The SunBreak » light rail

Is Rail the Answer for Seattle’s Waterfront Tourism & High-Capacity Transit?

Michael van Baker — Fri, 28 Jun 2013 19:09:33 +0000

Transit studies are thick in the Seattle air these days. Just this week, Waterfront Seattle released a transit report (pdf) on options for travel up and down the Field Operations-redesigned waterfront, and Sound Transit and Seattle's Department of Transportation produced eight alternatives for a Ballard-downtown high-capacity line.

Want to Help the University of Washington Upgrade Burke-Gilman Trail?

Michael van Baker — Thu, 23 May 2013 17:58:12 +0000

The University of Washington is requesting $12 million from the U.S. Department of the Transportation's TIGER program to upgrade the 1.8 miles of the Burke-Gilman Trail that skirt its campus. Because fewer than four percent of TIGER applicants receive funding -- from a pool of $473 million this year -- the UW is asking trail users and supporters to publicly sign on in support of the project.

How to Get to the Light Rail at SeaTac Airport (Video)

Michael van Baker — Wed, 22 May 2013 18:03:20 +0000

Back in November 2010, this video posted to YouTube of walking from SeaTac baggage claim to the light rail station. It's since had more than 8,000 views (with no thumbs down -- some kind of YouTube record). Sound Transit's Central Link light rail, running almost 16 miles between downtown Seattle and SeaTac airport, is the cheapest and easiest way to make the trip.

Seattle Takes Light Rail Train to Job Growth

Michael van Baker — Tue, 12 Mar 2013 15:30:34 +0000

In a related Reuters story, APTA spotlights Seattle, "where transit rides rose 11.8 percent over the year as the metropolitan area added more than 30,000 jobs." From January 2012 to January 2013, the state of Washington added some 65,800 jobs (98 percent of which were in the private sector), with the unemployment rate now holding steady at around 7.5 percent statewide, 6.3 percent in Seattle.

Seattle Subway: “We want it all, and we want it now”

Michael van Baker — Tue, 08 May 2012 22:59:14 +0000

That impulse, simply to speed things along, is largely what the new non-profit Seattle Subway (over 1,600 fans on Facebook) is about, their catchy, "envisionary" full-system graphic aside. (Ballard! West Seattle! It's like someone's planning to reattach Seattle's arms.) Underground, aboveground, they don't really care, so long as the net result is speed.

Just Think How University Link Light Rail Will Link Things

Michael van Baker — Mon, 26 Mar 2012 18:12:55 +0000

But it was on the ride back that we really had an epiphany as to how things would change when University Link light rail goes into operation, fall-ish of 2016. Capitol Hill cyclists, in particular, understand what Portland cyclist Elly Blue was referring to when she wanted to know how Seattle bikers dealt with our "monstrous inclines." No matter where you go, off the Hill, it's waiting for you on your way back. At the end of 40 miles, it can be a little disheartening.