One of the things that Sound Transit doesnt talk too much about is the Tacoma Link light rail. Thats probably understandable since in an already non cost-effective plan, Tacoma Link is truly a joke. In fairness, its not a tremendously expensive part of the program, but on a cost-benefit assessment, its probably even more stupid than the Seattle Link Light Rail. You see, the Tacoma Link system is a 1.6 mile light rail system. Yes, thats what I said, 1.6 MILES. The decimal point really belongs in there, its LESS THAN TWO MILES LONG. The plan is to build this system to get people from basically the Tacoma Dome to downtown. The path is along broad uncrowded streets with little traffic, that already have bus service that does essentially the same thing as light rail will do. You can peruse the Sound Transit website for Tacoma Link to get an idea of the scope of it (http://www.soundtransit.org/link/Tacoma/tlinkfacts.htm) but you really ought to just take the TacomaDome exit as you drive past some day and drive back and forth on Pacific and Commerce to understand that this particular commute is a non-problem, that could be done with the same sort of little passenger trailers they use in the parking lot at DisneyLand.

Why then are we building a 1.6 mile light rail track, with its own (albeit scaled back) maintenance base? Is this an amusement ride for the Tacoma downtown crowd? Well, partly maybe. But mostly what it is is the payoff needed for the political consensus to make Sound Transit work. The big construction money is going to Seattle, there' little question about that. But this is primarily a public works project, NOT A TRANSPORTATION PROJECT. Nowhere will Link do the job any better than could be done for a fraction of the cost with buses. But anytime you move dirt, theres construction jobs. And that helps the economy. Tacoma Link Light Rail, silly as it is, is the political pay-off from the King County bureaucracy to the Pierce County bureaucracy for their support of the overall program.

But the taxpayers approved, you say. Yes, and they approved Referendum 49 too, out of frustration over increasing congestion. They approved Sound Transit after assurances from people who knew better, that it would make a difference in congestion. It wont, its simply a matter of numbers. It will carry too few people to make a significant difference, for way too short a distance. Tacoma Link is even more obviously a boondoggle, because its on a scale that is easier to understand and will haul people over 7-8 blocks that arent particularly crowded, even at what passes for rush hour.

And congestion is going to get worse in the Puget Sound area, driven by the increased densification demanded by the SmartGrowth initiatives. Time to quit wasting money, and use the Sound Transit revenues to build some roads.

-- Craig Carson (craigcar@crosswinds.net), November 18, 1999

Answers

Officials: Cut roads to save ferries By The Associated Press

A Department of Transportation proposal recommends boosting the ferry and rail budgets by chopping highway funding. OLYMPIA - State transportation officials Wednesday proposed slashing highway funding to keep Washington's ferry and rail services on life-support following voter approval of a massive tax cut.

The Department of Transportation lost $1.1 billion of its $3.3 billion, two-year budget Nov. 2 after voters approved Initiative 695, which eliminates the state's value-based tax on car tabs and replaces it with a flat $30 per vehicle annually. etc.... http://www.thesunlink.com/news/99november/daily/1118a1c.html

I don't think so DOT. Try again.

-- Marsha (acorn_nut@hotmail.com), November 18, 1999.

Expert: I-695 to be felt down the road in worsening traffic

by Peyton Whitely Seattle Times Eastside bureau Think Seattle-Everett-area traffic is bad now? Check again in seven to 10 years.

For those already locked bumper to bumper an average 69 hours a year, the latest report on congestion across the country is becoming an old story.

Traffic report The Texas Transportation Institute's report is available online at http://tti.tamu.edu The Puget Sound area is always at, or near, the top of the annual Texas Transportation Institute statistics. This year, the Seattle- Everett area was third in terms of time spent on the road and in congestion costs, behind Los Angeles and Washington, D.C. But in what the institute calls its "congestion index," the Seattle-Everett area ranks second only to L.A.

It's going to get worse, says Tim Lomax, one of the researchers at the institute, which is part of Texas A&M University.

"If you're going to abolish one of the key taxes, from the outside looking in, it seems a little counterintuitive," said Lomax, alluding to the passage of Initiative 695, which will cut car-license fees to $30 but also reduce transportation funding.

"If you shut down the pipeline, seven to 10 years down the line is when you'll start seeing the impacts," he said.

The annual traffic-congestion list confirms just how tough things are, "which any driver out there knows," said Charles Howard, planning director for the state Department of Transportation.

Given the bleak statistics and the success of I-695, Howard said, it seems the region has virtually decided it's not going to ease traffic jams by building highways.

But if it were to try to build its way out of congestion, the Seattle area would have to construct about 19 miles of freeway lanes a year, the institute report says.

The institute's numbers have been compiled annually since 1982 and try to measure congestion in metropolitan areas by a uniform standard that neutralizes things such as the size of a city.

The institute's "congestion index" calculates a one-hour trip with free-flowing traffic - no congestion - and then figures how long the same trip would take at peak periods.

The Seattle-Everett index came out at 1.43 this year, meaning a normal one-hour trip would take about 1 hour and 26 minutes.

The other cities with the worst congestion indexes are Los Angeles, 1.51; San Francisco-Oakland, 1.42; Washington, D.C., 1.41; Chicago, 1.37; Atlanta, 1.34; Miami-Hialeah, 1.34; Boston, 1.32; Detroit, 1.31; and Las Vegas, 1.31.

In other report findings:

The annual cost of traffic congestion in about one-third of the cities studied exceeds the statewide average cost of auto insurance.

Drivers in one-third of the cities spend at least half as much time stuck in traffic as they do on vacation each year.

Seattletimes.com I-695 news What appears to be missing from this Seattle Times article is the Report Conclusions, what to do about mobility problems. Which are: 1. Add Road Space. 2. Lower the number of Vehicles. 3. Change the time vehicles use the road, and 4. Get more Vehicles past a spot in the road.

No direct mention of Light Rail. Hmmmm. Craig, your such a bad influence!

-- Marsha (acorn_nut@hotmail.com), November 18, 1999.

Just a further update: The 1.6 mile light rail system for Tacoma would replace the current bus system (http://www.ptbus.pierce.wa.us/dtcon.htm). Currently, it runs every 15 minutes in the mornings, every 15 minutes (for free) over the lunch hour, and every 15 minutes during the evening. It appears by the schedule to be ONE BUS on a circular route. The Sound transit website promises "In 2002, the 1.6-mile Tacoma Link line from downtown Tacoma to the Tacoma Dome will provide frequent and reliable light rail service every 10 to 20 minutes. Five stations will be located within walking distance of major downtown Tacoma destinations. " This means that the frequency of service will stay the same, the speed of travel will be the same, and there will be one less stop than the current route. Any of you pro-transit types out there want to explain to me how this makes sense? The agency lists this boondoggle at a cost of $65 million in 1995 dollars, considerably more in then-year dollars. To provide the SAME SERVICE THEY HAVE NOW.

-- Craig Carson (craigcar@crosswinds.net), November 18, 1999.

That's EASY. At a mere $40.625 Million a mile, it's the CHEAPEST Link segment. It was too good a deal to pass up.

-- Mark Stilson (mark842@hotmail.com), November 18, 1999.

WHAT?? Not ONE pro-transit guy stepping up to defend this??? If it doesn't make sense to ANYBODY, why are WADOT and unSound Transit going to build it

-- zowie (zowie@hotmail.com), November 21, 1999.