Literate Commuters in Newcastle

The City of Newcastle will someday boast a World Class Transit Center on the shores of Lake Boren. Someday.

One of the components of Transit Center World Classdom has to be a Library located nearby. Weary commuters arriving back from work can take an escalator underground. From there they board the moving walkway that ambles through damp and dark tunnels to the sub basement of the library.

Then all they need to do is swipe their library card and enter a password (********* is what I use) and a book plummets down a chute. They slip the book into their rolling computer bag and head for home.

Without a library the transit center would just be a bus stop. For example right now in ‘downtown’ Newcastle that’s what it is – a bus stop.

Back in the old days when teachers were allowed to teach kids how to read a lot of us actually learned. We can still read stuff like books and blogs. That’s why we need libraries. There’s a correlation between folks who work and folks who read. This is why commuters want access to the library on their way home. It all fits together.

Newcastle embarked on a quest to get a branch library and in the King County Library System many years ago. Today there are almost 50 locations in the KCLS system. It’s a large outfit. Recently the Renton Library decided to join up. KCLS has survived the blow well and even managed to show a fake smile.

Renton is kind of a funny town. It’s part of the Greater Newcastle Metropolitan Area but has exercised some kind of independence for most of its existence. For example the street numbering system that’s worked for Seattle and most of the rest of King County was not acceptable to Renton. They changed it around 40 years ago and it makes finding addresses in Renton difficult. Fortunately very few of us want to find anything in Renton so it’s just a minor annoyance.

The GPS tong has gotten most of the Renton streets programmed in. Here’s a warning: if you’ve never been to Renton be sure to bring your GPS so you don’t get lost.

Anyway, they also put up their own “public library” in downtown Renton. It is a unique structure in that it spans the Cedar River. The floor of the library is essentially a bridge. Not a floating bridge like I-90, but in very wet weather it seems to be near floating.

Having a special library in Renton was awkward because most of us think its all part of the King County Library. Now it is.

Seattle has a separate library with branches and lots of books. They also have an agreement with KCLS to return books that belong to each other. If a person checks out a book from the Seattle library and drops it off with KCLS it gets returned to the correct Seattle branch. And vice versa.

The problem with that exchange is that many years ago when it was first dreamed up the Seattle library was much larger. They only had to send a few occasional books to KCLS. Now the King County Library System is very much larger and the cost of returning books is substantially higher for poor old Seattle. Boohoo.

Back to the Newcastle Library. During the planning stage the city wondered if they could also include a City Hall in the same structure. Right now the City Hall is located in the front of a factory. The KCLS folks thought that was OK and agreed. Mainly because that meant they could share cost of construction. Gotta have a goal. This caused a rework of the plan.

The KCLS Branch in Burien occupies the same structure as the Burien City Hall. It’s not unheard of. Take a look. It’s on the web. Try www.dumb.idea... Or something.

Well that wasn’t enough for Newcastle. Next they wanted some low income housing units in there as well. Maybe 80 or 90. Along with a carwash, vitamin store, and local airport. Why not?

Then they removed the City Hall from the plan. I think they decided sharing a factory building would be better than sharing low income housing.

Anyway, all this required a lot of plan revisions and working with several other entities to reach agreements on what it should look like. This is not a fast process. The world circled the sun a number of times before they even had a sketch ready.

Then things came unglued and revised again. Economic realities forced cutbacks on what could be included and what should be left out. The airport was the first to fly out of the plan. Observers saw things going that way and suggested maybe the original library plan should once again be an option. The City Council quietly approved a zoning change that would allow the library to go it alone.

People over at the King County Library System can read. It’s a skill many of them have. They can also add. Maybe half have that skill. The upshot is that the library will now be built as a single use structure. Over a parking garage. As part of the agreement the folks who want to build the 80 unit low income housing are now free to make their own plans and construction schedule. Except that if they fail to begin by an undisclosed date the library will then be free to select a new partner for the remaining area.

Here’s my thought: it’s only one acre! Once you have a library and a few shrubs there’s not much room left for anything else. So don’t look for more junk on that lot. Besides, the city council has several more meetings before construction begins so who knows what they’ll come up with?

Al

Wanta Lease A Floating Bridge?

A while back we talked about far away places buying some American highways and stuff. The Indiana Toll Road was leased for $3.8 billion. The Chicago Skyway was leased in 2005 for $1.8 billion for 99 years. And Mayor Daley leased 36,000 parking meters in Chicago for 75 years.


The benefit is local and state govs get lots of cash right away. The down side is other folks collect the income (tolls and parking fees). The thinking was that the investors would get steady cash income over long periods. Imagine how much the Skyway could make in tolls for 99 years. Or 36,000 parking meters.

However, apparently the people who lease these things also have to maintain them. That’s the point. The theory is a private investment group can be more efficient with managing the continuous repair and upgrading these items require.

The people who pay for these big leasing agreements are actually investment groups. If you have lots of cash (Republicans) and you want stable return you hand it over to some slick dude who promises huge returns. Most of these guys are in jail now so you need to look elsewhere.

Anyway, you invest you “hard earned” with one of these investment groups and they lease, oh, I don’t know, let’s say a floating bridge. Now they charge a toll to drive across that bridge. Out of that income they do three things: pay dividends to investors, maintain the bridge, and finance the replacement when it finally stops floating. Unless the lease agreement includes some forward tax dollars to help with maintenance. Who knows?

The big dollar lease payment they gave the “owners” is not repaid. As long as the investors (you rich folks) don’t pull your money out of the scheme the leasing company hums along fat, dumb, and happy. And you make a few bucks along the way. See, the original investment stays as is and the investment company manages the cash flow.

The point of all this is that I’m forming an investment group to lease the SR 520 Floating Bridge. I’m planning a toll for everyone. Big bucks to use my bridge, man.

Here’s my plan: Double deck with transit and car pools on the lower deck and general purpose on the upper. Transit will include light rail. Everyone will get the transponder and when they use our new bridge we’ll make money. I need six lanes on each deck to maximize tolls.

We’ll have busses and car pools on the lower deck along with all commercial passenger vehicles regardless of riders. Taxis and shuttle busses with only a driver will be required to use car pool lanes anyway. We’ll have iron clad rules and massive fines. Porches will be allowed to drive anywhere they want.

Diamond Ts will be restricted to upper deck. See I call big trucks Diamond T. That’s because when I was a little kid, before the internet, TV, and video games, I’d go to the city park in Manhattan, Kansas and watch the big rigs on Poyntz. I didn’t know all the different brands so I thought they were all Diamond T. Now when I see a big truck my head says “Diamond T.” Sometimes my mouth says it too.

This is one of those things where a brand name morphs into a generic name such as Kleenex or Coke. Another generic word I often use is “hooter.” I use that whenever I encounter an object but I can’t quickly recall the right noun. That hooter you fill with water and put flowers in, you know… a vase! Or that hooter that squirts gasoline into the cylinders of your runaway Toyota.

Well it turns out that there are some people who have appropriated the word “hooter” as a designation for their very own personal anatomical parts. And they get annoyed if I use their word. Well here’s my reply: people don’t own words. OK, maybe somebody owns Kleenex or Coke, but generally speaking you can’t personally own a word. I’ve used the word “hooter” as long as I can remember. So my message is “Don’t get your naganeters in a bunch just because I say ‘hooter.’”

Dang, now I have to go back and see what I was talking about. I don’t read this stuff very often some hang on a minute… dum de dum dum.

Oh yeah! Leasing infrastructure. Apparently that was all the rage a few years ago but now it’s lost its luster. The Port Elizabeth NJ shipping terminal was leased to Deutsche Bank in 2007. They wanted to sell their interest in the $2.1 billion investment for profit. But then world wide shipping sank and they took a $205 million charge after shifting the terminals to their corporate division. In other words it didn’t work out so well.

My plan is better. Since I don’t have a big bank I can’t pay $205 million even if I had to. So your money is safe with me. Just send it in and when I get enough I’ll lease the Lake Washington crossing now occupied but the SR520 Bridge and we’re off to the races. I’ll sink the old bridge and install my new 12 lane money maker and charge enormous tolls. What could possibly go wrong?

Al

Cell Phones Cause Cooties

A Maine legislator, Andrea, is proposing a bill that would require cell phones to carry radiation hazard warnings. All cell phones sold in Maine would fall under this bill. She says there’s scientific proof that cell phones cause cooties.


Well I know the girls in my first grade class had cooties and that was way before cell phones were invented. In fact I remember the day the teacher came in and told us some guy named Alex had invented the telephone. The girls squealed happily because they knew someday the cell phone would be invented. All they could talk about was how great it will be one day when they could hear their own special ring tones and before they could find the phone in the bottom of the purse it would quit.

Anyway, according to Time Magazine, the cell phone emits about a billionth of the radiation of a typical X-ray. So a visit to the dentist is the equivalent of a billion phone calls. Or a typical senior year in High School. Which is why we need the radiation hazard warning. It’ll be in the “Warning” section of the instruction manual with all the others.

Right up there with not taking the phone into the bath tub, disconnect the battery before and after every use, never chew gum while talking to your mom, keep your shoes tied, use a handkerchief, and never wax the primer coat. All very relevant to the safe and proper use of a cell phone.

In our state (to be renamed “Salish”) the legislature is upping the use of a cell phone while driving to a primary offense. That means if the radar spots a car going below the speed limit it alerts the officer to possible cell phone use. That can get you a ticket. Here’s a way to go broke: drive 15 mph under the speed limit alone in the HOT lane while eating a sandwich, putting on makeup, texting, using a cell phone, and ignoring the seatbelt.

Talking on a cell phone was a secondary offense before which meant you could only get a ticket if they caught you doing something else bad while yakking away. Now that’s all they need to nail you. “Hang on a minute while I see what this cop wants.” Or, “Officer, wait a sec. Can’t you see I’m on the phone?!”

The good news is you can talk all you want on our public transportation system. Just try it. Make sure you use the cell phone camera to capture the looks from your fellow passengers. Whoever you’re talking to will get a kick out of it.

Al

HOT Lanes on I-405 Coming Soon

In the buildup to the entertaining specter of trains and bikes butting heads for space on the BNSF corridor between Renton and Snohomish we have a distraction. WashDOT will be installing HOT lanes on I-405. OK, the title gave it away.


A HOT lane is a restricted High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) lane that charges a toll for non-HOV users. If you and all your passengers add up to less than 3 people you can’t use the HOT lane unless you have a Good To Go! Pass (or one of my cunning fakes).

But that’s not all: you can only enter the HOT lane at certain places along the route so the overhead antenna can read your Good To Go! Pass. They use a double white line with bumps to divide the traffic and boy do I hope you have a lot of money if you get caught driving across those lines.

The State Patrol is gearing up for this. They’ll have unmarked radar cars on overpasses and each violator they spot will be run down and ticketed. Read the signs. They will clearly point out what’s illegal and what’s OK.

The overpass spy car will be looking for the highly visible Good To Go! Pass (my fake will work) or enough bodies to qualify as a car pool. That means if you and the spouse head off to the submarine races in Snohomish you’ll need to pick up that panhandler at the on-ramp to make three. Take an air freshener.

In other distractions, Mayor Mike (Seattle) is taking a stab at delaying the SR-520 bridge replacement by about ten years. Microsoft took out an ad in the Seattle Times (it’s still in business) that exhorted everyone to please get on with building the new bridge right away please! It’s been in work for about 14 years and was declared a dire emergency in 2000. But not one brick has been cast.

Everyone this side of the Pecos has chimed in with opinions and suggestions. After a very long and arduous process the design is done and funding is arranged. The existing bridge will sink in the next moderate earthquake or bad windstorm.

But Mayor Mike thinks we need to go back and design it over again. He wants light rail tracks on it even though there are no plans for connecting light rail at either end. He says in 20 to 25 years when it’s finally built there could be.

In response to the Microsoft ad Mayor Mike accused THEM of “delaying” the project. Now I know why I don’t run for political office – I actually think about things.

Where was I? Oh yeah bikes and trains on the HOT Lanes. Or something like that.

We have HOT Lanes now on the Valley Freeway. Which kind of cuts into the meaning of “Freeway.” There are reader boards at each legal entry point that tell you how much it will cost to use that lane. Once the overhead antenna reads your Good To Go! Pass you will get a bill.

Actually it’s a little simpler after a complex startup. First you have to buy the thing. Really, they don’t give them away. Maybe that’s because it costs so much to paint all those bumpy double white lines. Mine will cost you more but in the long run you save money on tolls.

Second you have to prepay your account. You can give them a credit card number (I suggest someone you don’t like), debit card, or an auto-draft account. That means each time your prepaid account drops below $8 they go in and slurp more money out of your bank.

Third you can have up to six vehicles draining the same prepaid account. Give transponders as party favors and then draw straws to see which guests have to feed the prepaid accounts. Tell them odds of getting a free pass are six to one in their favor. Invite gullible guests.

Once you have the little goody in your hand you’ll need to peel the backing and stick it to your windshield. You’ll also need a shield (costs extra) if you occasionally carry a load such as the night you’re the designated driver.

Finally; once you’ve made all those decisions, paid good money for the pass and the prepaid account, and stuck it on your windshield its easy from there on. That is unless your prepaid account runs dry.

Or you can just order one of my custom fake passes and scotch tape it to the windshield and it’ll fool those overpass people counters. Or maybe the State Patrol reads blogs. Then I might be in trouble.

Al

Rails to Trails to Rails and Back

The 42 mile BNSF rail corridor from Renton to Snohomish is currently owned by the Port of Seattle. BNSF sold it. I’ve always speculated that the reason BNSF didn’t want the route was the very busy street crossings. To make these crossings safe would cost untold millions which BNSF would not recover running one small train a day. Even the fees paid by the old Dinner Train would never cover the cost.


Well some folks insist that the corridor would be good for light rail. If you don’t put much thought into it then it seems logical. Commuters run north and south on the Eastside by the thousands and many might be happier to ride the train or so they say.

I’m having trouble imagining NE 8th Street in Bellevue blocked off for a commuter train every 15 minutes. There are several other main streets that would be in the same boat. Sure, these crossings would be ripe for red light cameras so why not? And that might seem like good news to some cities. But running that light might get you more than a photo at police HQ.

Secondly it’s a single track line except for a few minor sidings. To make it a reasonable commuter rail you’d have to double track it. The advocates point out that there are 52 points along the route where property would have to be acquired to widen it. People who live there might not be too happy to sell a sixty foot strip just to get a train right outside their bedroom window. I’m just guessing.

The other big push is coming from the folks to want to turn the route into an urban bike and pedestrian trail. This was the original scheme for the corridor when BNSF first explored selling. Ron, the King County Exec, had the vision of hundreds of bikers and walkers meandering 42 miles a day rain or shine. He had a dream. Now he’s with HUD in Washington (the other one). Some dream!

It was a reasonable scheme. All over the country former rail routes have been turned into trails. It’s a nationwide activity. One of the reasons for doing it that way is that according to some obscure agreement railroads retain the right to buy those corridors back and use them for trains again someday if there’s an important reason. It’s called “Federal Rail Banking.” If you have a former railroad near you check it out. I’ll wait… See? I told ‘ya.

The program means that if anyone were to build a structure, like the Newcastle Library, and block off the roadbed it could get dicey to try and run trains on it. That’s why lots of places use the old roadbeds for trails.

However, laying tracks and running a commuter rail on the old roadbed might be OK. Seems logical. What could possibly go wrong?

The problem here is everyone has a point of view. When I say “problem” I don’t mean trying to decide between fries or rice pilaf. First we have enough governments involved to last several lifetimes. Probably around 20 if you count agencies as governments. Maybe more. Puget Sound Energy and Cascade Water Alliance are two I’m surprised to see on the list. But I’m surprised about lots of stuff.

There are many others not so surprising. Let’s have a meeting and figure out how many. Or a meeting to develop an agenda for the meeting to figure out how many agencies will be involved. Let’s just have a meeting to see who buys the beer at the preliminary pre-meeting.

The Port of Seattle (current owner) was looking at trading the corridor to King County for the airport. That’s Boeing Field King County International. Its name would have to be changed to something else but everyone would still call it Boeing Field.

Here’s something I don’t understand: Boeing Field is an airport where a lot of big and little planes land and take off. Qwest Field is where Mariners play baseball but they don’t fish or sail. There’s no way these two “fields” could trade roles. Also you can’t graze cattle on either one. Some say they don’t play much baseball either. Why are both named “Field?” Let me know, please.

Anyway, due to some nonsense about dump trucks and dirt hauling cost overruns at Sea-Tac’s third runway project the Port of Seattle is not in a trading position last I heard. Must have something to do with the value of the two properties and a requirement to get approval for the deal etc. Or maybe they just forgot. That was some time ago. I’ll have to see if I can find the current status. Naw, I’m too lazy.

We also have inputs from local bike clubs as well as another group called the Eastside Trail Advocates. And I’m sure the Audubon people will want to help.

The fancy Port of Seattle paver has been underutilized lately. Due to completion of the third Sea-Tac runway and reductions in the number of container ships stopping at Seattle they haven’t needed it much recently. It was advertised as being capable of paving 10 mph, but we think that’s an exaggeration. Probably more like five. That would mean it could take a couple days to pave a 42 mile bike trail. Use your calculator; don’t try this in your head. It hurts.

Well not so fast. If they decide to go ahead with the light rail plan there won’t be any room for a bike trial. On the other hand it they slap down a bike trail it would throw the light rail plans into a tizzy. Neither faction wants to come along and try to add their development after the other project is in place.

Therefore these people are proposing that everyone get together and do both. Make a nice quiet bike trail with a pedestrian path and lots of low maintenance native plants with a double track high capacity light rail line sharing a 20 foot wide corridor for 42 miles. Bird watchers rejoice. Never mind the 106 grade crossings with flashing red light cameras.

I have to say of all the fun stuff going on around the Greater Newcastle Metropolitan Area I think this one might be the most fun. If you think getting all these agencies, departments, and councils around a table with highly motivated recreation clubs to reach a reasonable agreement that costs less than a freeway to Mars will be easy you might need to reevaluate. If you like run-on sentences you’ll love reading the meeting minutes.

So my next mission is to get into these meetings. They could last 40 years or more. I’d be over 100. Wait, do I really want that? Let’s have a meeting and decide.

Al