James Irish, Link Environmental Manager
Sound Transit
401 S. Jackson Street
Seattle, WA 98104-2826
FAX: 206-398-5217November 9, 2001
I am a resident of the Montlake neighborhood, and chair of the Montlake Community Club's Transportation Committee. I have brought this matter to the attention of the community club, and the club has not yet taken an official stance on this matter, so I am writing to express my own opinions.
Capitol Hill/South Lake Union segment
There are serious deficiencies in an alignment along I-5, bypassing First Hill and Capitol Hill. While this could possibly save on construction costs (though I imagine not nearly as much as some predict), this alignment would represent a very poor investment that would seriously jeopardize the utility of the entire light rail system.
It is imperative that this segment of Central Link serve the First Hill and Capitol Hill urban centers. These areas have been accepting a lot of growth in recent years with the understanding that improved transit service was on the way. To reroute the transit service to avoid these centers would be a bait-and-switch for these neighborhoods.
The environment around I-5 is the noisiest, most pedestrian-unfriendly area to be found in the area of this study. The freeway itself is a major physical and psychological barrier to pedestrians and bicycles. Because the freeway itself occupies so much land area, the existing destinations within 1/4 or 1/2 mile from stations near the freeway are considerably fewer versus locations at the center of First Hill and Capitol Hill. There is much greater synergy in connecting the University District with the commercial district of Broadway, and in connecting the UW Medical Center with the many hospitals on First Hill, and in connecting the major employment centers of First Hill and Capitol Hill with the labor pool all along the line. First Hill is not well served by the downtown stations, in part because of the grade. It is not well served by a station at Broadway/John because of the distance. The area surrounding 15th/John is too far from the center of the employment and residential density on Capitol Hill, so it is a poor choice for a single station on Capitol Hill.
While a pedestrian overpass of I-5 in the vicinity of Harrison served by elevators is itself an excellent idea, that location is a very poor one for a light rail station. There is a lack of commercial destinations in the area. There is insufficient space for a bus staging to serve Capitol Hill and points east.
Ship Canal / University District segment
I strongly advocate study of the alignment underneath the Montlake cut. This alignment should have been studied as part of the original EIS for Central Link. As soon as the soil conditions under Portage Bay were found to be incompatible with a shallow tunnel (as was reported on April 8, 1999) the Sound Transit board should have initiated study of this alternative alignment under the Montlake cut. It's too late to turn back the clock and make a different decision two and a half years ago, but now we have another chance to study this promising route.
I understand that initial ridership projections for a station in the vicinity of the Triangle Parking Garage are higher versus a station at 15th/Pacific, and projections for a station at Campus Parkway are lower still.
I have heard the suggestion that this project consider a single station in the University District instead of two. This would be penny wise and pound foolish. If stations can be constructed at a sufficiently shallow depth to allow cut-and-cover construction, costs per station would be kept to a reasonable level. The Montlake cut alignment allows stations in the NW and SE corners of the UW campus, which maximizes coverage of the area. The additional ridership per dollar of investment in a second station should prove to be well worth the additional cost.
Our regional transportation dollars are limited. We need to take advantage of this opportunity to ensure that this segment of Central Link enables us to extend the system in a cost-effective manner. To this end, it is imperative that this project coordinate with the Trans-Lake Washington Project to ensure efficient connections between cross-lake transit service and Central Link. The previous Central Link EIS failed to give sufficient consideration to this important regional connection. A station at Montlake/Pacific better facilitates integration with cross-lake bus or rail service than does a station at 15th/Pacific, or Campus Parkway.
The "new tunnel" route in the vicinity of the University Bridge has some potential, but poor bus connection opportunities to NE Seattle and the Eastside diminish the appeal of this alignment. Additionally, I anticipate that ridership projections will be lower here than at the South Campus location corresponding to the Montlake cut alignment.
The high level bridge options are strongly opposed by residents in the Portage Bay / Roanoke area. While views from this bridge would be splendid, view impacts of the bridge itself, and impacts from I-5 traffic noise bouncing off the new bridge present strong disadvantages.
Northgate segment
The Roosevelt district has made it clear that only tunnel alignment is acceptable. Though I am not a resident of this area, Seattle neighborhoods need to stand up for each other when under attack, be it from freeway projects or something as seemingly benign as light rail.
It is unacceptable to demolish several blocks of single family homes in an area already decimated by construction of the freeway. These single family homes are an important part of the historical fabric of this part of Seattle. They are not only an important resource in a region that is trying to promote in-city living, but also serve as a noise buffer for other adjacent homes.
It would be better to postpone this segment than to do it on the cheap and sacrifice the long-term livability of our city.
Thank you,
Jonathan Dubman
2014 E Calhoun St.
Seattle, WA 98112
206-322-8899