbers, when really what is happening is that sales taxes have shown such volatility over the last decade that it has been difficult to calibrate the budget with a reliable baseline for financial projections. Prior to the economic recession sales taxes grew at an average clip of 6% per year, but were falling by more than 10% during the recession.

Lynne Griffith’s opening statement in the budget quote really says it all:

“According to The Puget Sound Economic Forecaster from 2008 to 2013 the Puget Sound economy lost $14 billion in retail sales taxes, Pierce Transit’s largest source of revenue.”

Sales taxes from Q2 of 2012 increased by 5.94% in Tacoma in Q2 of 2013, but if you take the time to look at data, are still near levels from 2006, from records from the Department of Revenue. On top of that, given the new, smaller Pierce Transit service boundary, service levels are at the rate that revenue can currently sustain: total 427,717 service hours.

Looking ahead - Shuttle use increases, Fare Increase, Sound Transit’s Share Grows

An 18.1% increase in service hours provided for Sound Transit is mainly due to Pierce Transit now operating Route 560 between West Seattle and Bellevue. The agency won the contract to operate that route through a competitive bidding process with Sound Transit. The route will add in the realm of 40,000 service hours to the overall plate that Pierce Transit operates, which will keep a number of drivers employed, if not operating coaches in Pierce County. The projection now is that 41 out of 100 riders that Pierce Transit operators convey will actually be riding Sound Transit service next year, up from 37 out of 100 riders this year. This trend continues to show how the benefits of transit service in Pierce County tend to be focused towards those moving about King County.

Shuttle service hours are projected to increase at a rate of 7.7%, to take into account the fact that the population of Pierce County is aging. The long term cost of an aging population on operating public transit is an ongoing concern, as operations costs are substantially higher for Shuttle versus regular fixed route.

A fare increase in September of 2014 of a quarter is projected within the budget. Ridership is projected to take a 3.8% hit as a result, due to the inelastic nature between fares and ridership. A 3.8% decrease in ridership is projected, bringing Pierce Transit fixed route service down to 10,528,358 rides projected. The 2014 budget assumes a growth rate of 3% in the sales tax revenues. Costs are projected to remain under the growth rate of 4-5% of the sales tax growth in 2015 and beyond to 2019, which we were told by Wayne Fanshier, Finance Director, were conservative estimates and entirely in line with State economic projections. In the year 2014, overall revenues are projected to eclipse expenditures for a surplus of $8.4 million.

What remains concerning, and was of key interest to CTAG members was the fact that sales taxes will grow to encompass 73% of Pierce Transit’s operating revenue in 2014. While 0.3% of that revenue source remains an option in the future to go after, advisory committee members still wish that Pierce Transit had access to a more stable funding source. It would do more to put riders at ease and would help the agency be able to maintain levels of service during periods of economic stress.

We're moving! - TacomaTransit.com

2013-11-24T09:00:00.000-08:00

We're moving to TacomaTransit.com

While Blogger has been a good home for TacomaTomorrow (which was started over four years ago!) the platform isn't evolving as quickly as robust alternatives like Wordpress. So, over this past weekend I have been diligently working to convert and import the blog, with its nearly 250 posts to a brand new domain, TacomaTransit.com.

The new blog will be better organized and have a few new nifty features. It will have easy access to real-time arrival information via OneBusAway for a number of transit locations around Tacoma (grouping stops around locations like Proctor, Stadium and transit centers) where transfers are made. I anticipate these to be used on real time displays in key areas, if I can find some funding and location sponsorships. The blog will also have a list and detailed description of some transit projects I am working on and am proposing, reference information for local transit agencies, and better connectivity for people wanting to get involved, such as with organizations like the Transportation Choices Coalition.

This move to my own server infrastructure also opens up some new analytical capabilities, such as integration of voter, land use and ridership data in posts from analysis of my own databases, which I have really been meaning to share with readers. An example of what I am putting together can be seen on the R-Shiny dashboard website, here.

Now don't worry, TacomaTomorrow will continue to be updated for the near future, and I don't have any plans to take it down. In fact, the way the import worked, all of the media is hyperlinked anyway. I'll be working with Kevin Freitas to get the new blog linked in to FeedTacoma.com as well.

If there are additional feature requests or story ideas to focus on, just post them in the comments. Or if you have concerns about maintaining subscriptions or the like, let me know and I'll see if I can make some modifications to address those.

Sound Transit LRP meeting big on vision, short on details

2013-11-19T10:14:00.001-08:00

Pierce County Executive Pat McCarthy speaking
last night at the Tacoma Convention Center.

Sound Transit held its Long Range Plan update scoping meeting at the Tacoma Convention Center last night. If you missed it, here is Sound Transit's presentation in PDF, and the online survey that ST is pointing people to fill out to provide public comment.

I spent much of my time talking to other attendees, listening to what they had to say. I had a great conversation with Dawn Bernstein Strege about her ideas to bring Gig Harbor into the Sound Transit district and to enhance 595 service between Gig Harbor, TCC, and Seattle, with a possible connection to Tacoma Dome Station. Alan Douglas, a common attendee to public meetings, broached the idea of having Sound Transit provide direct support for local service, given the disparity between regional and local service levels in Pierce County. Another popular idea shared by a few attendees was to expand Sounder service to Olympia. At the meeting I was joined by other longtime advocates like Diane Wiatr from the City of Tacoma, Bliss Moore from the Sustainability Commission, Justin Camarata, and I would say maybe another 25 other people.

At around 6:15 Executive McCarthy spoke about the need to grow the regional transit system given projections of population growth and increasing congestion by 2030. Her talk was generally well received. However, reactions from the audience to staff’s presentation and Q and A session were pretty poor - with only the faintest of polite applause after its conclusion. Most attendees did not really connect with staff highlights touting all of the light rail expansion happening in King and Snohomish counties when the same staff didn’t have very good answers to their most important question: “When is regional light rail going to get to Tacoma?” The question came up over and over again in various forms.

This map was one point of friction between staff and the audience.
There are not any years for light rail expansion in Pierce County.

Was it just a problem of staff being the bearers of bad news? Really, I don’t want to be hard on staff, but I got the impression that members of the audience felt like they have been patient, but now that so much time has passed since ST2 was approved, they would like some clear answers about really how long this is going to take to complete buildout of the system to Tacoma. Lacking any timelines or budgets for expansion, even hypotheticals taking us far out into the late 2030’s, the comment that members of the public were able to provide was showing signs of having trouble being coherent and directed. In the future, I would hope that Sound Transit would commit to providing more customized presentations to individual subareas to answer the most pressing hot button issues, that attendees are obviously going to have questions about.

Personally, I recognize that this was a meeting where those types of frustrations are integral to the process of developing an updated vision. But what is unfortunate is that because there has been so little progress on the Federal Way to Tacoma segment of light rail, local residents have not been able to focus on expansion of Tacoma Link to TCC, which is also in Sound Transit's Long Range Plan from 2005. One element that staff could have easily highlighted were the elements that presently are in the long range plan, such as that "potential" extension of rail service.

Will Tacoma Link extension end at 6th Ave, 11th, or 19th?

2013-11-15T13:10:00.000-08:00

On Wednesday, Tacoma's Infrastructure, Planning, and Sustainability Committee heard a Sound Transit presentation on Tacoma Link Expansion (11/13/2013) focusing on what exact streets would possibly be used for the extension.

Sound Transit broke the options into two segments: the 'A' series, which cover how to get up the hill from Theater District to the Stadium District and then the 'B' series, which are variants between Wright Park and the proposed terminus at S 19th and Martin Luther King. The A series focuses on a decision of Stadium Way, Broadway, or St. Helens Avenue. The B series focuses on either double or single track on MLK Jr. Way or a one way couplet along MLK and J St.

'A' Series - Alignments

A1 takes Stadium Way to North E St to North 1st to Division Avenue
A2 heads North and transitions to Broadway at S. 7th St in front of the Elks Building and then transitions to North 1st to Division Avenue
A2A would head north from Commerce St. Station on 11th St, and ramp up through the current Pierce Transit garage to make the transition to Broadway, continuing along the A2 alignment
A3 would be similar to A2A, but would scale St. Helens Ave instead of Broadway, with a variant of taking either Division Avenue or North 1st St to the Stadium District.
A4 & A5 would be "transfer" alignments that wouldn't connect directly to the existing Tacoma Link system. They would use either St. Helens or Broadway. These alignments were essentially taken off the table from the start.

'B' Series - Alignments

B1 - Either single or double tracking on MLK Jr. Way
B2 - Couplet on J and MLK

Skipping to the End - All Alignments coming in over $150m budget
If you don't want to get bogged down in issues like competing walk sheds, what constitutes economic development, and whether or not Theater on the Square is a garage roof or a park, all of the corridors looked at come in over the $150m budget that Sound Transit and the City of Tacoma worked out.

A combination of A1 and B1, that is double track on Stadium Way and double track on MLK, is the lowest cost and comes in at approximately $165m. Going to single track on MLK saves $5m, but increases headways from 10 minutes to every 12-15 minutes, which would substantially impact ridership and competitiveness for Federal grant dollars.

Another option, not particularly liked by Councilmember Walker, was to propose an interim terminus at either S. 11th or 6th Ave, which would bring the A1-B1 alignment to a cost of either $150M. or $135M, respectively.

I have more to say on this alignment truncation topic, but I am eager to hear what others have to say about it.

Station Locations
Sound Transit also provided information on where possible stations could be located given the grades on existing roadways. I listened in on a conversation between Sue Comis and Peter Callaghan about whether or not the areas in red really were entirely infeasible for station locations, and her response was that it would take a little more engineering to flatten out either the roadway or the station in those areas to comply with ADA requirements.

I have always though that a station on Division Avenue at K St., before a streetcar turns on to Martin Luther King Jr. Way, would be ideal, assuming that Tacoma Link were extended further west on Division Avenue to 6th Ave and on to TCC. At least, that's been the concept dating back at least to 2005. This kind of arrangement seems to me like it would have a larger walkshed that would attract additional passengers from the North Slope, again, one of the densest areas by population in Tacoma.

Many thanks to Tacoma Link Project Manager Sue Comis and Government and Community Relations Officer Chelsea Levy for the presentation that evening.

Please post your comments. Sound Transit will be holding an open house on the alignment analysis in January.

Tacoma is a House Divided

2013-11-06T08:30:00.000-08:00

Last night's election to raise the gross tax on utilities by 2% should have been a slam dunk. Much of Tacoma's streets are failed to the point that they should probably be converted to gravel pits. But a lot of money went into scaring voters that their utility bills would go through the roof if they voted for it.

City of Tacoma - Prop. No. 1
Yes	9,326	40.80%
No	13,530	59.20%

Over Votes	2
Under Votes	1,309

The way that I interpret the mentality of the individuals who wanted people to vote no was more or less, "Yeah, let's keep putting infrastructure costs on the Baby Boomer credit card and just stick Gen Y with the bill." By the time they are in charge it won't cost $800 million to repair the streets, probably more like a billion dollars or more.

Deferred maintenance is like racking up a bill on a high interest credit card.
Image Source: Seattle Transit Blog / Seattle Department of Transportation

The point that I want to make that the Chamber of Commerce and The News Tribune just completely glossed over is that when a city invests in preventative street maintenance, you are at least being responsible to the next generation by making the minimum payments against the infrastructure debt. Current day conservatives talk big about balanced budgets and the burden of passing on debt to future generations, but they tend to downplay the costs of not paying for infrastructure that has in-effect, already been purchased. Proposition 1 would have helped to make those minimum payments and would have been used to leverage federal and state grants to make real progress on the pothole problem. However, instead of recognizing these rational viewpoints, the Tribune and the Chamber advocated for further non-action, that is, fiscally irresponsible behavior by encouraging further degradation of public assets.

From this election and others prior, I think that it is time to face facts. Tacoma is a house divided. On one side is Mayor Strickland and the generally progressive and forward-thinking City Council that is honestly trying to take steps to address critical long term issues surrounding infrastructure and public services. On the other side is - pretty bluntly, reactionary big money and big business as exemplified by the News Tribune Editorial Board and its cohort, the Tacoma-Pierce County Chamber of Commerce. The latter side has done as much as possible to catapult fear into the minds of voters. And sadly, I hate to break it to you folks, but the young people who are going to inherit these streets are losing their futures to this fear. And what I see as a result of the City losing these battles one after another is that Tacoma loses - smart - talented - young people to cities that get their act together.

So where do we go from here? I see two ways of moving on from this stalemate. In one scenario each of the sides agrees to come to the table, in broad daylight and in view of the public eye, and we find some general consensus that the business community and the City Council can agree on. I call this the "consensus option"; it's messy, and no one will get everything that they want, but perhaps at the end of the day we can all take a step forward - together, without spending another damned dime on dueling political mailers. The alternative to the "consensus option" is to continue struggling against one another in a form of Mutually Assured Destruction, whereby one side attempts to raise funds for plans with buy-in from half of the population. The other side then responds by desperately trying to scare the other half just enough to make the measure fail, which has happened three times now in recent memory.

The bottom line is that we have to figure this out, otherwise the problems are just going to get bigger, Seattle and Bellevue will continue to build new competitive advantages, and Tacoma will continue to underperform economically relative to the rest of the region.

Get involved in the Sound Transit Long Range Plan Update

2013-10-28T12:57:00.001-07:00

Sound Transit's 2005 Long Range Plan

Sound Transit is in the process of updating its regional long range vision for transit projects in the Central Puget Sound. The purpose of this exercise is to prepare for potential expansion of the regional transit system beyond ST2 projects, which are slated to be complete by the year 2023. An additional ballot measure, depending on how things play out could be as soon as 2016 (Source: Seattle Transit Blog).

Part of the plan update process requires development of a Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement, under the Washington State Environmental Policy Act (SEPA). As a matter of process, the agency has opened a scoping period between now and November 25th, where the public is encouraged to comment on the existing Long Range Plan in regards to questions including, but not limited to:

Which corridors should be identified or reconfirmed as priorities for potential future light rail extensions?
Which corridors should be designated for potential high-capacity transit?
Should the region make more investments in commuter rail?

The Supplemental EIS will address and study issues involving traffic, air quality, environmental justice, land use, etc.

How to comment

Online survey: You are invited to comment using their online survey.

E-Mail: LongRangePlan@soundtransit.org

Mail: Sound Transit, Attn: James Irish, 401 S. Jackson St., Seattle, WA 98104

In-Person meetings: Sound Transit will be holding several public forums on the Long Range Plan throughout the service area.

Tacoma

Monday, November 18th

5:30-8:00pm

Greater Tacoma Convention and Trade Center

1500 Broadway Ave

More information:
Visit www.soundtransit.org/LongRangePlan
Questions? Call 206-903-7000 or e-mail LongRangePlan@soundtransit.org

I encourage readers to comment and to support conversion of Pierce County's "potential" rail projects into funded rail projects, including:

Downtown Tacoma to Tacoma CC via 6th Avenue using Tacoma Link technology
Federal Way to Tacoma Dome Station using Central Link technology
Dupont-Lakewood Sounder commuter rail, with study of Olympia-Tacoma-Seattle service

What long range projects should be added (or tossed)?

What modes should be considered?

Post your responses in the comments for readers to discuss.

Rational Thinking on Tacoma Link Fares

2013-09-20T08:50:00.000-07:00

Yesterday Sound Transit held a public meeting at the Pantages Theater and a public hearing in Tacoma Council Chambers on Tacoma Link fares – concurrently -- and during working hours (@ 5pm, and 2-6pm). However, there was one thing that was sort of missing at the hearing – the proposal (which is still not available online). How do you take input on a proposal that is not out for public review until today?

Well, regardless of how you feel about that, the Sound Transit Board is scheduled to vote next Thursday on a staff proposal to charge $1.50 to ride the 1.6 mile Tacoma Link light rail. Why? Because Sound Transit’s policy is that services that have sufficient ridership to justify collecting a fare, should be collecting a fare.

As a transit enthusiast, I recognize that farebox recovery is an important part of public transit that helps to support high quality service. Subsidies pay for most of transit, but the goal for most transit services is to charge a fare that recovers about 20% of the cost of the service. To get close to that level of recovery, Sound Transit indicates that riders would need to pay $2 each way. One impact of charging a fare that high is that ridership losses of 30% (or more than 300,000 riders a year) are projected. On top of that, the actual fare equipment that would be installed would require an upfront cost of $500,000. At last night’s Pierce Transit CTAG meeting, we were told by Sound Transit that fares would take anywhere between 4 and 20 years (!) to payoff that initial investment, depending on how much of a fare is charged.

But wait there’s more! Sound Transit wants to (logically) use ORCA as a fare payment system. The problem with that is the dilemma that a tourist, new to Tacoma, would experience. She or he would need to purchase a $5 ORCA card before paying whatever fare Sound Transit decides to charge to go 1.6 miles. You don’t need to run very many numbers to determine that fewer tourists will use Link after an event at the Tacoma Dome when confronted with a $5+ charge to go into Downtown via light rail. This will hurt Downtown Tacoma in a way that Sound Transit staff have not fully taken into account. On top of that, as if Pierce Transit’s 36% service cuts haven’t been enough injury, charging fares on Tacoma Link would actually SIPHON OFF $50,000 annually from Pierce Transit’s budget because of how revenue from ORCA is shared among local agencies. Less funding translates to less bus service.

Who sees the logic in charging a fare to pay for farebox equipment anyway? That seems like a good deal for whoever the equipment provider is, but a raw deal for riders in Tacoma. Sound Transit could just as easily program the $500,000 ticket vending machine expense into the extension of Tacoma Link and begin charging fares then. Why the rush to purchase and begin paying off ticket vending machines that won’t be paid off for at least ten years anyway? It simply doesn’t make any sense.

Tacoma LINK fare talking points:

The payback period for the fare collection equipment alone 4-20 years based on a fare of $1-$2
Ridership is projected to drop 20-30% if a fare is imposed
Using ORCA as a fare collection for LINK will siphon off $50,000/year from Pierce Transit

Thankfully, there is a loophole in Sound Transit policy that could save Tacoma Link riders and Downtown Tacoma from this mess – if the City of Tacoma is up for it. Hypothetically, the City of Tacoma could work to cobble together some funding that would begin flowing to Sound Transit in 2014 to offset Tacoma Link operating costs. It could come in the form of an LID or as a part of the Business Improvement Area, or as a collaboration among employers and educational institutions. This would have the advantage of keeping Tacoma Link fareless for all passengers – to the benefit of students, workers, transit riders, residents and visitors. It would also have the side benefit of getting the City to think seriously about how it’s going to fund an extension – both in terms of capital and operating dollars.

My message to Sound Transit is, yes, we know that Tacoma Link needs to be charging a fare, but look at your own numbers. It doesn’t make sense to do it right now – Tacoma Link will lose 20-30% of its ridership, it will take between 4 and 20 years to payoff the ticket vending machines, tourism will suffer, and Sound Transit’s bastion of support in Pierce County will be alienated. It makes more sense to partner collaboratively with the City of Tacoma to offset operating expenses in the time between now and when an extension of Tacoma Link opens for service.

I will gladly pay my fare when I see light rail run to the Stadium District and beyond. I can’t wait for that.

Until then, I encourage readers to voice your concerns to Tacoma Mayor and Sound Transit Boardmember Marilyn Strickland and the Sound Transit Board. And fill out another one of those surveys.

Tacoma may raise $10m/yr for Streets

2013-07-17T10:14:00.004-07:00

Extent of the City of Tacoma with Long Term Bike Map

The Tacoma City Council is preparing to send a 2% gross utility earnings tax proposal to Tacoma voters. The tax is estimated to raise $10-$11m/yr. Such funds would be directly allocated to street repairs, although what projects would be funded is unclear at this time. For reference, the Mobility Master Plan at full long-term buildout is slated at a total cost of roughly ~$40m.

Tacoma Power Service Area

Ryan Mello, chair of the City's Infrastructure and Sustainability Committee, indicated to the News Tribune, that this measure is in response to the severity of the $800m infrastructure debt in the City of Tacoma. This infrastructure debt is partially attributable to several antitax initiatives that created structural deficits within general government and funding for ongoing maintenance within the City's Public Works department. The infrastructure debt manifests in the form of potholes, failed street sensor loops that control signal timing, unmaintained sidewalks, ADA curb ramps, and other identified needs for transportation infrastructure such as the Mobility Master Plan.

The move by the City Council means that Tacoma voters may have an opportunity this fall to raise revenue directly from Tacoma Power, including areas outside of the City of Tacoma (see map to the right). So, if you're a Tacoma voter, you, this should present itself as a pretty good opportunity. The City currently levies a 6% gross earnings tax on Tacoma Power, while it levies an 8% tax on company earnings for water, telecommunication services, garbage collection, and natural gas. 8% is the cap on such levies.

Senate Kills Transportation Package, can Cities fill the gap?

2013-07-01T08:00:00.000-07:00

Pierce Transit will cut 28% of its service on September 29th.
The House Transportation Package could have averted cuts.

Thanks to the Washington State Senate, there will be no transportation package this year. The Republican dominated "coalition" that controls the State Senate failed to take up the transportation package that the House passed last week. The Republicans cited one of the issues blocking the package from consideration as being their objection to 'light rail from Portland to Vancouver.'

Why would anyone in their right mind think that it would be a good idea to connect Vancouver, WA with Portland's world class transit system? From my recollection, it was actually a federal requirement that light rail be a part of the Columbia River Crossing project, as a string attached to close to a billion dollars in matching funds. But that logic was completely lost on the tone-deaf majority coalition.

So what does this mean? It means that we are back to square one as far as transit funding is concerned. Pierce Transit will not be getting any additional flexibility with its revenue authority from an enhanced public transit zone. There will be no additional direct funding from the State for transit operations to restore weekend service. The State Senate's willful inaction will now doom King County Metro to cut 600,000 service hours, a 17% cut in service, and will leave Pierce Transit and Community Transit with barely any weekend service.

I can't fathom why revenue authority for local option transit operations had to be handcuffed to a highway capital measure. Wouldn't it have made more sense for the House to pass transportation bills earlier in several pieces that could have been agreed on in the House and then consolidated in the final package in some kind of omnibus at the State Senate? And then perhaps been hashed out in a compromise package at the end of the day? Or even individual elements could have been passed, so that something got done.

Regardless of whether those options would have been better strategies. It is the transit riders again that are getting the short end of the stick. Most of Pierce Transit's riders make less than $25,000/year. Our riders are folks who are trying to get to work to support families and to keep their costs down, trying to go to school to get better jobs, seniors and people with disabilities seeking medical attention, and those supporting the local economy with their tax dollars.

With no one else to turn to, the responsibility for addressing this critical deficiency in our social safety net and in the transportation system that supports our economy is now falling at the feet of Washington's cities. Washington's cities have a number of avenues for more stable funding sources than the sales tax that transit currently relies on. There are utility taxes, commercial parking taxes, local improvement districts, property taxes, transportation benefit districts, vehicle license fees and local option gas taxes. Surely there is the potential for additional partnerships made via interlocal agreement between individual cities and transit agencies to help bridge the gap between what service we're providing now and what service that residents in each of Puget Sound's cities need. As the region continues to grow, and the population continues to age, the need for transit will continue to intensify.

"New Hope" for Pierce Transit, House passes Transport Bill

2013-06-27T16:35:00.003-07:00

Will Pierce Transit see restored weekend service
with help from the new Transportation Package?

A message just came down from my contact at Pierce Transit that the House has passed a transportation package by a vote of 51-41 that is quite favorable for Pierce Transit.

The package includes the agency's ask for the ability to create an "enhanced public transportation zone," which will allow the agency's board of directors to create a zone with higher levels of service and up to 0.3% in sales taxes. It includes some one-time bridge funding to restore weekend service. There's some dedicated funding for service over a 12 year period. Plus there are funds for two new park and rides in East Pierce County.

While many are skeptical about how this package will be received in the coalition-controlled Senate, this package is now what's on the table. We are likely to see a very strong push from business, labor, and transit advocates to move the package forward through that chamber.

How the House version Benefits Pierce Transit:

Authority to create an Enhanced Public Transportation Zone (EPTZ) which must pass a vote of the people and use the remaining 3/10 authority provided to Pierce Transit and will sunset after 3 years unless re-authorized.
1 time only bridge funding of $3 million to be utilized to restore evening and weekend service.
Provide direct funding of $1.2-$1.5 million a year for 12 years for Pierce Transit.
$5.5 million dollars for a park and ride in Spanaway
$5.5 million dollars for a park and ride in South Hill

For those interested, here's the roll call on the vote, with local legislators highlighted in orange.

ESHB 1954

Transportation revenue

House vote on Final Passage on Reconsideration

6/27/2013

Yeas: 51 Nays: 41 Absent: 0 Excused: 5

Voting Yea: Representatives Appleton, Bergquist, Blake, Carlyle, Clibborn, Cody, Farrell (46-Kenmore), Fey (27-Tacoma), Fitzgibbon, Freeman, Goodman, Green (28-University Place), Habib, Hansen, Hudgins, Hunt, Hunter, Jinkins (27-Tacoma), Kagi, Kirby (29-Tacoma), Liias, Lytton, Maxwell, McCoy, Moeller, Morrell (25-Puyallup), Morris, Moscoso, Ormsby, Orwall, Pedersen, Pettigrew, Pollet, Reykdal, Riccelli, Roberts, Ryu, Santos, Sawyer (29-Tacoma), Seaquist (26-Gig Harbor), Sells, Springer, Stanford, Sullivan, Tarleton, Tharinger, Upthegrove, Van De Wege, Wylie, Zeiger (25-Puyallup), and Mr. Speaker

Voting Nay: Representatives Alexander, Angel (26-Gig Harbor), Buys, Chandler, Condotta, Dahlquist, DeBolt, Dunshee, Fagan, Haigh, Haler, Hargrove, Harris, Hawkins, Hayes, Holy, Hurst, Klippert, Kochmar, Kretz, Kristiansen, MacEwen, Magendanz, Manweller, Nealey, Orcutt, Overstreet, Parker, Pike, Ross, Schmick, Scott, Shea, Short, Smith, Stonier, Taylor, Vick, Walsh, Warnick, and Wilcox

Absent:

Excused: Representatives Crouse, Hope, Johnson, Rodne, and Takko

Other bill details: http://flooractivityext.leg.wa.gov/default.aspx?chamber=3

Pierce Transit: Welcome back to 1980

2013-06-11T09:00:00.000-07:00

Monday evening, the Pierce Transit Board approved staff recommended cuts to bus service for implementation on September 29th.

The agency is slated to shrink from 418,000 annual bus service hours to 300,000 service hours, a 28% cut in total. The cuts will be most felt in the elimination of most weekend and midday bus service during the week. 300,000 service hours is near the agency's all time low of 261,000 service hours back in 1980.

Transit passengers should expect longer waits, more late buses, more crowded buses, and a substantial reduction in mobility - limiting access to education, employment, affordable housing, and medical care.

Pierce Transit's remaining ridership base is overwhelmingly low income, with most making less than $25,000/year. Many riders are high school and community college students, others are disabled or are senior citizens.

On the weekend, transit service will be all but nonexistent in the North End of Tacoma, with fewer than 30 trips total being operated on Routes 10 and 16 each day. For a full review of the service cuts, click the image below.

Sound Transit approves Hilltop Link

2013-05-24T14:05:00.004-07:00

Sound Transit's Rush Fisher Boardroom (5/23/2013)
Photo by Chris K.

Yesterday, the Sound Transit Board unanimously approved the selection of the E1 (North Downtown-Central) aka "Hilltop" corridor for an expansion of the Tacoma Link system. Light rail was selected as the mode over Bus Rapid Transit, because it better served the project goals of stimulating economic development and improving mobility and transportation access.

Unlike at the Tacoma City Council, where the light rail extension was contentious and ended in an 8-1 decision, the Sound Transit Board had very little to say about the extension itself before their unanimous vote. In the final anticlimactic moments before final approval, Tacoma Mayor Marilyn Strickland indicated her hopes for revitalizing the historic shopping district couched between two regional medical facilities. Sound Transit Board Chair Pat McCarthy contrasted this extension process with the contentious and time-consuming process that Sound Transit and the City of Bellevue underwent to come to agreement on East Link. On that note, Mayor Strickland said, "Neighborhoods were clamoring for more transit." Both Pat and Marilyn thanked Sound Transit staff for their assistance and analysis.

Public Comment

Several members of the public addressing the Board indicated their support for an E1 alternative. Downtown On The Go's Kristina Walker cited the E1's feature of linking Downtown Tacoma with the Stadium District - which is the densest residential neighborhood in Pierce County.

Kevin Grossman, president of the Hilltop Development Association also added his words of support, "This is a dense and active area with a lot of underdeveloped land."

Robert Scheuerman, who I served with on the City of Tacoma's Streetcar Feasibility Study Committee in 2006 and 2007 spoke in favor of E1, while also calling attention to the need to find the additional $50m local match. "If we wait for the tooth fairy, we will be waiting a long time."

I also got up and spoke about how E1 is a justifiable corridor, although its geometry would benefit fewer current Tacomans and have less impact on travel time than a B1 corridor. In the end I told the Board something like, "There is no such thing as a perfect alternative, but this is a pretty good one that I can support."

Next Steps

With alternatives analysis now finally over, there may be a few of you who are curious about what the project schedule looks like. I was able to dig up the current draft schedule from some of Sound Transit's documents. The diagram below shows environmental review lasting into mid-2014, final design occurring after that, lasting about two years into mid-2016, and then construction and transition to service occurring sometime in 2020.

In the immediate future: over the course of the summer, the Tacoma Link Expansion team will be developing the next phase of the project, a draft of alignment and station locations in the corridor. The environmental review process will sort of flow from that and begin in the Fall of 2013.

Apply for the Tacoma Transportation Commission

2013-05-15T15:32:00.002-07:00

Do you think that you have what it takes to help plan Tacoma's transportation future? If so, Tacoma needs you to apply for the Transportation Commission.

The newly formed Transportation Commission will advise the City Council on transportation-related matters, including bike, pedestrian and mass transit-related planning initiatives, as well as other issues - like parking and ADA issues.

This new transportation commission will probably be integral to development of the comprehensive transportation plan in the coming months and will help to guide what priorities get called out for Tacoma in Sound Transit 3 and enhanced Pierce Transit bus service in the city.

Because of the critical nature of the commission, I am encouraging readers to suggest multiple individuals for appointment in the comments.

I will probably be seeking a seat on the commission, but I am open to working with others in Tacoma's sustainable transportation sphere to ensure that bike/ped/transit gets a strong majority on the commission.

From the City of Tacoma:

...

The commission will consist of 11 members - nine voting members appointed by the City Council who are City residents, with representatives from each of the City’s five Council Districts, who bring a range of perspectives and expertise that focus on the City’s long-term vision for mobility options throughout the City, and two non-voting members appointed by the City Manager.

It is recommended that the members appointed reflect the following categories of special interest/discipline: professional engineering sector, construction/private business sector, bike and pedestrian/mass transit sector, planning/urban growth sector, environmental/sustainability sector, general community and ADA community.

Regularly scheduled meeting dates and times have not yet been established for this commission.

Applications must be submitted to the City Clerk’s Office by Friday, June 21, 2013. To apply, please visit cityoftacoma.org/cbcapplication or contact April Larsen at (253) 591-5167, City Clerk’s Office, Room 220, Municipal Building, 747 Market St., Tacoma, WA 98402.

Confronting Councilmember Boe's C1 Claims

2013-05-06T17:27:00.002-07:00

Tacoma Link at Commerce St. Station (Photo by Chris K.)

I hope that this is the last time I speak of Councilmember Boe's arguments against E-1. I find most of them shaky at best and dead wrong in many cases. You might be asking the question, "Why do I need to address his arguments even though a decision has already been made?" My response is, because it's important to speak truth to power and it's important for Tacomans to not have any lingering doubts in their minds about the decision that was made.

I want no one, several years from now, to go "if only we had chosen to build a hybrid route to the East Side." When someone says something like that in the future, please refer to this post so that others can remember, "Oh that's why we didn't do that."

I liken this post to Ben Schiendelman's 2008 critique of the never-built Green Line monorail in Seattle.

Each of Councilmember Boe's comments are in bold and italicized. They were initially covered on Exit133.

E1 is not part of a long-term plan

Sound Transit's Long Range Plan
Includes Tacoma Link expansion to
Tacoma Community College

There was city-wide light rail feasibility planning conducted by the City of Tacoma in 2006-2007. The study looked at technologies, grades, zoning, and costs. The results of the study indicated three primary alignments that made sense as part of an initial expansion of streetcar/light rail: 6^thAvenue via Stadium Way, Martin Luther King from Division and MLK and Portland Avenue via Puyallup Avenue.

After the study was concluded, several neighborhood councils fought to have an $80m Tacoma Link light rail capital contribution included in Sound Transit 2 in 2008. It was anticipated that the extension would be along Stadium Way to Tacoma General, with some level of extension afterwards.

A light rail connection along Stadium Way to Tacoma General is included in Transportation 2040 (as project 5459), the regional long range transportation planning document, as well as in Sound Transit's 2005 long range plan. The Division Avenue to 19th segment along MLK Way was not programmed in, and thus is not exactly a regional project, but the only other corridor that was was B1 (PSRC project 4075) and seven of nine Councilmembers didn't even mention that that corridor existed in this process. Funny that.

Anyways, since that time there hasn't been any actual planning done by the City because we handed off the study process to Sound Transit essentially in mid-2010. David Boe has been sitting on the Tacoma City Council since 2010. Where was the initiative by the Tacoma City Council before this time to engage the public with a long term transit planning process? It's not like this is anything new. Tacoma Link has been in operation since 2003. We have been doing studies for how to expand it since 2004. This argument that there has been no long range planning done has the caliber of some arguments that I have heard come out of Congress.

Light Rail design is a heavy transportation option – the system we have is for going fast on flat ground

Trolleybuses are used in Seattle and San Francisco
for steep grades that streetcars can't handle

There used to be 125 miles of streetcar lines in Tacoma. The pre-1938 streetcar system carried 30 million passengers a year, compared to 10 million served by Pierce Transit today and 15 million at Pierce Transit's peak. Historically, we adapted to the city's topography using a combination of different technologies. For traversing the city's steep slopes we used a cable car loop, that I have been describing in blog entries and emails to public officials since I learned about it close to seven years ago. Streetcars operated on relatively level grades and were integrated by the east-west cable car loop. The analagous modern transit technology for dealing with steep inclines in excess of 8.5% nowadays is the electric trolleybus, currently in use in Seattle and San Francisco.

You can’t go directly south from Hilltop – the E1 route cuts off half the city – we’re painting ourselves into a corner for long-term planning

E1 opens up B1, retains C1 and G1, and enables Tacoma Ave.

Where exactly are we painting ourselves into a corner in this? By expanding double-track to Division Avenue and Martin Luther King Jr. Way, we are then capable of expanding westward to TCC via 6^thAvenue, or we could spur again down Tacoma Avenue from the Stadium District, or if we double-tracked all the way to 19^thSt., we could create a bridge across the valley to the Lincoln District and beyond. It's not like Portland Avenue is going anywhere. We still need to address single track sections on Pacific Ave and S. 25^thbefore proceeding with any kind of streetcar buildout on the East Side of Tacoma. If we don't, then we will make it difficult to maintain service frequency because of bidirectional train conflicts.

At least going to the lower Portland Avenue center builds towards a long-term plan – the best option from a planning standpoint

Expansion to Portland Avenue is not the best option from a planning standpoint. The Eastside has a steep slope to its west side, which makes system expansion (west) to the rest of South Tacoma technically infeasible aside from S. 38th St. How is painting further expansion into a non-expandable corner the best long term plan? There are several one-mile extensions of rail that make sense from a ridership and development perspective off of E-1.

The goal of Sound Transit is to be regional player in transportation – MLK and Stadium are both located in downtown Tacoma – connecting the Eastside to downtown makes it more of a regional connection

That doesn't make any sense at all. Arguably the most “regional” connection was to extend Tacoma Link to Fife where we would run light rail through swaths of vacant land and industrial area, which in Councilmember Boe's mind would be ripe for transit oriented development with the right zoning.

MLK and Stadium are neighborhood mixed-use centers – an Eastside expansion could get you to a community mixed-use center – there will be pressure will be to upzone neighborhoods around the Link, where as the Lower Portland area is already a community mixed use center, with better ability to accommodate big buildings

There may be pressure to upzone Stadium and MLK and any areas that get rail. This much is probably true. The CCX zoning that Boe refers to here does have higher height levels, but only a difference of twenty feet. During the environmental analysis, if we determine that an additional height bonus is better, we could implement station area zoning for transit oriented development that could exceed existing heights for zoning. This is a reasonable change, given appropriate processes.

The Urban Land Institute said don’t get tied into the north/south corridor, but instead focus on east/west connections and getting up the hill from downtown

The ULI is right in this case. E-1 isn't the best way to scale the hill to connect the Downtown core. A better method would be to use high frequency buses with electric motors, but that doesn't invalidate the ability of the project to stimulate development along the MLK corridor.

There is no real development benefit to going up Stadium Way, other than getting up the hill to Stadium

You don't get development from rail in the absence of stations. You just don't. Ride Central Link in Seattle and take a look at what single story development and off-street parking lots still exist between the long distance between stations on their light rail line.

Getting to Stadium is of prime importance. It is the densest area in the County, if not the State, outside of the City of Seattle. Stadium is zoned for dense, mixed use development, and has several opportunities for infill, which will make the neighborhood contiguously urban and more livable and attractive.

C1 gives the potential to look at feeding in block by block for potential development

Are there any developers assembled, besides the Tribe? The proximity of this land to the noise and nuisance of the freeway doesn't make it the most desirable. The presence of one rail station connecting Tacoma Dome Station to Lower Portland Ave may not be enough of an economic boost.

Only one entity has come forward towards partnering on funding, and that’s for the C1 option – the project will require such a partnership, and here we actually have an interested party

Both the B1 and E1 options have a significant capability to raise funds via LID for their last-mile segment of the rail extension. B1 and E1 both have taxable property value in the range of $600m in an area ¼ mile along their mutual corridors beyond Division and MLK. The Tribe is offering $12m, when the needed local match will be undoubtedly higher.

E1 doesn’t relieve, but instead creates congestion – rail where freeway entrance ramps come into the city will create congestion

There is no station programmed or even considered along Stadium Way. With 12 minute headways, streetcars would travel along the corridor every six minutes. If the signal timing is synchronized, there won't be any impact as streetcars will travel with the existing lane of traffic. This is one of Boe's poorer arguments.

The original Link wasn’t laid out as a system, it was put in as a shuttle – we’re expanding off of a poor decision from a long-term standpoint – going to only E1 adds another poor decision on top of that

The original Link was a starter line. It was meant to get us ready for an extension up Stadium Way. That the City designed the monster that is Tollefson Plaza or didn't adequately vet where the stations were placed doesn't really have anything to do with how the route was configured for expansion. Additionally it has little relevance to how we're going to be connecting Downtown Tacoma and Tacoma Dome Station to other parts of the City. This argument is sounds a lot like sour grapes, to me.

C1 doubles capacity for people arriving at events at the Tacoma Dome and Convention Center – we need to look at ways to leverage investments in transportation to help these City assets, including connections to hotel rooms

How does David Boe justify that we are “doubling capacity” for people arriving at events at Tacoma Dome and the Convention Center? An additional direction of travel would be supported to Tacoma Dome during special events, but does that additional direction have sufficient nominal demand to support service over the remainder of its period of operation during the day? How much hotel space does Councilmember Boe think is viable in the Lower Portland Avenue Mixed Use Center that would be accessible from the single station on E 29th St.?

By expanding Link to Stadium and MLK, the areas with the greatest existing and future residential and commercial density, we have the ability to expand access to those events to local residents. There is still plenty of vacant land for hotels in Downtown Tacoma or on many potential sites along light rail on an E-1 corridor.

C1 has ability to take the development pressure. This will create gentrification. Rents will go up. Some businesses will have difficulty staying where they’re at.

Wherever rail goes, there will be some level of displacement. It isn't like that isn't going to happen to residents on Portland Avenue, either. However, development will not occur without sufficient ridership and residential and commercial demand. Ridership levels on C1 aren't as high as they are projected to be on E1 or B1.

We need to have a vision that says Tacoma can see development like Portland’s Pearl District – C1 has that potential.

The Pearl District had brick warehouses that were easily rehabilitated and converted into mixed use buildings. Portland Avenue does not have that kind of building stock that makes it easy to flip such buildings. Instead, new construction has to stand on its own, which will mean excessive amounts of parking so that banks will finance the projects, as well as a focus on market-rate tenants, which will have to charge high prices for goods and services. The Pearl District and gentrification are practically synonymous.

Tacoma Transportation Commission on Agenda

2013-05-06T13:02:00.001-07:00

Councilmember Ryan Mello (District 8, At-Large)

Tacoma City Councilmember Ryan Mello is sponsoring a resolution for the creation of a city Transportation Commission.

The purpose of the commission would be to advise the City Council on transportation-related matters such as short-term and long-range transportation planning; compliance with local, regional, and federal transportation regulations; bike, pedestrian, and mass transit-related planning initiatives; and parking and capital improvement plans.

The Commission will consist of 11 members from all five City Council Districts. Nine of the eleven will be appointed by the City Council, and will bring a range of perspectives and expertise that focus on the City's long-term vision for mobility options. The remaining two representatives will be appointed by the City Manager.

Additionally, it appears from the language in the resolution that the existing Parking Management Advisory Task Force and the Bicycle and Pedestrian Action Committee are proposed to be somewhat merged as Technical Advisory Groups or TAGs to provide input to the overall Transportation Commission.

This is pretty exciting news. It's a good first step towards a comprehensive transportation master plan that includes transit as a much stronger component than in the past. If this passes, the next step will be to determine a slate of individuals who are competent, knowledgeable about a particular field of transportation, and are capable of thinking long term about the City's needs.

The resolution is on the Tuesday Council agenda as Resolution 38669.

Who wants to serve on the City's Transportation Commission?

Single Track & TIGER grant for Hilltop Streetcar?

2013-05-01T10:44:00.000-07:00

Streetcar Route Map 2009
Tacoma TIGER Grant Application

Lewis Kamb at the News Tribune did a fine job of live tweeting (@lewiskamb) and reporting from the TNT on Council's 8-1 decision to stay with Martin Luther King Jr. Way as a corridor for light rail expansion in Tacoma.

Was there a little drama yesterday? Yes.
But it didn't change the core dynamic that a majority of Councilmembers were confirmed to support MLK yesterday --- and further, that E-1 has been the plan all along since at least 2009.

An amendment to the resolution for the H-2 hybrid failed on a 5-4 vote, with Boe, Campbell, Woodards, and Lonergan in support.

Anders Ibsen and Ryan Mello both indicated that they could not support the amendment, citing the need to keep the project cost competitive. The Mayor talked about how light rail on Hilltop will help to change the perception of the neighborhood and connect the hospitals.

Looking at Single Track on MLK

While most of the Council was enthusiastic in their support for MLK, the project still needs another ~$30m to be fully funded as a double-track extension, thanks to Sound Transit's cut to the Tacoma Link budget.

A Local Improvement District for the Martin Luther King / Hilltop neighborhood has been talked about, but never at that level of scale.

As we move into environmental review and conceptual design, it's worth looking into building the Martin Luther King segment south of Division Avenue as single track with passing lanes. A 2009 streetcar engineering study completed by Parametrix and paid for by the City of Tacoma indicated significant cost savings in the realm of $14m for a single track alignment on MLK versus double track.

Making such a design consideration would save the Hilltop neighborhood half of its potential contribution to the project.

DOT TIGER Grant Application

In 2009, City Manager Eric Anderson and his staff submitted an application for a $38m TIGER grant to the Federal Department of Transportation for the Stadium Way segment of track. Applications for the newest round of Tiger Grants are due on June 3rd, so we would have to move at lightning fast speeds to get them in on time. Now that Alternatives Analysis is more or less complete and a preferred alternative is all-but secured, it would be an opportune time to resubmit our application for a grant.

TONIGHT: Council to rule on Hilltop Light Rail

2013-04-30T08:30:00.000-07:00

Tonight the Tacoma City Council will consider Resolution 38664, which endorses the Downtown-Stadium District-Hilltop extension of Tacoma Link. As of this writing, six of nine Councilmembers, including Mayor Strickland, are in favor of this alternative, to varying degrees.

If you want to comment in-person before the votes are cast, arrive before 5pm today at City Hall (747 Market St) to sign in. Council Chambers are on the first floor.

Several citizens have filed petitions for various alternatives. The petitions total 45 pages, representing support from the Stadium District, Community Healthcare, the Hilltop Action Coalition, and the Eastside. Varying levels of justification are included in the petitions... see for yourself.

Dueling Light Rail Petitions: Eastside vs. Hilltop

Tacoma's East Side Light Rail Petition and Project Justification

Hilltop Action Coalition's Light Rail Petition and Project Justification

The full text:

TACOMA CITY COUNCIL

REGULAR AGENDA

APRIL 30, 2013

RESOLUTION 38664

"A RESOLUTION relating to Sound Transit's Link Light Rail; expressing support for the North Downtown Central (E1) corridor as the preferred alternative for the Tacoma Link Light Rail system expansion project, which will be a significant and important investment in Tacoma and an important addition to the regional transit system."

WHEREAS, in August 2012, Sound Transit initiated a study to identify preferred alternatives for expanding the Tacoma Link Light Rail ("Rail"), and

WHEREAS Sound Transit reviewed each of the alternatives, received and incorporated community input on each proposal, and provided comment opportunities until the conclusion of the study, and

WHEREAS, on January 22,2013, Sound Transit briefed the City Council on the study and identified alternatives for expanding the Rail, and

WHEREAS, on February 26, 2013, Sound Transit presented additional information on the initial screening of six alternatives and an evaluation summary with benefits and disadvantages for three of the proposed corridors, and

WHEREAS, on March 19, 2013, the City Council had further discussion on the three corridors evaluated by Sound Transit, as well as the possibility of a "hybrid" corridor which would include the best connection points of the North End Central (B1), Eastside (C1), and North Downtown Central (E1) corridors, and

WHEREAS, on March 21,2013, the City Manager requested that Sound Transit include an examination of the new hybrid corridor ("H1") as part of its analysis, and

WHEREAS, at the Study Session of April 16, 2013, Sound Transit provided evaluation results for the H1 corridor option and shared information on a second hybrid option ("H2") that was discussed by the Stakeholder Roundtable, and

WHEREAS, on April 23, 2013, the City Council continued its examination and discussion of several of the alternatives, focusing on the North Downtown Central (E1) and Eastside (C1) alternatives, and

WHEREAS the City Council has determined that the North Downtown Central (E1) corridor, which will reach the highest households and jobs density per acre, is the preferred alternative for the Rail system expansion project; Now, Therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF TACOMA:

That the City Council hereby expresses its support for the North Downtown Central (E1) corridor as the preferred alternative for the Tacoma Link Light Rail system expansion project, which will be a significant and important investment in Tacoma and an important addition to the regional transit system.

6th Avenue anything but "Built out"

2013-04-26T08:30:00.000-07:00

The Marc, a 6 story mixed use building that was permitted for 6th Avenue and Alder St.

To those Councilmembers who say that 6th Avenue is "built-out," NCX zoning on Lower 6th Avenue will allow construction of buildings up to 65 feet in height. 6th Avenue, within the 6th and Pine Mixed Use Center is designated as a "core pedestrian street" and is eligible for height bonuses above the standard 45 foot limit, given certain investments in public amenities such as outdoor seating or sustainable construction practices.

I took a couple of photos yesterday that illustrate where that 65 foot limit is nowhere close to being met. These properties would all be along the not-chosen B1 streetcar corridor. And many of the properties have the potential to be stops along a 6th Avenue streetcar line and would be capable of being redeveloped into mixed use developments like The Marc - a proposed 6 story mixed use building that couldn't get financing a couple years back. Several ideas for stations along 6th Avenue have been thrown out as suggestions include: Sprague Ave, Pine St., Alder St. and Union Ave. Keep that in mind as you scroll through the photos.

I will be referring to this post in the future as we continue to push for a 6th Avenue streetcar as a sensible and logical 'Phase 2' expansion of Tacoma Link.

Sonia's Tacos @ 6th and Fife St.

Xtracare Dental @ 6th and Oakes St.

Tapco Credit Union @ 6th and Anderson St.

Taco Bell @ 6th and Pine St.

O'Reilly Auto Parts @ 6th and Pine St.

7-11 @ 6th and Alder St.

Defunct Overtime Bar and Grill @ 6th and Alder St.

Ace Check Cashing @ 6th and Alder St.

Bartell Drugs @ 6th and Union Avenue

Time to Come Together around Hilltop

2013-04-24T08:30:00.000-07:00

While it wasn't my first choice for the first extension of Tacoma Link, it was my second choice. The decision that seems to be gelling with the Tacoma City Council to expand to Hilltop via the Stadium District has six votes to proceed as the recommended alternative to the Sound Transit Board.

This is a good decision based on sound long-term ridership projections, an assumption of long-term dense, mixed-use, pedestrian-oriented real estate development, and a 'bet' on the medical industry's ability to provide family-wage local jobs to underserved communities. An added bonus is that B1 and E1 share about 2/3 of the same track, so we'll be that much closer to realizing that alignment.

ST3 is only three years away (2016), and that will be an opportunity to get us to Tacoma Community College via 6th Avenue, which is what Tacoma Streetcar and the Streetcar Feasibility Committee thought would be a really good option in the event of sufficient funds. We have the opportunity here to gain allies and to secure a future where a 6th Avenue extension of light rail is only a mile of track away.

With the E1 decision in the air between now and when the formal vote will be tallied next Tuesday on April 30th, I believe that it is time for B1 supporters to come together and to fall in line, in solidarity, with E1 supporters.

If you are a B1 supporter, I encourage you to write a message to the six E1 coalition members to indicate your support for the decision.

Here are their email addresses:

Mayor Marilyn Strickland - Marilyn.Strickland@cityoftacoma.org
Anders Ibsen - anders.ibsen@cityoftacoma.org
Ryan Mello - ryan.mello@cityoftacoma.org
Lauren Walker - lauren.walker@cityoftacoma.org
Victoria Woodards - victoria.woodards@cityoftacoma.org
Robert Thoms - robert.thoms@cityoftacoma.org

Streetcars as Historic Restoration

2013-04-22T08:22:00.000-07:00

Historic 'K' St at S. 15th, Now Martin Luther King Jr. Way

For the last couple of weeks I have been trying to get various organizations throughout Tacoma to speak up and to send letters to the Tacoma City Council and the Sound Transit Board regarding Link.

I don't care what routes they support. As with my Facebook Badge post, I just want people to make some statement, any statement, outlining how they see the issue in terms of benefits and impacts. Getting that information to decision makers is critical and allowing staff to address potential impacts in environmental review and engineering is in the entire city's best interest.

One area where I have found some success in this endeavor has been in getting organizations to address what Sound Transit, up until now, has said are "disadvantages" of the various alternatives.

One key disadvantage that Sound Transit has identified has been "potential impact to historic resources" for B1/E1. I kind of roll my eyes at this impact because historic neighborhoods were developed because of the transportation access created by streetcars.

Yesterday I got an email from the North Slope Historic District, that turned that "concern" upside down by calling out streetcar service as a kind of historic restoration that would be welcome addition and benefit to the neighborhood. North Slope Historic District Co-Chair Deborah Cade wrote,

"We are delighted that two of the proposed extension options, B1 and E1, recreate portions of these historic streetcar routes."

The Tacoma MetroParks Board is expected to make a similar statement regarding park impacts, but as of this writing, I do not have that letter. One parks board member indicated to me that light rail would mean 'the more the merrier' to parks in Tacoma.

Lower 6th Ave at Fife St.

Some Organizations Still Silent

Unfortunately, the 6th Avenue Business District and the North End Neighborhood Council haven't issued any statements of support or a list of concerns for any corridors. I find that especially puzzling because the North End established as a neighborhood goal "building a streetcar line in the North End" back in 2011 and 6th Avenue has been studied as a Tacoma Link extension corridor since at least 2005.

Leaders within organizations that have not yet provided input on Tacoma Link have little, if any, time left to do so now.

Tacoma Link and Transit Mathematics

2013-04-18T10:41:00.001-07:00

Tacoma Dome, just south of Tacoma Dome Station

To really "get" transit, you've got to understand a couple of key mathematical relationships. One that I stumbled on in college at UW Tacoma, was the relationship between the number of unique transit trips a passenger can take on a line versus the number of actual stations along the route. The relationship is t = n*(n-1)/2, where n is the number of stations on the line and t is the number of trips. This roughly simplifies, at large numbers, to (n^2)/2 - a power function, not a linear relationship.

What does this mean to us as we embark on expansion of Tacoma Link? It means that our transit world via light rail in Tacoma is about to get a whole lot bigger. Initially Tacoma Link opened for service with only five stations: Tacoma Dome, S. 25th, Union Station, Convention Center, and Theater District. With five different stations, it was possible to make 10 distinct point-to-point trips, with passengers boarding and deboarding at each stop.

Fig. 1- How mobility and accessibility grow with transit expansion

When the additional Commerce St. Station was added in 2011, vehicle headways went up from every 10 to every 12 minutes, but ridership still continued to climb. Several factors contributed to this change - the move to paid parking, being one of them, the increased access to more businesses being another. I hypothesize that increased utility of the streetcar line may be partially a result of an increased number of possible trips now available. The last scenario in the figure above demonstrates that the number of possible trips on Tacoma Link after 2011 jumped from 10 to 15, when we moved from 5 to 6 stations - a 50% increase.

Fig 2. - 55 Possible trips would be along this conceptual B1 alignment.
Striking resemblance to a local landmark.

Assuming full buildout of Tacoma Link on a B1 corridor, for instance, would grow the number of possible trips along the line from 15 today to 55, over a 350% increase. This assumes the introduction of five new stations at the Stadium District, Tacoma General Hospital, 6th and Sprague, 6th and Pine and 6th and Union. It would be possible to not only make trips along the entire route from 6th and Union to Tacoma Dome, but it would also make connections easy between UW Tacoma and Stadium High School, the Financial District and 6th Avenue mixed use center, and UPS and the Theater District.

It is this nonlinear relationship of additional possible trips that some people do not understand. We are not simply connecting two points with this light rail extension, we are connecting all points along the route where there are or will be stations. Each new station that we add should be a station that will provide ridership to many other points on the line, not just one or a few of them.

Update:

Due to popular demand, I added in some more detail to the corridor map and yielded one for the MLK (E1) Corridor as well. If you have suggestions for what else might be done with a diagram like this, let me know in the comments.

"We are showing all our cards next week," says Mayor

2013-04-16T15:32:00.000-07:00

Sound Transit walked David Boe through the challenge of going East-West in DT Tacoma

At the Council study session today, Val Batey and co gave a presentation on the hybrid corridors.

David Boe, Marty Campbell and Joe Lonergan, had a number of questions. David Boe constantly beat the drum against the B1 corridor, calling the 6th Avenue Mixed Use Center a built out "little box," with no redevelopment capability. Marty Campbell stopped Val in her tracks when she couldn't characterize why ridership projections on H2 were lower than projections of E1 even though H2 is a combination of E1 and C1. And Joe Lonergan wanted to look at overall average trip time savings when compared with current bus service levels. Sound Transit's response to that question was that you have to look at trip time, because that's a constant, whereas service levels, which dictate frequency have been in flux since 2007.

These three I will characterize as malcontents in this process, because they have their individual routes that they want and they're pretty much saying "to hell" with the public process, public comment, and Sound Transit analysis on what makes the most sense. They consistently tried to play a game of "GOTCHA" with Sound Transit because they don't like the direction of where the analysis was pointing. I don't see this group of three as having a huge background in transit planning and I've rarely seen them involved in the public process talking to open house attendees.

Marilyn Strickland played the role of ensuring that everyone got heard, and tried to talk about a process for building out a larger, citywide system to calm those who are not going to get what they want out of this first extension. She called for Councilmembers to talk about their own inclinations at this meeting, but was rebuffed by Boe and Walker. She made a number of comments about needing to construct a spine of a system that could be later built out, building on ideas from David Boe.

Ryan Mello had a few words at the end of the presentation when Mayor Strickland was calling for Council to plant flags on where they stand. He encouraged his fellow councilmembers to review the BOOK of public comment that has been received by Sound Transit on the extension and to reiterate the need for a transportation master plan to help inform Sound Transit 3 and future extensions.

Val Batey talked about where we are in the process and brought up the idea of moving forward with an "Environmental Analysis" as opposed to an "Environmental Impact Statement." She said that the new process would potentially take less time and put us in the queue for federal funds more quickly, but it would more or less require that a single route be chosen to move forward.

...yeah. I made eye contact with a couple of people around the room when that was said.

The Mayor then wrapped up the conversation by saying, "We are showing all our cards next week."

We shall see.

Get your own Tacoma Link Facebook/Twitter Badge

2013-04-15T08:30:00.000-07:00

I haven't seen very much online organizing for the Tacoma Link corridors, so I thought I'd put together a couple of Facebook/Twitter badges using Inkscape, to see if that might stimulate more activity in the final weeks before a route gets chosen.

My inspiration was drawn from Matt Newport's creative use of a cardboard light rail model to display his support for a Stadium-6th Avenue corridor on Twitter.

Feel free to download, share and repost these. I would love any feedback or suggestions on them, but be kind. Also, be happy that I went a bit further than using MS Paint.

Anyways, enjoy!

Facebook and Twitter Badges

Download PNG

April 11th Tacoma Link Recap with Hybrid Streetcar Maps

2013-04-12T08:30:00.000-07:00

Talking to blog reader and Tacoma Link Open House attendee Andrew Strobel
April 11, 2013
(photo by Matt Newport)

I came to the Tacoma Link open house. I saw the Hybrids. I spoke with the engineers about next steps. I took pictures of public comment and spent a little time transcribing them below. I left at around 6:30pm so I got most of what people wrote. If you missed the open house, check out the Tacoma Link Document Archive to see the same posters that we saw yesterday. The first panel image I'll share is one that shows how steep the grades are in South Downtown. It really illustrates what a challenge it is to go east-west using streetcar and why we never did it with the historic streetcar system.

When I asked an engineer about the next phase, the EIS process, he indicated that Sound Transit likes to have two corridors be the "locally preferred alternative" and then uses the next phase to evaluate the corridors in depth.

Anyways, if you have any questions about what happened, post them in the comments. I'll try to answer them if i can. Enjoy!

Grade issues plague H1.

H1 - Hybrid with South Connection to MLK (David Boe's Hybrid)

The engineering challenges of this approach seem insurmountable at reasonable cost. Plus, from what I hear, major alterations to 25th (the "trench") would have negative impacts on pedestrian and bicycle mobility in this key district for urban regeneration
I think this option should be explored looking at options to go from 25th ST to Jefferson and then to Center St. I also like the ideas of going out Portland Ave to 29th.
This would work too!
This plan adds service where there is already plenty of transit service. How does this promote econ development? The stretch along 25th st near Jefferson is crazy. That path will do nothing but worsen congestion that already chronically plagues the path between the I-5 juncture and hill from the UW. It's too steep and the distance between lights is too short for this to make sense. I can't believe we held up the process for these H1 and H2 plans.
This is stupid (H1). Just because Boe can draw lines on a napkin doesn't mean this makes any sense. Not doable from an engineering or cost standpoint. All he's doing is up progress. We've been working on this for 2 years. If he just discovered this project he's not qualified to be on the council. Kill H1 & get building on B1. Going to 29th and PDX is even more stupid. No one lives along the segment & few people work along it.
This is first creek (pointing to Lower Portland Ave)
Whoever came up with this falacy should be fired. Not only is it impossible to build. It duplicates parts of the existing system and only seems designed for the benefit of the Indians and their damn casino.
H2 is better! This doesn't reward stadium/division for being the highest density area in Tacoma!

H2 costs don't include double-track on Pacific or 25th.

H2 - Hybrid with North Connection to MLK (Stakeholders Hybrid)

This plan makes no sense. It's clearly designed to serve a few, narrow special interests, but not riders.
Waste of track. Walk times up the hill negate the MLK route, why not send the MLK section up to Division/6th? I want this to cover the most ground, not just make the downtown hill easier.
If the casino wants to pay for it let them. Otherwise toss this stupid and impractical ideas out the door and build on 6th Ave!!!
WHY would Sound Transit run rail at Portland Ave to freeway interchange? This area is already a mess with exiting traffic off I-5. With the Link, the delays would be horrendous waiting for it to pass through. How about going on Bay street under freeway? Less traffic back up in that area.
Build to terminus #1. Run separate train on Portland link and transfer at Freighthouse Square (work around 'single track' problem. If there must be a hybrid this still serve a majority of the populace. throw the casino a bone to get the $.
Ditto -- It would be great if they could bay for this too -- my 2nd choice as a taxpayer - non gambler. Maybe a terminus in the stadium district?
~~This would totally help~~
I am suspicious in general of the influence of casino interests on our transport planning process. I hope EQC folks are talking about subsidizing construction and offering access to park-and-ride spaces in their newly-announced parking garage.
go for it!
Awesome! Stadium/Division and MLK most deserving [illegible]!
This is a dumb plan. I can't believe we held up the process for this.
This or H1 would be handy, then expand to the hill
The idea of extending to 29th and PDX ave is stupid; a route with no people living along it & few people working on it. Where are the riders? People that go to the casino won't be riding Link. Kill H2.

6th Ave: Ridership and Right of Way

B1 - 6th Avenue

My preferred alt. It starts a trunk of service to a broader section of Tacoma.
Division would be a great street for dedicated center lane right of way. It's so wide. this is my preferred alignment.
I am concerned w/the congestion that this will cause on an already highly volume area. The hospitals $ ambulance & emergency accesses are important to maintain. School buses and hefty cost make me wonder if this is the best choice.
This is the best option to pull in a large residential network of commuters, shoppers, and in-town workers. Ridership will be high. We need this to succeed in order to secure funds for additional lines (such as C1/D4)
This is still the best alt. Nothing has changed since the idiot Boe started drawing lines on a napkin. Where was Boe for the last 2 years when the citizens of P.C. were analyzing alternatives & expressing their views
This is going to ruin the historic streets and will not fit in
The streets historic fabric used to have streetcar on it. Lower 6th avenue was a streetcar suburb originally and used to be the West End of the city.
BUILD ME NOW!!!
This is the most sensible option, serves old dense streetcar neighborhoods, that have solid residential and commercial development and offer the best chances for future expansion to the north and south.
Do this one. Historic District will be supportive.

Eastside: "When is our turn?"

C1 - Salishan via EQC

Proctor/Hilltop/6th Ave enough When is our turn? -Monica
This is under budget, but still better than the other routes
As a resident on Portland Ave I would strongly recommend this Tacoma Link, also my 473+ friends in the neighborhood along Portland Ave
This choice C1 would benefit so many in our community allowing for more "green" commuting and now with the new Emerald Queen Resort a whole new bunch of commuters. My family and I strongly recommend this choice
I would like to commend the proposition of this route. It seems very cost effective & likely to promote growth in business & ridership. I like that this plan does not impact the hospitals & that is creating a very innovative redevelopment in conjunction with the new casino. Kudos!
How dare you hold the lack of bike lanes against us. You build them, not us.
You're only partnership is really this route. There residual goes to grands based off of Salishan's attractive TOD stature. Light rail doesn't build itself. It requires partners, $$, and a cheap route to spur further development. Godspeed.
The zoning would support higher density if we had a real planning dept that did real master plans. The zoning issue is a failure of leadership in the city, not a shortcoming of the area. C1 is the best route that meets all criteria.
The east side is working hard to build our business district and help build downtown. We are ready! - Christian
Least distractive, least disruptive - Tony
This would help me on my commute to school. John G Swan Creek / 1st Creek Neighbors
C1 totally lacks the needed density to support a streetcar.

Hilltop: Development Development Development

E1 - Hilltop via Stadium

Don't care for the horse shoe shape. It would limit end to end ridership. No one will ride 19th and Pacific Ave to 19th and MLK. When they could walk up the hill
*This would really help in the revitalization of the Hilltop community!
I think that this is a beautiful route when considering foot traffic. Although it is pricey, I think that it is a reasonable route, though I am hesitant because of hospital traffic
This route would help facilitate the development of Hilltop as recommended by the Urban Land Institute.
My 1st choice as a taxpayer - also out of complete self interest.
Our district needs this.- Sonics guy
"Make it so!"
Yes! Prime for development, waiting for years for this
Make this happen
Wrong wrong wrong this will destroy the road for too long
Keep your eye on the ball. We want light rail to SEA, don't waste the funds running around Tacoma. Build what you said you were going to do. Then expand down here. This is the worst option.
When did public transportation become for the few! Hilltop Stadium have gotten enough money.

General comments

If EQC wants to write a check, I love the North Hybrid. Would be even better if we could be also have the 25th ST. connection as well. Grade being an issue is too bad =(.