Cascadia Report

Who wants to ride these old trains

Never mind the snazzy drawings of Acela trains below -- service in Cascadia is getting a temporary setback while Amtrak deals with equipment problems.

On Saturday I was driving north on a (very congested) I-5 near Nisqually when one of the Cascades trains passed overhead. But instead of the modern Talgo trains that make traveling between Vancouver and Eugene so comfortable, it was a train of three old Amtrak cars.

The Talgo cars are out of service until December, reportedly because of cracks in their suspension. Using old equipment is better than having an accident. But it means less capacity and it certainly makes the trip less pleasant, with the elimination of the business-class car option.

Following the region's skyscraper growth

It's old news that Portland's skyline is growing. Here's a cool tool to see it.

Obviously Cascadia's cities aren't alone. Here's a look at how some of it may be funnelled in downtown Seattle. And in Vancouver.

Airline snafus boost support for rail

The combination of airline delays and Amtrak's increasing ridership is generating goodwill that could lead to more support for passenger rail, according to a report in today's Wall Street Journal.

Over the last 10 months, ridership on Amtrak's fast Acela trains in the Washington-Boston corridor is up 20% -- "enough new passengers to fill 2,000 Boeing 757 jets." Ridership in the Chicago-St. Louis corridor is up 53% in the 10 months through July, the paper said. It could've mentioned recent gains in Cascadia too.

Hopefully this trend eases some opposition to investing in rail. Then we could talk about breaking up the Amtrak monopoly and introducing more market forces aimed at improving passenger rail rather than dismantling it.

The article suggests some encouraging signs:

"You have to begin to put the infrastructure in place to put in high-speed trains," says Gordon Bethune, who retired in 2004 as chief executive of Continental Airlines Inc. "It should be a national priority. If the French can do it, why can't we?"

Another airline-industry legend Robert Crandall, former CEO of American Airlines parent AMR Corp., says improvements to Amtrak's network in the Northeast are one of the best ways to reduce aviation gridlock.

In Cascadia, it's going to be a long process -- even in Washington, which has funded some rail improvements. Among other things, we need more support from the B.C. government to speed the Seattle-Vancouver corridor.

Learning from another West Coast downtown

I just got around to reading this Steve Lopez column about the booming development in downtown Los Angeles. There's plenty we could borrow, like pocket parks and integrating transit.

We're all for letting market forces drive development, but we could use some vision for coordinating projects in our own cities.

The case against biofuel as energy solution

I saw a biodiesel VW on the road today and the green part of me said I should get one of my own to help cut oil consumption. The rest of me says truly cutting pollution and energy use is a lot more complicated.

Biofuel production -- such as the new plant in Hoquiam -- surely makes sense as part of an array of energy alternatives. But it seems we're likely to accomplish more by guiding more efficient consumer behavior through incentives.

Consider this editorial in today's L.A. Times laying out the case against ethanol, a corn-based biofuel that's winning attention from politicians of all stripes ahead of the caucuses in Iowa. The article points out the environmental costs and makes a convincing case for fuel economy standards instead.

Meanwhile an Oregon State University study found that the cost of biofuels, including tax subsidies, is many times more than alternatives such as increased fuel efficiency.

Don't forget to vote

Tuesday is the primary election in Washington. Since I've been asked, here's how I voted.

For Seattle-area races, take a look at the Municipal League's ratings. I considered the League ratings (I participated in the final ratings), media reports and my own views:

Seattle City Council -- I'm looking for new ideas and signs that a candidate can actually build consensus and take action. Challenger Joe Szwaja in Position 1 and Venus Velazquez for the open seat in Position 3 seem most promising.

Port of Seattle -- The Port needs more stringent oversight, which led me to pick Gael Tarleton (who has a financial-management background) for Position 2 over incumbent Bob Edwards. In Position 5, incumbent Alec Fisken has been a tenacious agitator for transparency so deserves another term.

King County Prop. 1 and Prop. 2 -- I'm a huge fan of parks and zoos, which would benefit from these property tax measures. But I don't support the mechanism behind them. Parks and zoos aren't the lowest priority of county residents so shouldn't be the also-ran issues that the government puts on the ballot almost as afterthought. I don't want to be asked about funding every government priority -- we elect representatives to weigh priorities and to make the case for more overall funding if that's required. These levies continue a bad habit.

They hate us for our brie, coffee and wine

The rift between the two sides of the Cascade mountains is well known. Now there's a new bone of contention: food.

Apparently the "100-mile diet" is catching on in Seattle, where some people aim to cut pollution by sourcing their food locally instead of shipping it from far away.

An editorial in the Tri-City Herald pokes fun at the whole idea. It misses the point, of course. But it's still better than the infamous 2000 vote by the Seattle city council in favor of removing the Snake River dams. No wonder it's so hard to build consensus for development and infrastructure in the state.

Why everybody's building transit

As big votes on whether to fund more transit in the Seattle area loom this fall, consider this: It seems everybody else is doing it.

Planners in San Francisco want to give people alternatives to driving, including more train, ferry and bus service. Even Vancouver, Wash., may add streetcars. Tacoma already said it's looking at a citywide streetcar system.

This kind of improvements should be made in tandem with gradually adding tolls on existing roads to encourage more efficient behavior. As long as there are alternatives, tolls won't penalize people with less income. Gradually changing behavior is part of the solution to gridlock.

The San Francisco Chronicle quotes the head of that area's transit planning agency this way: "There's no one silver bullet in dealing with congestion."

The best news in years: Feds to fund tolls

Seattle just got its best transportation-related news in years. Now state policy makers must act.

Seattle beat more than 20 metro areas competing for a federal grant to fund innovative solutions to traffic gridlock. Being named one of the five recipients means money to start tolling on 520, new buses, improvements to park and rides and better ferry service on Puget Sound.

The grant requires King County to have tolling on 520 in place by 2009 or it will lose almost all of the $139 million. Of course tolls should be phased in immediately in order to gradually build the incentive for lifestyle changes required to keep the region moving. (And don't forget providing alternatives.)

Though officials reportedly welcomed the news, the state legislature still has to approve the concept of tolling on 520. But instead of explaining what's at stake, today's Seattle Times oddly emphasizes the "irritated motorists" who won't want to pay to cross the bridge and even quotes a critic of congestion pricing. Another quote says the federal grant means this fall's ballot measures to fund transit and road improvements shouldn't pass.

The fact is that people will adjust, as we saw just this week on I-5. The region needs major transportation investments and starting tolling asap is a key step to making them wisely.

What to do about the Sonics

It's a shame that the Sonics appear destined to leave Seattle after their stadium lease expires. So what to do?

Considering the benefit of having pro sports (like great theater, music, restaurants, etc.), it makes sense for some public investment in a stadium. But any deal should be off if the owners are happy to leave this prosperous area for a smaller market.

Instead, this column suggests we treat them with Uptight Seattle politeness:

You know what I'm talking about. We've got to fight back with our strength. Let's give these oily Okies a three-year blast of the Seattle Freeze.

For you fans, that means: Be polite but aloof. If invited to a Sonics game, say you were thinking of going hiking. Don't really go hiking. Don't go to the game either. Be maddeningly noncommittal.

For civic leaders, if you run into an Oklahoma oilman, smile without showing any teeth. Say "let's get together sometime." Don't return calls.

If they make demands, appoint a blue-ribbon commission. If they get impatient, talk earnestly about the process. Use the terms "inclusivity" and "community stakeholders."