The Voice for Industry
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SODO Shuffle
Someone at Sound Transit calculated that the new Link Light Rail station at Lander Street in SODO needed 24 lockable bicycle storage units along with two bicycle hitching posts with slots for 32 more.
But, at the end of the morning rush hour Wednesday, every one of these 56 bicycle storage slots stood empty. For that matter, the station was nearly empty, too.
Every few minutes a new Link Light Rail train rolled in or out, but most of them picked up or let out just two or three passengers. It wasn't unusual to see a single passenger get on or off. Sometimes, there were no passengers at all.
The lack of traffic helped quell one fear. Some in SODO, including us, were worried that the advent of light rail service would bring an influx of "park and hide" customers who would gobble up free street parking spots then hop on the bus for the ride to jobs downtown, avoiding the high costs of downtown parking.
Not to worry – at least not yet. On Wednesday, it was possible to find plenty of curb side parking, including a space a half block from the station.
It's still possible the park and hiders will emerge as more people become aware that the SODO station is open, or as downtown parking rates continue to rise. It's not unusual, the experts say, for transit services to start out slowly and build over time.
Then again, the 56 empty bicycle spaces and the eerie emptiness of the station also pose the possibility that we're not witnessing the birth pains of a new public transit facility, but another instance of the public sector's failure to figure out how, or if, SODO fits their usual ways of thinking about things.
Call it the SODO Shuffle.
It's a dubious idea from the get go to build a light rail station in an area where no one lives. Rail service may thrive in densely populated communities where people can walk to and from train stations, but no one lives in SODO.
True, there are many SODO area employees who might use Link Light Rail. But local bus connections for the station are poor and the vast majority of SODO work sites are too far removed from the station for employees to walk back and forth.
Shuttle buses might increase the local value of the station, but public agencies show no interest in providing a public shuttle and there are plenty of barriers to establishing a private one.
People might ride bikes as one means to cover the distances between the station and most SODO work sites. But that brings us to the 56 empty bicycle storage slots and the fact that SODO sidewalk, road and traffic conditions are far from ideal for encouraging bike ridership.
None of this is meant to suggest the advent of Link Light Rail is a bad thing for the region. The trains rolling through SODO appeared to be fairly full of passengers and the station near the ball parks will no doubt prove valuable during ball games and other special events.
But, local benefits are difficult to divine.
As the trains roll through every three minutes or so, they block traffic, adding to the east-west barriers already caused by Sounder trains and the heavy rail lines. The Link Light Rail trains roll in every three minutes or so, and halt east-west traffic on Lander Street for 40 seconds to two minutes at a time, depending on the number of trains passing through.
Sometimes during our visit on Wednesday, the closures had little impact, stopping just a few vehicles. Other times, the back ups were significant and a few dozen vehicles were stopped. It appeared to depend on how the trained closures matched up with the timing of the traffic lights on Sixth and Fourth Avenues.
It was once a top government priority to build a major overpass at Lander Street, a project that would have precluded the conflicts between Link Light Rail and vehicular road traffic.
But, the Lander Street project was put on indefinite hold a couple of years ago because city officials opted to spend the funds on other projects in other parts of town.
But, the light rail station and the 56 bicycle storage slots came to SODO anyway, whether they were wanted or needed or not, and at least as of Wednesday, they were neither.
Time may prove us wrong, and the SODO station at Lander may wind up someday being a wonderful community resource. But from the evidence available Wednesday morning, it looked like the same old SODO Shuffle.
100 Interns
Summer Jobs Underway
Interns from the King County YouthSource
summer employment program went to work this week at a cross section of
greater Seattle companies including Baley Roofing, the Dream Power
Foundation, Highland Refrigeration, NW Grating, Outdoor Research, Puget
Sound Coatings, RID OF IT, the Rudd Company, SeaTac Marine, Washington
Chain and Western Neon.
Participants moved into the jobs following
three weeks of safety and other job training activities at the Georgetown
campus of South Seattle Community College. Students took tours of
companies including Manson Construction and CityIce Cold Storage. Justin
Borland from Foss Maritime was a guest speaker for the class.
The
intern program is a partnership between King County and the Manufacturing
Industrial Council of Seattle (MIC). The program will provide 100
internships throughout the remainder of the summer.
To find out how
your company can benefit from the program, call Erin Evetts at
206-762-2470.
Rotary Annual Blueberry Sale
Our blueberries are FRESH from beautiful Mount Vernon, WA.
Picked the day before, cleaned and packed whole, then transported by local
Rotarians to our community. The berries are ready for pies, canning, jam
or freezing. Enjoy the taste of summer year-round. You can't beat their
freshness! 2.5 lb bags for $11.00, 10 lb box for $42.00 Quantity Limited
to Berries On Hand!
Sales dates and locations:
Friday,
July 24, 11:30-1:30, in front of Starbucks Center, 1st S and S
Lander
Saturday, July 25th, 10:00-02:00, at Woodcraft Shop in
Georgetown, 5963 Corson S, 98108
Thank you for your support.
Prepare for road closures & reroutes this weekend
This upcoming weekend brings more Seafair celebrations to Seattle. Starting Friday, July 24th at 10pm certain downtown Seattle streets will be closed to parking in preparation for the Seafair Torchlight Run and the Alaska Airlines Torchlight Parade. Both events will be making their way through downtown on Saturday evening.
For a map of street closures and event routes click here.
More transit
options
Sound Transit officially opened the new Light Rail -
Central Link from Tukwila to downtown Seattle last weekend. This addition
means there are more ways for travelers to get to downtown and other
destinations along the way, not to mention increased traffic running
through the Downtown Seattle Transit Tunnel. Buses making their way
through the tunnel are still free for riders, however Link Light Rail is
not.
Want to know more about Sound Transit Link Light Rail?
Schedules,
stops, fares and more!
Visit our Website
Spring 2009
Issue is Here.
Email us for your copy.
Past eBulletins
Bright Bulbs
Autoshop for the 21th Century
Value of Work
Summer Youth Employment & Your Business
Natural Gas Boom
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