Cascadia Report

A proposal to get 520 fixes moving now

State transportation planners spent lots of time this week explaining long-term plans for fixing 520 between Seattle and the Eastside.

But what about easing the commute now?

At an open house at Bellevue High School Tuesday night, there were detailed displays about plans for a new six-lane bridge, including features like bike lanes and steps to treat runoff water and use new quieter cement. Assuming passage of the transportation tax package this fall, the new bridge would be open for traffic ... in 2018.

That distant date explains why commuters are so unenthused. Why give up a sunny evening to discuss a project that seems like it will never happen? No one can say planners haven't been inclusive, with open houses and hearings ad nauseum. (On Tuesday DOT staff sometimes outnumbered the public.) What's missing is anything to help now or build enthusiasm for change.

So here's an idea: Immediately move 520's westbound HOV lane to the left side from Redmond to Seattle. Instead of being stopped by merging traffic in the right-hand lane, buses and three-person carpools could speed through the corridor. Forcing cars with one passenger to merge from two lanes into one before crossing the bridge would be a dramatic incentive to take transit or carpool.

The change could be made almost overnight and would boost capacity. Demand for buses would soar and suddenly people would be willing to carpool, even if it meant sharing rides with (gasp!) strangers. If drivers really wanted more lanes they would be incented to support funding a new bridge.

As it stands, taking the bus usually isn't an appealing option and there's plenty of opposition to the 520 replacement project. One protester at the Bellevue event this week handed out flyers urging a vote against this fall's tax plan because he wants politicians to craft a better one someday. Instead of risking that kind of delay -- and keeping us all stuck for years -- transportation leaders should make relatively small changes necessary to improve movement now.

We're all paying for your milk

Market-bending crop subsidies only prop up the Midwest, right? Think again.

Farms in Washington got $266 million in federal subsidies from 2003 to 2005, while Oregon got $99 million, according to a national database by the Environmental Working Group. Wheat and barley got the most help in Washington, while dairy got $1.3 million in King County alone.

Some subsidies are designed for worthwhile goals, such promoting conservation. But most of those objectives could be met with zoning or smart economic development alternatives. The current system is costly and wasteful. Subsidies make a mockery of America's lip service to "free trade" by distorting markets, especially impacting developing countries that depend on agriculture. And they are even linked to obesity.

The database addresses the 2002 Farm Bill, not windfalls like, for example, tariffs and forest road building to help the timber industry. The database is searchable by state, county, congressional district and program.

Seattle: A big city with a lake down its middle

New population data show Seattle has a shrinking share of the region's population. That's unless you consider the metropolitan region as a single big city facing the same regional challenges. Think of Seattle as a city with 22-mile-long Lake Washington running through its middle.

According to state figures released today, Seattle city grew 1.8 percent during the last year to 586,200, while King County overall grew 1.4 percent to 1,861,300. This story dives into reasons behind the trend.

Now the city of Seattle is less than one-third (31.4 percent) of the county's population -- and a smaller share (14.7 percent) if you consider the metropolitan population of roughly 4 million. The city was more than 78 percent of the county total in 1930 and 46 percent in 1970.

You could argue this trend means the city of Seattle should be starved of infrastructure dollars in favor of suburban roads and other projects. But people are drawn to a broadly defined "Seattle" rather than the suburbs, just as they're drawn to "Vancouver" instead of Richmond or Surrey (which are booming).

Projects simply need to serve a wider area than ever. It's clear that the area needs a variety of solutions, matching development with transportation. the Seattle area needs a system of rail along existing and future high-density corridors and a network of bus and carpool lanes connecting other areas. Incentives should promote the most efficient use of that regional infrastructure.

How some farmers beat region's fishing industry

It's no secret that Vice President Dick Cheney has promoted the federal government's repeated preference for resource-extracting industry over business that depends on conservation.

The final installment of this week's superbly reported Washington Post series about Cheney shows how he did it while stirring up minimum public outcry over the methods. Most important for Cascadia is the support for some Republican farmers over the entire region's fishing industry:

In Oregon, a battleground state that the Bush-Cheney ticket had lost by less than half of 1 percent, drought-stricken farmers and ranchers were about to be cut off from the irrigation water that kept their cropland and pastures green. Federal biologists said the Endangered Species Act left the government no choice: The survival of two imperiled species of fish was at stake.

Law and science seemed to be on the side of the fish. Then the vice president stepped in.

First Cheney looked for a way around the law, aides said. Next he set in motion a process to challenge the science protecting the fish, according to a former Oregon congressman who lobbied for the farmers.

Because of Cheney's intervention, the government reversed itself and let the water flow in time to save the 2002 growing season, declaring that there was no threat to the fish. What followed was the largest fish kill the West had ever seen, with tens of thousands of salmon rotting on the banks of the Klamath River.

Characteristically, Cheney left no tracks.

Read the last piece of the series here.

Push for more renewable energy meets NIMBY

Voting in favor of more clean energy was a no-brainer last fall. Now it's clear that legal clarifications are necessary to reach the goal of getting 15 percent of energy from renewable sources by 2020.

Consider Kittitas County, where some residents object to plans for several dozen wind turbines on the hills outside Ellensburg. The complaint? The turbines would block views, be noisy or disrupt the rural character of the place -- all predictable problems.

So why not head off such disputes by stipulating conditions for siting energy projects? For example, the state could determine allowable noise levels from turbines. If the project is quiet enough then it goes forward. Wide-open views will likely be missed, but surely windmills are a good alternative to using the land for sprawl or to dirtier air. The guidelines would speed projects throughout the state.

For now, a state agency, EFSEC, is supposed to settle disputes for the greater good. But without a stronger legal framework it could just as easily inflame urban-rural tensions and set up a backlash against decisions made in Olympia.

Washington going slower on the Internet

Washington falls behind many competing states and countries when it comes to Internet speed and access to broadband connections, according to a new report. Worse, the public seems to accept a low standard.

The median download speed in Washington is about 362 kbps, about seven times slower than in Japan, according to the report by the Communication Works of America. The data seem to come from surveys of people around the state who have DSL or cable connections. USA Today has a succinct summary of the report and national data.

The report suggests six policies that could promote more, faster Web access and Internet-related business. At least three seem to make sense on a regional level: 1) improve data collection to track actual speeds, 2) create public-private partnerships to promote deployment and 3) reform universal service subsidies that support voice service over data.

How much traction can the issue gain when cable and phone companies tout their services as "blazing fast," despite data that suggest otherwise? Citizens are hardly taught to expect more. I'm the first to admit that I don't know if my service is slow because of Comcast, my connection or my computer.

So far the subject hasn't caught on among local leadership. A caller on a Seattle radio show (starting at 27:50) last week asked King County Executive Ron Sims what's being done to expand access to high-speed Internet. Sims ducked the question, made vague reference to franchise agreements with cable companies, and continued talking about how important it is to get managers to allow telecommuting.

FEEDBACK on Why Seattle's buses don't work

This account of a recent bus commute drew a lot of feedback. Two emails came from Rep. Judy Clibborn, the chair of the state House Transportation Committee.

She explained that she's arranging to ride through the 520 corridor with the Department of Transportation to see what can be changed. Yet there will be opposition to any tinkering with the status quo:

I agree that we have some issues and will be working to get some of that merger smoothed out before we reach the new bridge and later implementation of tolls etc. I am interested in what comes out of the Urban Partnership regarding some of what you mentioned but I am also aware of the political reality of what we can do without support from the citizens. It will take a lot of education.

For info on the partnership, see the link for the Puget Sound Regional Council.

Measuring benefits of the booming economy

Here's an interesting editorial questioning the popular perception of British Columbia's booming economy.

The short piece is notable as a contrast to the majority of B.C. media, which are more likely to cheerlead for the Olympics and major development projects.

For details on how B.C. stacks up, take a look at the latest Cascadia Scorecard by Seattle's Sightline Institute, which includes a wide range of alternative indicators to measure regional development.

How Cascadia's economy ranks among nations

Here's an interesting take on the size of Cascadia's economy. This map replaces U.S. state names with a country of similar economic size.

The data may be fishy (New York must be No. 2 after California) but the map is an interesting way of representing the concept of global rankings. It also suggests that Cascadia should be willing to set policy that works for this region.

Economy gets reprieve from passport rule

The U.S. federal government was forced to postpone plans to require a passport to cross into the country from Canada, giving a temporary reprieve to regional business.

The new rules have already caused confusion without much indication of improved security. Surely the answer is better coordination of screening of visitors from third countries into the U.S. and Canada, not just requiring a particular document.

In any case, the delay should help business in U.S. towns that rely on cross-border traffic. Vancouver Island, which was expecting a double hit from the border rules and the exchange rate, now has more time to develop to a convincing tourism strategy.

Tacoma Narrows tolls: Good policy or Big Brother?

The toll-collection system on the new Tacoma Narrows Bridge will store data on individual crossings for eight and a half years, and the information could be used in criminal or civil lawsuits, according to this report.

Alarmed? Consider a similar program in San Francisco:

The FasTrak program, which allows drivers to cross eight bridges in the Bay Area, has restrictions like the Narrows bridge toll operation: Information can be released only to police and by court order.

That’s happened 17 times in the past two years, said Rod McMillan, director of bridge operations and oversight for FasTrak. To give drivers the opportunity to protect their privacy, the program notifies drivers if their information has been requested, he said.

Landlord wants a Rockefeller Center in Seattle

Friday's Wall Street Journal has an interesting update on plans to dramatically redevelop a large swath of land near downtown Seattle, an opportunity to create "something akin to Rockefeller Center," according to the landlord.

Clise Properties has long had big ideas for its 13 acres in the so-called Denny Triangle, which was rezoned for tall buildings last year. Coverage of those plans includes this Seattle Times piece from over a year ago.

The Journal's story raises the question of whether Clise waited too long to sell the property, with long-term interest rates now at five-year highs. Scion Al Clise is quoted as saying he may take the land back off the market if he doesn't get a lucrative enough offer. He also says he's open to uses such as green space and cultural facilities, in addition to the usual office towers and expensive condos.

UPDATE: Both Seattle dailies posted stories on the huge redevelopment plan by late Friday morning, citing press releases or statements from Clise. Both seem to assume that a major project is inevitable. Neither credited the Journal.

Vancouver trying to speed city buses

Vancouver is changing the way passengers board buses in an attempt to speed service. It seems like a partial solution to some of the delays that also plague buses in Seattle.

Passengers on select bus lines will be required to have proof of payment and will be able to board through all the doors on the bus. Critics suggest the transit agency's real motive is the crack down on riders even as it plans yet another fare increase.

Motives aside, this is exactly the kind of change necessary to make bus rapid transit work. Seattle should adopt similar steps as it rolls out the new bus service that taxpayers agreed to fund last fall.

More streetcars may be on the way

Tacoma may follow the example of Portland and Seattle by starting to rebuild a city streetcar network. Hopefully the momentum will continue to grow.

Relatively inexpensive streetcars could help knit neighborhoods together, reduce pollution and stimulate economic growth, according to a recent feasibility study. It's hardly a done deal:

All of the details still need to be determined, including precise routes, the order in which they would be built, the style of streetcar, and funding.

Streetcars demonstrably meet the goals reportedly outlined in the Tacoma study. The trick is getting enough critical mass to convince naysayers. Portland's system -- which is now a true network of more than 7 miles interlocking with the metropolitan light rail and bus system -- is frequent, reliable and a far more dependable economic-development engine than city bus routes would be. Seattle is building a starter streetcar line that should be a boon to its neighborhood but may be not ambitious enough. To serve a serious role in city transportation it needs to stretch a few miles north (over bridges that need refitting).

The big question is how to finance such systems. Seattle is using a mix of city transportation funds and neighborhood taxes. Portland uses a tax increment system that Washington doesn't widely allow. Taxing sectors of the city that would benefit, with the rates declining according to distance from the route, may find less opposition.

Vancouver (but not Seattle) a world commerce center

Don't let clogged traffic, overpriced real estate and a lack of major businesses fool you. Vancouver is a top center of global commerce.

So says a new study by MasterCard ranking the top 50 cities as "world centers of commerce" based on their contribution to economic activity. Vancouver ranked 28th (between Montreal and Brussels), according to the index of six characteristics. It got high ratings for legal framework, ease of doing business and economic vitality. Those outweighed poor scores for being a financial center, knowledge/info economy and being a business center.

Seattle didn't even make the list, which included eight other U.S. cities. Vancouver's result comes despite the city's steady loss of headquarters and relatively weak corporate environment. Of course, the presence of two University of British Columbia professors on the nine-member panel that set the rankings could have something to do with it.

Another port under fire for bad finances

Leaders of Olympia's port are the latest in the region to take fire for sagging financial performance despite a boom in trade.

A new shipping facility at the port has been repeatedly delayed by an environmental review and has had ripple effects throughout Puget Sound. The port commissioners reportedly declined to comment on the costs at their latest meeting.

Testing Seattle's buses for a cross-lake commute

I'd like personally to be part of the solution to Seattle's transportation problems, by building demand for transit and curbing related pollution. So last night I tried commuting by bus from Redmond to Seattle.

Was it even close to competitive with driving? Consider the results:

-- Walking from office to bus stop. 9 mins.

-- Waiting for bus. Sound Transit buses supposedly come every 10 mins, but I missed one by about 30 seconds. 9 mins.

-- Riding the bus from Redmond to Seattle's Montlake stop. The bus took a circuitous route through the Overlake Transit Center instead of using a freeway-ramp stop. Then the HOV lane was blocked for six of the seven miles leading to the 520 bridge because of cars trying to cross to merge or exit. 64 mins.

-- Walking from Montlake stop to home. The neighborhood bus isn't designed to meet commuters, takes a roundabout route and stops running at 6 p.m. The other option is riding past Montlake to downtown and then backtracking by local bus to my neighborhood. I just walked, wending my way through several pedestrian-unfriendly 1960s-era intersections designed purely to move cars. 29 mins.

-- Total travel time: One hour and 41 minutes to go 12 miles.

I've had blood-boiling commutes before and this one wasn't especially bad. But it was slower than driving myself. Plus, sitting on the bus isn't much less stressful than being alone in a car (especially if you're in one of those comfy BMWs, Lexuses or Audis clogging the highway). There was a bit of financial benefit since my bus pass is free and I saved roughly half a gallon of gas, maybe $2 -- or less than the cost of a coffee. I also feel more green, of course.

But clearly we need more than warm feelings to move people better. Reports today that variable tolls may be introduced in 2009 is a step in the right direction but is still too distant. The replacement of the 520 bridge (if voters approve funding in November) would eventually provide HOV lanes and and eliminate the merger jams. The need for road improvements that make transit work better is a huge reason to vote for transit-and-roads plan this fall.

Since those fixes are still years away, here are some interim ideas:

1) Immediately move the HOV lane to center to avoid merger congestion east of the 520 bridge. The main consequence would be cutting off a single freeway bus stop just east of the bridge.

2) Add buses in the corridor from Redmond to the densest neighborhoods in Seattle, such as Capitol Hill, the University District, Ballard and Green Lake.

3) Begin charging a toll to cross the bridge as buses are added -- not in 2009. Ideally this would be congestion priced, to incentivize taking transit.

Without immediate changes to speed transit, it's simply not practical to expect commuting patterns to change.

Vancouver shows how not to handle buses

Vancouver is struggling with new bus lanes because of interference from cars. It's a good lesson for Seattle, which is about to implement bus rapid transit along five corridors.

The congestion means that bus lanes haven't cut travel times. But the city's report notes an improvement: "bus lanes can raise the profile of transit on a corridor and can be a symbol of transit priority."

The question remains why we can't mimic the successful Rapid Ride program in Los Angeles. If you simplify the system and provide frequent service, people will ride.

Americans don't know Canada or want to visit

Americans don't know much about Canada and aren't interested in visiting.

That shocking trend is contributing to a 34 percent drop in visits to the country by Americans since 2000 and threatening a chunk of a major industry in Canada, according to a recent study. Factors the study didn't mention include the strict border rules and the rising Canadian dollar.

Apparently prospects aren't likely improve either:

Boomers and their elders, tend to have a more favorable impression of Canada than Generations X and Y, who view Canada as an average, even boring, travel prospect.

Portland has land and plans to expand

It must be nice to have abundant land. Consider Portland's plans to expand its airport in anticipation of future traffic.

The expansion would extend a runway on existing port property, in step with its master plan. It's a contrast to Sea-Tac, which needs to become more efficient within its current footprint.

Portland's isn't the only airport facing a bonanza. Oregon is considering a package of tax benefits for rural airports around the state.

Lesson from Japan: Boosting airport capacity

Most visitors to Japan are funneled through Tokyo's Narita Airport, which is a good example of how an airport can accommodate more people without growing larger. The lesson should put to rest the idea that Seattle needs a new airport.

For at least its first 30 years Narita was a joke. Located about 50 miles outside Tokyo, with a single runway and too-small terminals, it was the worst major airport in Japan and fell far short of those of rival cities like Seoul, Hong Kong, and recently Bangkok, Shanghai and Kuala Lumpur. Business began going elsewhere partly because of Tokyo's travel hassles.

Something similar could happen in Seattle, where Sea-Tac is plagued by delays and crowding even as rival Vancouver continues to stretch. A supposed solution? Site and build a new larger airport somewhere in the Puget Sound area.

Tokyo offers a better model. On my recent trip, I noticed again how two train lines ferry travelers directly into the terminal buildings, a second long-planned runway has been added on existing airport property and -- the biggest change in the last few years -- the terminals have been completely overhauled to handle more people.

Narita is also helped by the recent major improvements at Tokyo's huge in-city domestic airport and at airports in Osaka and Nagoya. Coordinating select flights from Paine Field and other satellite airports could complement Sea-Tac too.

Sea-Tac's third runway will provide extra landing slots and improvements to terminals and ground transport could boost overall capacity. Faster rail between B.C. and Oregon would relieve some stress for local travel. Combined with ground improvements at Sea-Tac, such changes could meet the region's demand and help knit it more closely together without the distraction of a new airport.

Vancouver wants fewer homeless than athletes

Vancouver is considering measures to make sure there are fewer homeless people than athletes in the city during the 2010 Olympics.

Plans call for rent support and new housing, though the idea has been derided as too little too late since market trends could swamp any progress. An analysis can be found at TheTyee.ca.

At first glance the idea sounds similar to Seattle's comprehensive plan, which seeks to curb the causes of homelessness in advance and then integrate the remaining homeless people into permanent housing.

Finally, restoring relations with Alaska

Amid a series of trips to build international trade relationships, Washington Gov. Chris Gregoire found time this week to visit Alaska, reportedly the first visit there by a Washington governor in more than 25 years.

Relations have been frayed between politicians in natural resource-using Alaska and more urban Washington. But there's this fact from the AP story: "Ninety-seven percent of Alaska's goods pass through Washington, 70 percent through the Port of Tacoma and the rest through Seattle and private docks."

Regardless of politics, treating Alaska as a trading partner recognizes reality. Gregoire's other trade trips have been to Japan, Korea, China, France, Germany, the U.K., Australia and New Zealand. Mexico comes next month.

Lesson from Japan: Leadership needed

One surprise I found during my recent visit to Japan was the frequent discussion of what Nicolas Sarkozy might accomplish in France. The new president was on magazines and TV shows, and I had several conversations with Japanese who were enthusiastic for the tough reforms he seems to represent.

The issue matters for Cascadia because, as Washington Gov. Chris Gregoire likes to put it, in a globalized economy we're more like a small nation than a state. The economy of Cascadia is in better shape than in either Japan or France, which makes it more difficult to generate the leadership needed to fix our fundamental problems.

The weekend I arrived, the former longtime leader of the Socialist Party -- the only true opposition to hold briefly hold power in Japan in the postwar era -- was on the top Sunday TV talk show discussing opposition to changing the no-military clauses in the constitution. Setting aside the specifics, what's remarkable is that the entire political opposition seems to think that saying no is adequate policy. The comments were amazing because she said exactly the same things when I interviewed her six years ago.

The same is true for economic leadership. Though Japan's huge economy continues to grow and there are far more opportunities than ever before thanks to reforms, there hasn't been nearly enough deregulation or revamping of policies. With a sclerotic opposition and lack of strong leadership, cynicism will only spread. Sarkozy came up as an example of the sort of change agent Japan needs.

You could argue that our situation isn't much different. In King County, the passing of Prosecutor Norm Maleng opens up opportunities for younger politicians. Someone needs to spell out a not just that globalization is an opportunity, as Gov. Gregoire has, but a vision for how this region can prosper. Today's properity is all the more reason to develop this leadership now.

Thinking big about urban spaces

Here's an example of the kind of grand thinking that the Seattle area can't seem to do anymore: a contest to design an urban park.

New York City is asking desgn firms for ideas how to configure Governors Island, a chunk of land a half mile off Manhattan. Check out the latest in last week's New York magazine.

Then contrast that with the process to revamp the Seattle Center to meet the current and future needs of this city. There's a citizens' panel hashing out ideas, which appear likely to yield a series of half steps that satisfy no one.

France is more efficient than Cascadia

Here's an interesting take on the contrast in efficiency between Cascadia and France. Guess who comes out on top?

Consider intercity trains:

In fact, I had a bad case of high-speed train envy after taking the TGV from Paris to Marseilles. This trip, which is about the same as going from Portland to Vancouver, British Columbia, takes about 3 hours. The Portland-to-Vancouver trip takes 7 hours on our moribund Amtrak system (and you can't even ride the train all the way there--instead, you have to get off the train in Seattle and ride a bus to Vancouver).

I'm not sure if all the arguments about French households being more efficient translate to the Northwest. But there's plenty to learn on transportation. For example, Seattle is building a proto-streetcar that may one day match what Paris launched months ago.

The case for transit and roads

A package of transit and road projects for the Seattle area is nearly ready for this November's ballot. It deserves support because it's the best compromise.

The plan approved last week extends light rail beyond the starter lines currently underway. It also fixes several road bottlenecks that would make bus transit more workable (such as along 520 and 167). True, it would expand 405 perhaps too much, but it also has money to study how to incorporate the Eastside rail corridor into the future transportation network.

The package is barely ready but there's already plenty of opposition. One viewpoint says I should vote against any project that doesn't directly improve my commute. Maybe the standard of living will deterioriate so much that people will stop coming here?

I'd argue that that point is still far in the future because, even if it deteriorates, the Puget Sound will remain a better place to live than other big cities. Instead, we should invest in transportation projects that are finally beginning to be paired with development planning. It's not enough, but it's a start to capturing the benefits of more people and economic activity without destroying this place.

Financing for this transit-and-roads package remains an issue, but not in the way this Seattle Times article frames it. The true cost isn't the debt to pay for the projects, which may still be less than perfect. It's the crippling cost of -- yet again -- doing nothing.

Canadian dollar soars, confusion ahead

The Canadian dollar topped 94 U.S. cents for the first time in the 30 years this week, and the currencies could reach parity this year.

There are plenty of reasons to be concerned about the economic impacts of the loonie's rise. But I'm still worried about the confusion over which coins to use where.