Open Thread 27: Metro, Cascades, and Sesame Street
This article is brought to you by the letters A and E, and the number 36. Specifically, Metro is planning improvements to these routes as noted by commentator WL. Metro's RapidRide status mentions the A and E, and also has the projected opening years for the upcoming RapidRide lines:
- 2024: G (Madison), J (Eastlake).
- 2026: I (Renton-Kent-Auburn).
- 2030: K (Totem Lake-Kirkland-Bellevue-Eastgate), R (Rainier).
For the A, Metro is still assessing the corridor's needs. For the E, Metro appears to be waiting for SDOT's Aurora complete street study to be finished. WL also discusses potential speed improvements for the 36 and bike lanes on 15th-Beacon Avenue.
There's growing support for incremental upgrades to finish Amtrak Cascadess long-range plan instead of high-speed rail.
- Current: 79 mph, Portland-Seattle travel time 3:25 with 4 round trips daily.
- Next incremental step: 90-110 mph, Portland-Seattle 3:05, 8-16 round trips.
- Full long-range plan: 110 mph, Portland-Seattle 2:30, 13 round trips.
- High-speed rail: 240 mph, Portland-Seattle under an hour.
There are also improvements to Seattle-Vancouver BC service. Stephen Fesler at the Urbanist has written about these options. (Note: Some people are now calling 90-110 mph high speed" instead of medium speed", and 240 mph ultra-high speed" instead of high speed". This is just terminology inflation like BRT creep.) The full long-range plan was adopted in 2006 and was estimated to be finished this year, but the state has implemented only a little bit of it. High-speed rail would cost much more, take decades longer to complete, serve fewer cities, and require an entirely new right of way.
I think 110 mph is enough, and so does Troy Serad at Transportation Matters. And now two members of the Sierra Club ($) have written a commentary in the Seattle Times supporting it. They write, We must choose wisely in 2024. Tell your legislators how you and your children want to use our precious green land. We need Amtrak Cascades upgrades by 2030, not ultra high-speed rail in 2050, for our health and climate."
For more Sesame Street, there's the subway song.
This is an open thread.