Comments on: Sunday Open Thread

By: Bernie

Bernie — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 05:50:21 +0000

I don’t have much stake in it but I’d tend to agree. Except that I thought Mallahan was more guilty of the robocalls than McGinn. On the bright side a poor business climate in Seattle will push companies toward Bellevue ;-) Although in the long term a strong Seattle is in the best interests of Bellevue and the region. On the tunnel issue I think a strong voice demanding accountability is a regional asset. McGinn won with far less assets than Mallahan. If he can be that effective with the City budget then Seattle made the right choice! Time to give him the chance to succeed.

By: Bernie

Bernie — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 05:42:19 +0000

They can’t cost much and universal deployment has it’s advantages.

By: Jeff Welch

Jeff Welch — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 05:41:36 +0000

I hope for the best, but am disappointed that McGinn won. In my view, Seattle needs a business manager more than it needs an environmental activist, and I see McGinn as bad for business, commerce, and jobs in Seattle. His community involvement and experience has been laudable, but I don’t see him as a city manager in a time when the economy is the worse than it’s been in decades. While he appeals to folks dedicated to a certain – well, no other way of saying it, left-wing agenda, I’m afraid that he ultimately will not be good for the city.

That and his campaign tactics, outright lies and robocalls made me want to freaking vomit.

By: Jeff Welch

Jeff Welch — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 05:38:51 +0000

After a couple of high-speed wheel losses – at least one of them resulting in a pretty serious collision of a thrown wheel and a passenger vehicle – they were added.

I’m not sure why they put them on ETB’s though, since they seldom go over 30mph.

By: Erik G.

Erik G. — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 05:34:40 +0000

If you are visiting friends in your RV, why would you need LINK?

By: Erik G.

Erik G. — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 05:33:44 +0000

Does Translink’s West Coast Express still have the espresso stands onboard their Bombardier Bi-level cars?

By: Erik G.

Erik G. — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 05:32:07 +0000

And hopefully Metrolink will have taken delivery of all the new Rotem Hyundai cab cars by then:

http://www.pacificrailroadsociety.org/publications/WheelClicks/August2006.pdf

By: K-Lo

K-Lo — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 22:51:02 +0000

Personally, I would like to see painted lines on the ground that shows where the doors are. In front of the door should be arrows leading out and pointing from the sides diagonally there should be arrows pointing in. That way people know to “please let passengers exit first”

By: josh

josh — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 22:24:37 +0000

As a Sounder train commuter, I can tell you five minutes is enough time to leave the platform, go two blocks to my bank, use the ATM, and make it back in time for the train. It’s enough time to go buy a newspaper for the ride, too. You can do all sorts of things in five minutes.

By: John

John — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 21:19:58 +0000

Tim, that Home Depot does indeed have a hot dog cart. Don’t know if they sell lattes or not.

By: John

John — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 21:04:12 +0000

Ben’s snark aside, litlnemo’s got it right – and in essence much of what we’re doing now is going back, again, to connecting the same destinations, just with different modes.

I’m hopeful to see Conlin talking up some transit expansion steps, and that he and McGinn will work well together. Richard’s process-obsessed but I know he knows the importance of these things, so here’s hoping we can make some real progress!

By: Anc

Anc — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 20:18:14 +0000

Thanks! Has anyone made adjustments to the time lines to account for all the money Transit is getting from the ARRA? From reading your link and some other ones that followed from it I saw this:

Full Funding Grant Agreement (FFGA) for the University Link light rail project. To date, FTA has awarded $19.6 million of New Starts funding for this project. This grant advances funds that would have been awarded in 2016, thus saving financing costs that would otherwise have been incurred on the project and freeing up local funds for other construction projects in the area.

44 Mil is a nice little chunk of change. Throw in interest and the relatively cheap construction costs at the moment, and alot of projects that would have to wait can now get started early no?

By: Robert Flynn

Robert Flynn — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 19:05:42 +0000

I live in Portland, and I highly recommend using Priceline to get a downtown hotel. My wife and I typically stay downtown once or twice a year while the in laws watch the kids. We typically pay about $75 per night for a four-star hotel such as the Hilton or the Hotel Monaco. Downtown is super walkable, and you can take MAX, streetcar, or the bus virtually anywhere from a downtown location.

By: aw

aw — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 18:58:44 +0000

http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/projects/i90/twowaytransit/

It’s a pre-requisite to running East Link on I-90.

By: Anc

Anc — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 18:53:04 +0000

As some new here, would you mind explaining what the I-90 Two-way Transit Project is?

By: alexjonlin

alexjonlin — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 17:08:01 +0000

I don’t think Sounder to Downtown Olympia will never happen. It isn’t like it’s completely impossible to restore that right of way, it’ll just take a little money. And I agree there are a lot of people commuting between King County in Olympia, in both directions. I’ve seen a couple Intercity Transit vanpools up in my neighborhood (Ravenna).

By: Squints

Squints — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 17:01:47 +0000

I’ve stayed at The Nines next to pioneer courthouse square as well as the Hotel De Luxe for work. Both are really nice boutique hotels and about $100 a night (at least when I stayed there). Of course a hostel would be significantly cheaper and that’s what I’d probably do if I were traveling alone for pleasure – great way to meet people from all over the world!

By: Brian Bundridge

Brian Bundridge — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 16:51:27 +0000

IDS and Convention Place both had crossovers when the rails were in there originally. The concept was the ability to bypass in case of an emergency or a train were to break down.

By: K-Lo

K-Lo — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 16:12:48 +0000

It seems like they also serve to tell Metro when the lower half of the busses could use a wash ;)
Quite a few of those arrows are starting to loose their ‘shine’

By: Chris Stefan

Chris Stefan — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 16:11:04 +0000

Well you could take rail or a ST Express bus to Tacoma then the Olympia Express to Lacey. Though that probably is a bit worse than a vanpool ride. Hopefully Thurston county either joins ST or contracts services so Sounder to Centennial station and possible integration of the Olympia Express with ST services can happen. There really needs to be single seat rides between King County and Olympia given the rather surprisingly large number of people who live in one and work in the other.