Simple, non-rail solutions will provide traffic relief

Booth Gardner

Sound Transit has revealed that it cannot fulfull its key promise to voters — building 21 miles of light rail transit within 10 years — without breaking another key promise: the "subarea equity" policy. Under this policy, voters in other areas will not pay for Seattle’s Link system.

Good people tried to fufill on the light rail promise, but they failed.

So, what now for the deeply flawed Link light rail plan? We’re seeing heroic, last-ditch efforts to revise the plan by autumn. Sound Transit’s main approach, so far, has been to cut back on the starting track length, stretch out the schedule and find more money.

A more effective response to the light rail dilemma would be a creative rearrangement of our Sound Transit tax dollars and federal grants to give us the most mobility for the buck. We need an alternative Plan B worthy of the innovative and imaginative people who live here; however, we don’t know what that is yet because Sound Transit refuses to seriously consider alternatives to light rail (even as experts worldwide tell us better alternatives exist).

People have asked me what I would do if I were in charge. So, here are my ideas for getting the most mobility for the buck.

n First, maximize use of our existing facilities and know how. Specifically, expand use of the Seattle downtown bus tunnel from 40 percent capacity to 100 percent, meaning 150 buses per hour in each direction. At the same time, accelerate the development of ST Express Bus (20,000 riders per day) into a more extensive, high tech Bus Rapid Transit running on free flowing transit priority lanes.

n Expand the van pool system. At 11,000 riders per day, we have the best system in America already. Van pools could serve more people with some of Sound Transit’s money. Also, experiment with reducing or eliminating fares to increase ridership.

n Invest immediately in track improvements allowing commuter rail service between Seattle and Tacoma beyond the current twice-daily Sounder runs. Also, if the environmental hurdles on that sensitive shoreline can be cleared, accelerate the extension of Sounder from Seattle to Everett.

n Complete the HOV lanes from south of Tacoma to north of Everett and across Lake Washington. The benefits will be immediate. Once the gaps in the system are eliminated, buses and car pools won’t have to weave their way in and out of general purpose lanes. As HOV lane use increases we can maintain traffic flow by bumping the standard to HOV3 — three-person carpools — where needed.

n Where HOV3 lanes exist, charge cars with two passengers to access free-flowing HOV lanes. This is congestion pricing but only applies to HOV3 lanes. Electronic monitoring will record the toll amount and the license numbers of cheaters. Where this has been tried around the country it has actually made money — a startling outcome, I know, but we could learn to deal with it. On top of this immediate action list, Sound Transit could ask rail experts to address in its entirety the urban region of our future and plan a truly functional high capacity transportation system. This plan would expand the carrying capacity of I-5 and I-405 rail and could include a rapid heavy rail line, or monorail, from Olympia to Mount Vernon using existing freeway or rail right of way wherever possible. This mass transit rail would be implemented when bus-based rapid transit no longer provides sufficient transit capacity in the corridor.

Plan B elements build a truly regional high capacity transportation system and more importantly provide a set of alternatives to which the downsized Link light rail plan can be compared. Then we can ask: Which investment will motivate the most commuters to quit driving in the rush hour and switch to transit? Which transit and HOV investments will provide the most competitive travel times and region-wide coverage?

Light rail supporters complain that we have been waiting 30 years for light rail, and we can’t delay any further. But there would have been no delay if Sound Transit had the right plan. We have learned that it is the wrong plan. It costs too much and does too little.

The elected officials who make up the Sound Transit board pronounce that the voters wanted light rail and that is what they are going to get. In my opinion, what voters want is for you to use your best judgement and improve the traffic situation — whatever it takes. Light rail hasn’t panned out as planned. Have the courage to tell the public that you tried but failed and pursue the alternatives that will give them some relief. They’ll respect you more for that candor than for building a starter line to nowhere.