Open Thread 8
The West Seattle Link extension (WSLE) is proceeding to a final EiS expected in 2024. The Ballard Link extension [BLE] with DSTT2 is heading to a new Draft EIS, timeline TBD. (Per Sound Transit email update.)
Federal Way Link is now expected in 2026. The bridge over weak soil will add $72 million ($) to the cost.
The Seatte Times surveyed 45 Seattle city council candidates ($) on their views and background.
The Route 40 upgrade has reached 60% design, and has a survey on new alternatives for Westlake Avenue North. One of the proposals is to pilot a freight-and-bus (FAB) lane. It would run for one year, and then SDOT would decide whether to install it permanently and consider FAB lanes in other areas. The survey ends June 19.
The monorail is on a roll with with high Kraken ridership. ($) David Kroman of the Seattle Times calls it a golden age" for the monorail.
Seattle public school students want more bike racks at school. ($) I have a friend who goes to Franklin and is forced to rent a bike locker at the nearby Mount Baker light-rail station."
More below the fold.
Sound Transit has a lame survey about the downtown Link disruption earlier this month. It's lame because it asks only a few questions, none of them about the workaround routing or platform-level customer service, and there's no open-comment text box to mention those issues. If there were, I would tell ST about my friend who didn't know about the disruption, and came back from a Cascades trip intending to go north. She went to Intl Dist station, saw it in incomprehensible disarray, didn't see any platform-information staff, and got sent south to Stadium station to turn around and go north. (However, I always saw platfom-information staff making announcements.)
On Memorial Day most transit will be on a Sunday schedule: Metro, Link, ST Express, the streetcars, the West Seattle water taxi, Metro Flex. The monorail will run from 8:30am to 11pm. The Vashon water taxi will take a day off. (Metro email.)
The 3rd Avenue courtroom entrance will reopen June 15. (King County email.)
Seattle rents continue to go up-again, down-again in the pandemic recovery. This article ($) says rents were nearly flat in April compared to a year ago.
This is an open thread.