Storm Report

Compulsions:
One of the shows I like to watch on the Teevees is called Monk. It’s about a suspended police detective who suffers from compulsions. It’s very funny. He tries to navigate where nothing is up to his standards and yet he solves the most complex crimes.

His compulsions are really the show. The other day he was trying to deal with a blogger who thought the whole Universe revolved around him. He published his blog whenever he felt like it and his main rules were – accuracy: optional – plagiarism; not above it – and frequency; whenever… Very odd guy.

Monk and his compulsions had a major problem dealing with the casual attitude of this blogger, especially the accuracy issue. Monk seemed to think everyone should endeavor to produce the most accurate report possible, or Monk would point out the errors.

Just a minute; I think I hear the door bell.

Winter Storms - Brrrrrrr:

We had some rough weather starting last week and it’s still going on. The whole country is suffering from this. Caribou Barbie is behind it, I think. The weather map shows the jet stream cruising down the west coast from Alaska and then east over the rest of the country. It’s very unusual.

The weather predictors had a hard time the last couple of days because they couldn’t show exactly where the snow would fall, how much, where the wind would blow, and how cold it would get. Our mountains once again made a hash of it.

There were high winds coming down the west slopes of the Cascades over the foothills. In Newcastle it was almost still. On the east slopes of the Olympics they had a great deal of snow. Newcastle got another 8” or so, depending on whether you were trying to play golf or not.

And it’s been very cold in this area for over a week. That means frozen roads. Since big snow events are rare (the last big one was in 1990) we don’t have fleets of snow removal equipment. Thus it takes a long time to deal with it.

But the rest of America is taking worse weather. Very cold here is around 20 but farther east it’s more like minus 20. I understand Nebraska had thunder snow which is weird. Ice storms farther east pretty much close things down.

This year I think a lot of folks will be doing Christmas in January. Best just keep warm and wait it out.

Oh, if your power is out I hope you have heat. You can read this by candlelight. Anyway, be careful and stay warm as best you can.

Al

Alaska Way Viaduct:

Here’s a subject we’ve seen before – the viaduct is about to collapse, probably before Tuesday so we have to apply emergency measures. We don’t want Seattle to become another city in which hundreds of commuters are squished like bugs as an old elevated roadway falls down. Unless, ummm, no, I don’t think there are any scenarios where that would be OK.

Options for Replacement:
Almost exclusively everyone agrees that the viaduct has to be torn down. It’s been studied to death and it can’t be retrofitted. Besides a lot of people don’t like the looks of it so they support any plan that removes it, whether it’s a good plan or not.

So they came up with eight options in which the old structure is removed. Besides, Christine (who recently won re-election as our gov) is going to knock it down in 2012 so it’s kind of important that all options take this into account.

Basically there are three types of option with a few variations that flesh it out to eight. First is the replacement: take it down and build an earthquake proof elevated road. Second is a tunnel: this has a few versions, such as bore, cut and lid, and different ways to cut and cover. Third is surface streets: widen Western Avenue and Alaska Way to three lanes one way each so lots of traffic can get through the area. That one has a couple versions too.

The apparent issue is the wide range of costs. But that’s only an issue if they ask me to pay for it. If they ask, oh, say Oklahoma City to pay for it, then I say go for it.

The two finalists are the surface plan with a few elevated parts at the ends, just for nostalgia and a side by side elevated replacement.

One reason the surface option made the cut is the vastly understated cost. It only includes the price for removing the old structure and paving Alaska Way (as I understand the news story, anyway). The impact and subsequent cost of adding lanes to I-5 is huge. Blocking off waterfront businesses with a six lane traffic light infested boulevard would kill many of them. Right now there are ways to park and visit the waterfront shops, aquarium, and Ivar’s fairly easily. The other part of the cost is how in the world do you widen and upgrade Western Avenue for the other direction traffic? I think the surface option has enormous economic impacts that are completely ignored as part of the price.

The elevated replacement option was also selected for its price tag. Again, I’m not sure the real cost is being considered. As I mentioned one reason so many people are in favor of demolition is that they don’t want an elevated roadway along the waterfront. And even I have to admit it’s kind of ugly. I kind of like the upper deck drive and the view from there. But the real show-stopper on this option is that it reduces the road to two lanes each way. That’s because they want to make it side by side instead of a double deck like the existing viaduct. The existing road is three lanes each way with exit lanes.

OK, I’m tipping my hand with my opinions. I favor the tunnel bore. That’s because we have two major issues and one huge consideration. The issues are that we need to move a lot of traffic through the area without traffic lights or adding to the I-5 congestion AND we need to keep the waterfront as part of the city. So I can’t see a surface boulevard or a simple elevated solving these issues.

The huge consideration is the future: In 20 years it will be an enormous improvement in traffic management to get the thousands of cars through the city while leaving the waterfront surface open and uncongested. Included in this huge consideration is transit.

Waterfront Transit:
The Greater Newcastle Metropolitan Area is stumbling toward a working transit system. There are kinks and issues, but in general it’s possible to get around. As we build more transit and add more busses we’ll reach a usable system. One component of that system is a way to get into the city and out again from near where we live. Sounds kind of simple minded, but right now it’s a challenge.

If I get on a bus in Bellevue (Newcastle has a bus but it’s a local and takes forever to get anywhere) at a Park & Ride I can get into Seattle and transfer to another bus that goes where I might want to be. It’s just hard to figure out which bus, where to transfer, how much it costs, and what the heck is that person in row six eating???

As we add light rail and more Sound Transit busses with their own lanes we’ll get to a point where we can “catch a ride” without spending a couple of hours on the web trying to decipher the schedules. They have all kinds of asterisks and things that say “only operates second Tuesday of the week” and so on. Or “driver may be rooky so be prepared to help navigate.”

The points is once you eliminate the old elevated roadway and get all the through traffic into a tunnel then the surface is available for transit options. They already have a “trolley” that’s a historic icon and they could easily add light rail and frequent bus routes without the heavy traffic. If it’s a bumper to bumper boulevard busses are hard to maneuver. You’d have cross walks (with short “walk” lights) and all the other congestion on big streets. The only customers on the waterfront would be people who can dash across six lanes in 12 seconds or less. And they don’t have as much money as us older folks.

I want a tunnel! Christine, listen up!

And that's my opinion.

Al

California

Traveling to California is an adventure. There are lots of things to see. Let’s review a few – mainly what I saw last week:

California Redwoods:
There are two kinds of very large trees and three kinds of very old trees in California. The large ones are redwoods and sequoia. The very old ones are these two plus the bristlecone pine. They can be 2000 years old or more. Think back to a time before these trees were confined to parks. They could roam free among the mountains and canyons.

Redwoods are coastal trees. Walking around on the forest floor can get really dark when the morning fog is rolling in. Many redwoods are over 300 feet tall. That’s a lot of tree.
Sequoia and bristlecone pines are high mountain trees – we saw those on other trips. This was a coastal trip.

California Roads:
In California they don’t have a lot of extra money for road sign paint so “canyon” is spelled “cyn.” They have numerous other cost saving techniques, such as neglecting pavement and guard rails on much of the coastal highway. It’s easier just to put up a sign once in a while that says, “Ruf Rd in Cyn.” Or “Crvs Ahed.”

We found a traffic report news station near Frisco and they spent a lot of time talking about light rail projects. San Jose has its own light rail. Sounds about the same as the Greater Newcastle area with signs, news, and propositions about light rail.

California Seagulls:
The bird books tell us there’s no such thing as a “seagull,” it’s supposed to be called a “gull.” Then you can apply the first name to tell what type of “gull” it is. Thus you have herring gull, mew gull, laughing gull, and California gull. That’s right, they have their own gull. It’s a general availability bird but California claims it.

California Motels:
They have plenty of places to stay in Cal. It’s a little daunting. They have funky signs and a few are just plain old crappy. Then, of course, the usual places are there. That’s what we stayed in, the usual places. They provide free high speed internet access (if you’re used to dial up, that is). I found it’s pretty slow because so many others were sharing the pipe.

The places we stayed had breakfast. You can get eggs, tofu, waffles, and nanners – and some actual food, too. Shari’s has better breakfast, but the motel food comes with the room, so might as well.

California Parks:
I have to admit one of the nice things about their parks is that they have restrooms. You can’t say that about all states, particularly Oregon. At my age it’s good to be able to check the GPS for a nearby park and expect to find porcelain (or a facsimile). Nebraska solves that issue by providing lonely roadsides. Clever.

California is also a “public beach” state in that people can’t “own” a beach and keep you off. This is good because they have such a long coast. Every town has a beach/park where you can go walk in the sand and watch surfers.

California Surfers:
We happened to be there for higher than normal surf and lots of people were out riding around on surf boards. I can’t figure out why. It has several things I don’t like – water, cold water, big waves, wind, surfers, and sharks. Oh, and jellyfish.

California Elephant Seals:
Elephant seals are big and they have a rookery near San Simeon on Big Sur. Prime beach property. They lie on the beach and use their flippers to toss sand on their backs. Other than that they seem to sleep. But they’re really big. We also saw sea lions in a couple of places and they’re not as big as elephant seals. But noisy.

California Condors:
Big Sur is home to a group of condors that nature dudes are trying to reestablish. These are very large birds and really interesting looking. We saw four. The head is bright orange and they have a lot of white under their wings. I didn’t have a good way to get photos because they were way above us. One was in the company of a turkey vulture and it looked small in comparison.

California:
Gasoline prices are down and it’s fun to get out on the open road. The weather was good and most of the food was good. The trip was good.

Al

Thorp Grist Mill

Thorp is a small town near I-90 on what we call the East Side. It’s the east side of Washington where Dino got most of the votes. Lots of Seattle folks drive I-90 to watch football games in Pullman, to pick apples in Yakima, and to taste wine in the Yakima Valley.

There’s also John Wayne Trail State Park trail. You can walk, ride a bike or horse, or have a picnic on the trail. Some folks like to think you can get over the mountains on the trail.

Long ago when I was just a kid, in the 1800s, people used to buy bags of flour. Honestly, I don’t know why anyone would want to buy flour. You can buy hundreds of things already made out of flour at Safeway.

People around Thorp in those days got agitated and decided to build a grist mill. Grist is what they call grain that’s ground into flour. It also refers to the quantity of grain that’s ground into flour in one batch. Just in case you thought I didn’t know what a grist was.

After the mill was built folks around Thorp would carry wheat to the mill and say something like, “Hey, Miller, grist this!” Fights broke out until everyone realized the farmer was just asking the miller to make a batch of flour. Grist is one of those interesting words. It seems to be an action word that annoys people, but it’s really just a noun, not a verb. So you can readily see why people wanted to fight over it.

The grist mill at Thorp used a water turbine mounted horizontally in the irrigation ditch. The turbine was connected to the main shaft by a large leather strap with a 90 degree twist. The main shaft had numerous wheels that were connected by many other leather belts that turned the grinding machinery. Cows lost their skin over this mill.

All the water stays in the irrigation system. Many other mills use a vertical wheel that turns as water runs over the top and drops into the creek. These usually have a higher water source. There was also had a saw mill that got its power from the irrigation ditch turbine. That part is gone.

In the early 1900s the water turbines were used to generate electricity. Not many folks in Thorp had computers so it served OK. If they needed more power it could be brought in by train, I think. Anyway, the Milwaukee Road had a depot in Thorp.

Another interesting feature at the Thorp mill is the old ice pond. Northern Pacific trains would stop there to toss ice into refrigerator cars. The pond was 23 acres and provided ice for the local community as well. That is when it was frozen. When the weather got above freezing one has to assume the ice was hidden in cold dark places. Another mystery for further research – where did they hide the ice in summer?

The John Wayne Trail passes close to the mill and people can stop at the Ice Pond Park for a rest. I-90 travelers may also stop in for a visit.

To me, the main attraction of the mill is the mechanical complexity. The grain travels up into the top and down for the various grinding processes using a spider web of wood races. It takes several grinding stages in order to get the finest flour.

The mill also made livestock feed which was a courser grind. I don’t know if you could call it grist. Feed of this type is used to fatten out cattle just before they’re made into quarter pounders with cheese. The bonus is they got more cow skin for the drive belts. Economic theory in action.

Sometime in the future we may once again see passenger rail service along the I-90 route. Right now Amtrak runs the Seattle – Chicago train further north via Stevens Pass. That pass was named for an early Washington State pioneer in building passes. However, right now we don’t have passenger trains near Thorp.

Which brings us to my plan: BNSF currently runs freight trains through Thorp on the old Northern Pacific right of way. Passes right by the old ice pond. I think it’s about time we get back to passenger rail service across the state. BNSF would probably be OK with this.

Their line follows the Yakima River down through Yakima and then through the wine tasting country to the Tri-Cities. Do we have to call it “Trines” now? We need to check with the folks in Northern Indiana. Oh, I know; if Trine gives us the money to get a passenger train going then yes, we’ll change the name.

Wouldn’t it be great to relax in a train over the Cascades, have lunch at the Thorp Grist Mill, taste a gallon or two of wine in the Yakima valley, spend the night at the Trines, take in a football game in Pullman, and head back to the rainy side without ever having to drive on I-90? If you have a bag of wheat you could drop it off on the way over and pick up flour on the way home.

Al

If you click on a photo it gets bigger. Amazing, isn't it, but they don't all do it.?.

Election Results 2008

Well the Sound Transit proposition won. We’ll get more miles on the light rail system. They’re planning a ring around the Puget Sound bathtub.

Bellevue has an area of low level development and high level asphalt east of the main downtown area. There was a Safeway distribution center, Coke warehouse, and a lumber yard among hundreds of other expansive type places.

Metro Transit has a big bus parking lot in the area. Burlington Northern provided rail freight on its now closed on the eastside. In fact the rail line kind of defined the boundary of this area.
Bellevue’s no longer proud of the low density business. For years those businesses paid tax money into the city because they had such large chunks of ground. Now the downtown high rise development pays most of the commercial tax and these places east of the tracks are being left behind.

A lot of the big space businesses are pulling out and heading for places where the property tax rates are lower. This leaves some big empty warehouse and parking areas. Bellevue wants to control what goes in there. Or at least set a lot of conditions.

One of their ideas is to use that area as a kind of landing zone for the eastside light rail. Sound Transit is hoping to run the rails over the lake and into downtown Bellevue. They think a lot of people will ride. A small part of the Link will potentially use the BNSF line. And then past there we’re looking at some maintenance facilities.

Which has me wondering – Is Bellevue going to have as much fun as Seattle?
Seattle has the South Lake Union Trolley. It goes up and down for little reason. I pass by that way about once a month and I see bright trolleys but nobody riding except the driver. Bellevue could have one of those.

Seattle also has a tunnel as part of the light rail line from downtown to Sea-Tac. Bellevue has hills. It seems logical to find some way to have a tunnel in the eastside system. That’s how it could reach Newcastle!

I-90 is part of Ike’s Interstate system. In the 1930s they began hauling rocks and dirt from Maple Valley (it use to be Maple Hill) and dumping it into Lake Washington. The goal was to construct a mid-lake land bridge between Bellevue and Seattle. Well they finally gave up and installed a four lane floating bridge in 1940. The fill was named Mercer Island and in order to save face they made it a city and let people build houses on it. We’d never get away with trying to fill in a lake these days – too many whiners.

Anyway, Sound Transit wants to run the East Link Light Rail on I-90. So I’m wondering who they have to ask. The feds probably think they still own the highway, but you know how they are.

Washdot wants to use the other floating bridge for the light rail line. That’s the one everyone thinks is about to sink. Thus it needs to be replaced immediately or at least before 2050. One of the big arguments is whether to make the new pontoons bigger than they need to be. Here’s why: people in Seattle want to keep it to four lanes. But Washdot is pretty sure that if they need to make it six lanes someday they’ll have to replace those pontoons with bigger ones. So why not make them bigger now? In addition they may want to add light rail. So now the pontoons are really big. But they’re under water so what’s the big deal? Cost. Building pontoons much bigger than the approved roadway would annoy toll payers and Timmy the nut.

Timmy would start an initiative campaign that in essence would require pontoons made out of old plastic bags. And at some point the Supreme Court in Olympia would declare it null and void, but the process would add years and millions of $$$ to the cost. And maybe the old bridge would sink during all this.

See, the problem with Timmy is his ideas sound OK at first but if you think them through it’s just not workable. For example some of the wagon trains on the Oregon Trail got diverted by a billboard advertising Mount Rushmore but when they arrived it was just a regular mountain. In those days nobody had carved presidents into mountains. Then winter came.

So the question for Washdot is this: “When will Winter come and stop your plans for light rail on SR 520?"

I also have a question for California: "Are you crazy? Don't you know your Supreme Court will have to set aside the Prop 8 result?" Two reasons: 1. in our 2008 enlightened time we all should realize you can't discriminate about whom a person chooses to marry. 2. It's almost completely certain the victims of this stupid initiative are not the ones that voted for it - so you can't have one group deciding what's right for another group. So Cal tax payers will have to pay for the courts to hear this nonsense and overturn it. They deserve it.

Al

Inspection Report

The State DOT – Washdot – inspected the Alaska Way Viaduct last week and they say it hasn’t sunk any more. Since the earthquake it’s down 5.5 inches but they pumped some stabilizing crud into the ground underneath it and now it’s not sinking. They should patent that crud.

Somebody bumped into a guard rail on a downtown exit and knocks a chunk into the street below. It’s happened before. This time the chunk grew as the day went on. When they first reported it the chunk was “about 10 feet long” as by the 5:00 news it had grown to 35 feet. Another good reason for Christine to knock it down in 2012. What if the guard rail started expanding some dark knight, like October 31?

They inspected the Evergreen Point Floating Bridge and pronounced it still floating. Took them 48 hours to make that determination. State DOT inspectors crawled around with flashlights and Q-tips checking to see how much water is seeping into the pontoons. Oh, the jobs I could have had!

Both of these structures are in danger of suddenly failing in a manner that would probably hurt lots of folks. It’s an emergency situation and we need to fix them immediately. In this case “immediately” apparently means as soon as the next administration can find the money.

Venerable old Coal Creek Parkway is starting to look like its new self. Drivers are now using the brand new north bound May Creek Bridge while crews construct the south bound bridge. So traffic is two way for now.

They’ve also started drivers on some of the new pavement along the Great Wall of Newcastle. Amazing retaining wall that’s going to have a walkway on top. I need to get around to a good spot and take a picture. But I don’t think a mere photo can do it justice. It’s enormous.

The Boren Creek culverts are in place and the roadway is taking shape above it. I still think it would have been fun to combine the culvert and roadway so that in heavy rain we’d be driving in a foot of water. But nobody listens to me.

We have a curbing along much of the new roadway and right now piles of old road surface dug up waiting for trucks to haul it to Maple Valley. From there it will be hauled back to the asphalt plant in Seattle. Then back to Maple Valley for short term storage and then back to Seattle to pave the new Alaska Way Viaduct. Maple Valley Highway is bumper to bumper with dump trucks and garbage trucks. If you like trucks just take a walk on the Cedar River Trail on a weekday.

Where was I? Oh, yeah, Coal Creek Parkway is at the point where you can pretty much see the new alignment. They moved it over and made longer straight stretches here and there. I think it’s in preparation for light rail.

Duval Avenue in Renton is still closed for construction. It is supposed to open in July 2009 all paved and striped with four lanes and turn lanes. Oh, and bike lanes, walkways, and planting strips. They also have an enormous retaining wall. It could be called the Great Wall of Renton except that the word “Great” doesn’t go with “Renton.”

Duval Ave. will join up on the south end of Coal Creek Parkway and eventually we have a four lane roadway all the way to Cemetery Road from Factoria. But why go that far? Turn right on Sunset and Fry’s is right down the hill. But until the work is all done we have to endure “up to 20 minute delays” or take an alternate.

The official alternate is I-405 from Bellevue to the Maple Valley Highway. Remember that one? Well, it’s true, that’s the alternate. Work continues on I-405 as well.

I signed up for email updates from the DOT on the I-405 project. It only tells me what times the freeway will be closed but practically nothing about the project itself. So I have to go to the Park and Ride lot and check it out myself. Do they think I have nothing better to do? Oh, yeah, I don’t.

Here again the earth is backed up behind an enormous retaining wall. In order to add lanes (which seems to be what’s going on) they need to carve into the hillside. I bet the folks who live on top of the hill sure enjoy it as the dozers load huge trucks that head off to Maple Valley.
Once it’s all finished they’ll have to raise noise walls on top so the neighbors can’t hear the traffic. Then you’ll see some serious concrete!

The Link Light Rail from downtown Seattle to the airport is progressing. The papers show a photo of the new rail cars testing. They even let some people ride along. I’m going to see if I can get a test ride.

The last big segment is the tunnel and station above it on Beacon Hill. The station is at surface level and passengers will be hoisted up and down via a rope tow or something. Anyway its 165 feet from the Beacon Hill surface down to the tunnel and that’s a long way. Maybe they’ll have a fireman pole for going down and a jetpack for going up. Looks like another inspection tour coming up.

I’ll keep you posted on progress as I see it, not as the official web sites see it. After all, what do they know?

Al

Election Advisory

As a public service we here at Lake Boren are providing a quick review of the issues and candidates in the November 4 election. Following the review we’ll tell you how you should vote. Yes, we’re pretty generous. This will allow you to ignore all the political ads and discussions. If you have a mail ballot just get it now so you can fill it out as you read.

National office: President – What we have here is just about as confused as it can get. It’s all different from past elections so it’s hard to really know what to do. Since it’s O 8 just go ahead and vote for O-bama.and O-biden.

Senate: Doesn’t matter. They’ll hold endless hearings and explain how various things will or won’t work. Close your eyes and do it. Besides, whoever gets elected president will have to be replaced in the Senate so we’ll have another chance.

House: These people need to clean house. There are way too many. I’d say vote “NO” for anyone running for the House of Representatives.

Supreme Court: We don’t get to choose these people. How come?

Indiana Governor: Go with the funny names. That’s what we do in Washington and it works. Or anyway we remember who it is. Like Dixie, Scoop, Brock, and that other guy. So vote for Jilllong and Dennie.

Texas: Don’t vote. Just go to a local rodeo or something. We’ll let you know how it came out.
Tennessee: Yes, by all means vote. Get out there and make a difference. Just remember the funny name thing.

Mountain States: Same as Texas.

Washington: Our governess, Christine, should stay the course. We don’t need anyone named Dino. Oh wait, Dino is a funny name. OK, go ahead and throw your vote away.

All other states – just vote as early and as often as you can. We here in Washington will want some company in the endless recount/voter qualification process that will take place beginning November 5.

States that have an initiative process wherein citizens can gather signatures and get their pet projects on the ballot have lots of challenges. And our state has a couple of things on the ballot besides the usual politicians.

We have a “Death with Dignity” initiative. It works pretty well in Oregon and its point is to allow folks who can’t stand the pain of losing our basketball team end it all peacefully. Vote YES.

Another one, 985, will mess up the HOV lane system we’ve come to hate. Right now it works as intended, badly, but if this thing passes it won’t even work that well. This is like making a flat tire feel better by letting the air out of the other three tires. Vote NO.

Then we have the one about long term care worker certification. OK, yes.

I Googled other states to see what kind of nut farm initiatives they’re voting on. Oddly, lots of states don’t have any. And even more oddly, some of the ones that do are pretty odd. So I can’t give advice. Vote the way you think best. If your state has an interesting issue be sure to let me know.

Another thing we like to put on the ballot is something called a “Proposition.” It’s different. Usually put up by some kind of government type entity wanting lots of money. For example Sound Transit wants to extend the light rail system and they want voters to approve the money to do it. It’s called “Prop 1” and seems to get a lot of discussion. I’d like to see this one pass since it will eventually provide rapid transit to Newcastle. But I don’t have much hope for it.

Prop 1 people have this fixation on how many people can be carried and claiming an end to congestion. The people against it point out that it takes years to build the rails and get the trains running and by that time we’ll have way more people in the area. They want more highways now. And, sure, it costs a lot less per mile to pave than to put in light rail. Plus people aren’t in the mood to increase the sales tax these days.

OK, now I’ve got my ballot all marked and ready to mail. As soon as you finish yours we can form a convoy and mail them. I’ll wait.

Al

Glen Tests Light Rail Train

Glen, the Lake Boren Carp, was given a chance to try out the new Sound Transit vehicle recently. Since we don't have any track yet he took it for a swim.

If you can buy a fish driving a train why not believe it runs in water?

Al

A Tour of Link Light Rail

DRAGONFLY SCULPTURE

Yesterday I took the tour of the Link Light Rail construction progress. It was informative and interesting. We ate at an ethnic restaurant where the acoustics made twenty people sound like 20,000.

The new Sound Transit Link Light Rail line from Sea-Tac International Airport to downtown Seattle is a year away from completion. In a snub to the Renton Parks Department the line goes through Tukwila.

There are several segments on the line that have unique features. At the airport it required the relocation of part of the roadway that goes to the freeway. When you drive it’s hard to see how it’s changed because you need to keep all eyes on traffic. From a big bus it’s pretty clear what’s different.

The airport station will be way above the edge of International Boulevard. That’s what they call Highway 99 in that area. Passengers get to amble through the parking garage to get to the ticket counters. For example important business people can get on the train in the Seattle Transit Tunnel without going out in the rain. Then after a smooth ride to the airport, head over to the ticket counter via level 4 in the parking garage. Coming into the airport along with all the other pedestrians will disguise the fact that they came by train rather than the usual limo. Gotta keep up appearances.

On the other side of the station will be a pedestrian overpass so a person can get across the multi lane street safely. For example, one could park in the “Park and Fly” cheaper than in downtown Seattle and take the train to the office. If their company subsidizes transit fares (many do) and provides coupons for airport parking it might be a way to save a few bucks.

When the train leaves the airport it’ll pass a huge development which will be the consolidated Rental Car Facility. Right now the rentals are in the airport garage which means a lot of parking space is unavailable for us. So to add more capacity the Port of Seattle is building an off-site car rental facility. Lots of other big airports have one. I can’t recall what was in that area before but right now it’s full of earth moving machines.

After that the train crosses SR 518 which is actually an extension of I-405. There’s a massive station there which is going to be a transit center. The plan is for thousands of busses to use the surface level to exchange passengers with the light rail in the sky above. It’s essentially a corral of escalators.

From there passengers get an elevated train ride mostly near the freeway to Martin Luther King Jr. Way. At that point the line comes down to the street surface. Here’s where everyone is crossing their fingers. MLK traverses a culturally diverse area where some 14 languages are spoken plus half dozen dialects of English. Not an issue by itself.

The issue is there hasn’t been street level rail traffic in a hundred years around there. That means Sound Transit has to figure out ways to keep folks from walking out in front of the train. You can’t put up signs in every possible language because they would block out the sun. They say they can’t build barriers and fences because the fire department wants to be able to drive over the rails. Elevated costs a lot more. So they do it with art.

Each station has a “work of art” to distract people and make them stop and say “what the heck is THAT?” in their own language, of course. Once they realize it’s harmless they’re supposed to look both ways and safely cross the tracks. If that doesn’t work there are crossing fences to force people to turn toward where the train might be coming. These are called “Z” crossings. That probably doesn’t make much sense unless you see it. You start to cross at “A” street corner, and by the time you get to the tracks… OK, I don’t really know.

Once the train gets to Rainier Avenue there’s a station where everyone can get off and have a Philly Cheese Steak. After that is the Beacon Hill Tunnel.

Sound Transit has built a twin bore tunnel that passes under Beacon Hill and delivers the train near the old Rainier Brewery under I-5. Unfortunately the brewery is no longer there and a coffee company has it now. So stay on the train.

The Operations and Maintenance Facility is located just down the street from the tunnel portal. At that point it turns north again and heads to the sports arenas. That’s where the beer is.
A little wiggle and it enters the transit tunnel downtown. This is a tour all by itself. I think I might do it one day. Busses are free in the core business area. All you have to do is resolve not to give money to panhandlers. You’ll have lots of chances.

At the north end of the tunnel the current line ends. Sound Transit has grand plans but they need more money. They are the ultimate panhandlers.

OK, so we covered the segments, let’s review. Airport station – riders saving money on parking. Elevated Tukwila segment – views of the freeway. Street level MLK Way – pedestrians diving for cover. Beacon Hill Tunnel – toxic stabilization so don’t eat any dirt that falls into the train. O & M Facility to Stadiums – industrial hodgepodge. Seattle Transit Tunnel – busses are free but lots of folks want your money anyway.

There’ll be another transit measure on the ballot in November. They want to build north to the University and east to Bellevue. We might be able to stand it. Newcastle will have to wait a little longer before light rail comes to the shores of Lake Boren. But I got a not paper model of a train set I can take over there.

Al

Light Rail Coming to Eastside

Yes, it must be true, it was in the paper. You know how everything you read in the “News” is true? Well, the Bellevue Reporter ran a story about how Sound Transit will be installing a light rail “Link” to the Eastside via the I-90 bridge. So it must be time to camp out and watch the construction.

It’s a done deal: last month the Bellevue City Council approved amendments to the Comprehensive Plan recommended in a June report by a council appointed Best Practices Committee. Sound Transit is expected to release a draft environmental impact statement by the end of the year. Expectations of Sound Transit include themes such as collaboration, public communications and involvement, and sensitivity to Bellevue’s natural and built environments.

Still awake? After reading that I fell asleep for a week.

Worse yet, that paragraph is a synopsis of a half page story and I don’t drink coffee any more so it was really hard to wade thru.

Anyway, the big plan is to lay tracks on the I-90 Floating Bridge and then find a route across Mercer Island into South Bellevue. At that point the rail will branch off and head to Newcastle and Redmond. It’ll take almost 2% of the traffic off the freeway so we might as well start it right now.

By 2050 when the first trains finally begin to work their way over the lake Mercer Island will probably have sunk so we need to consider an alternative.

I like some of the proposals for the other floating bridge. Folks on the Seattle side of the lake are not interested in seeing a bridge at all. They want a tunnel. Since Bellevue folks want a bridge one proposal has a bridge going half way and then submerging into a 10 lane tunnel with a light rail upper deck. The Montlake interchange would be under water. No annoying bridge to look at.

Rising up on the Seattle side would be about five different outlets. One goes to the underground parking garage at the UW Stadium. In addition to the bridge toll you get to pay again at the parking garage gate.

Another would come up just outside the Arboretum for all those people who want Broadmoor and Madison.

Another would pop up on I-5 near Greenlake for the northbound folks and another on I-5 near Mercer Street for southbound folks.

The fifth exit will be in downtown Seattle. Light rail would have five different places. The material removed would bury Maple Valley.

Now let’s talk about budget. Naw, let’s not.

The surface interchange proposal for the Montlake area is even worse. It wipes out the Museum of History and Industry. It’s been on the move for a number of years so we don’t expect it to be there if the interchange is built.

The State Highway people have been visiting with departments that already have bridge-tunnel experience, such as Virginia and Denmark. The Danes built one across the Baltic to Sweden a few years ago. I think it was an episode of “Modern Marvels” on the cement channel.

The issue is they’re responsible to the public so they have to take every proposal seriously. That means they have also reviewed a soaring suspension bridge across the lake. Because they have to. It gets rejected every time.

What we need to know is whether this whole idea has been evaluated by enough committees. Each eastside community has its own committee. So do Sound Transit, Community Transit, Pierce Transit, Metro Transit, and Amtrak. They have meetings with the commuter rail committee from the State DOT.

These meetings are always separate because we don’t really need everyone hearing the same information. Then we have ad-hoc committees formed by citizen groups that think they have better solutions. Mainly these are people didn’t get the meeting notices for the other committees.

The news media only report on a few of these because they hardly ever get invited. And we certainly don’t want reporters out there looking for information. They should stay indoors reviewing their “press packets.” It would be a real shame if the “public” was actually informed about all these meetings. We only want results.

Anyway, there are about a thousand people involved in trying to figure out how to get commuter rail on the eastside. None of the committees’ plans coordinate with each other. And just for fun there’s another transportation proposal coming up for public vote. It’s asking for funding to actually build something. They know it will take funding but they don’t know what the plan is yet. Whatever it is won’t agree with the committee plans, but it’ll be fun to watch. I just hope we get some really enormous retaining walls. They have some great ones on Coal Creek Parkway.

Al

Free Bus Ride

In my never ending quest to see new stuff and yet not contribute any constructive aid or comfort I discovered a fun way to visit the Puget Sound Link Light Rail Project. It’s a bus tour.

We (apparently anybody who signs up) passengers pick up the bus near the old King Street Station in Seattle. We need to bring cash for lunch. Or we don’t eat. Harsh. We have to RSVP. Some French saying I never understood.

The plan is to run people via bus along the construction route and show how things are going, completing, and fumbling. The last one should be fun. I don’t think the bus will be going through the toxic Beacon Hill Tunnel but it should be fun anyway. We’re allowed to ask questions.
My first question is “If I cross the International Date Line on my birthday do I still get presents?” Ha ha. That’s an old one.

So I’m going to send in my RSVP and hope for a seat. Umm, did I say that right? I meant a seat on the bus, not… well, you know. OK, forget it, I meant a place on the bus tour. I don’t need special privileges or an individual guide all my own; I’m willing to share the tour with various peasants from the Seattle Business Community. After all, they still have to make a living.

We apparently get to ride all the way to Sea-Tac Airport (owned by The Seattle Port Commission (Autoriity? Who knows?) and have lunch along the way. They promise to get us back by 3:00 PM. Should be able to get home by 7:00 if we take the bus. 4:00 if we drive.

This bus tour happens on September 19; so my report (if I get a seat) won’t be until after that. I’m sure other things will happen in between. Like the Ice Age in Seattle for Labor Day weekend.

Another example; I was at the site of the new Newcastle library, condo, swimming pool, bait shop, auto shop, and junk yard yesterday and the only thing there is a sign. However, somebody mows the grass regularly. Looks nice.

Anyway, if you happen to get on the Sound Transit web site and want a fun afternoon (maybe, who knows?) you might like to RSVP and join in. I’m sure if they get more than one bus load they’ll add more busses. Really. They don’t mention anything at all about “limited space” or “first come…” Sounds like a party to me. If you bring money for lunch, that is.

Highlights include visits to stations, pedestrian interference, and possible presidential election campaigns. Maybe Christine will be there. Or Sarah Palin; this could get interesting. Maybe I’ll ware my fancy jeans; and S.L.U.T. T-shirt.

This will give me some insight into plans to get a light rail line to Newcastle before the next Olympics; or 7. Coal Creek Parkway might be complete before that, but I doubt it.

Oh, it’s called the “Port of Seattle” in case you were wondering. They own Sea-Tac, where the third runway is being built. So far, only $100 million over budget, and counting. Not bad for a government project.

Al

I-405 Project Update for Labor Day

One of my favorite holidays is Labor Day. I usually don’t labor on Labor Day but unlike the other 364 I don’t feel guilty about it.

Interstate 405 is being remade into a great wonderland of HOV lanes and mile long ramps. From the intersection at Southcenter (Westfield) all the way to Bellevue’s SR 520 interchange I-405 will be a model for all freeways in America. Especially if you have one of my custom made $49.95 “Good-to-Go” fake transponders.

Down near Southcenter – which had a grand opening as the new “Westfield at Southcenter” where you can shop at 250 stores in any direction… or something. Maybe I’m missing the point. Looks like another session on Google.

Anyway, down at Southcenter the state highway folks, WSDOT, added some new lanes that kind of wow out to the right and then moved all traffic over to them. They closed the old lanes. Lot of work but no idea what the final configuration will look like. It’s confusing. Underneath the freeway where the two major railroads run the construction workers were looking very confused. They were kind of standing around looking at the forest of new and old supports.

If you remember Longacres Race Track – they raced horses there – you may recall a couple of big cement bowls on pedestals at the old entrance. Well one is still there under the freeway. It really looks out of place. I think the confused construction workers had been asked to remove it without breaking the bowl. I don’t know. I don’t want to know what’s in that bowl. It might make a nice pond in somebody’s yard.

A little further north (which is actually east; which make sense if Southcenter is actually Westfield) is another hilarious bottleneck. It’s the SR167 interchange. Everyone stops because the car in front stopped and so on. Nobody knows why. It’s just the way it works.

Then a little further east/north is the creek control project. This happened a couple of years ago when a downpour washed the culvert out from under I-405 and into the parking lot of the Sam’s Club. Washdot installed a great big rubber hose and a bunch of pumps to divert the creek while they rebuild the culvert. First they had to shore up the freeway so it wouldn’t fall into the creekbed. But now that’s done and the culvert is being built. Should be done by 2020.

At SR 169, the Maple Valley Highway where all the garbage goes we find another humorous situation. The biggest problem is SR167, SR169, and the washed out creek are all in Renton. Anything in Renton is a problem. Next I-405 has just three lanes each way through there. Not enough. See, most people want to just drive through Renton and get out. So what the Washdot folks should have figured out a long time ago is how to connect SR167 and SR169 together in Renton. Because it turns out many drivers don’t need to use I-405 except as a connection road. They could have done that during the S curve project a few years ago, but they didn’t. I don’t think they will do that on this current project either. They’ll just add more lanes to I-405 and everyone delivering garbage to Maple Valley will just have to deal with it.

The I-405 bottlenecks in Renton are also a big concern to people who happen to live in Renton. It prevents them from leaving. And a large number of savvy drivers realize they can cut through Renton rather than sit in the freeway backup. So Renton itself is also a traffic mess. This results in homemade yard signs on which people express their annoyance at all the drivers passing by. Hopefully yard signs is about as far as it gets. But wait until the freeway construction really gets going and see. Cross your fingers.

At the Maple Valley Highway I-405 turns north and most of the way is either under construction now or soon will be. They’re adding lanes. They like to think more lanes answers everything. They will also be adding more HOV ramps so those “Good-to-Go” folks won’t have to change lanes so much. That’s fine with me. My $49.95 fake transponders will sell like fake gold mine stock.

The Wilburton Tunnel in Bellevue has been demolished. It’s no more. Gone. Hauled down the Maple Valley Highway on hundreds of dump trucks. Probably to a place that claims to recycle concrete. See, they break it up and remove the rebar and then send it back to make more concrete. They’ll need it to make more lanes.

The Wilburton Tunnel is how the old eastside trains got over I-405. It was completely full of freeway and now that the freeway is being widened they needed to either make the tunnel wider or remove it. Since BNSF sold the rail line Washdot removed the tunnel. Unfortunately when King County gets around to removing the old historic trestle everyone will think it’s a Washdot project. So they’ll vote “NO” on highway funds and the SR 520 Bridge replacement will have to wait 5 more years (unless it sinks).

In downtown Bellevue the major part of the new work will be to install HOV ramps between SR 520 and I-405. Right now the HOV folks have to use the same ramps as regular folks, dump trucks, busses, donkey carts, and Lexus drivers on their way to Microsoft. The ramps are crowded. The new HOV ramps will allow “Good-to-Go” folks to bypass all those lowbrows and just wing over the top. Because that’s the only option. The new ramps have to use airspace since all the ground is taken. They’ll use some of that recycled cement from the Wilburton Tunnel.

Speaking of the 520 Bridge, they are trying to decide how much toll to charge. They want people to begin paying for the replacement right now and they think a toll is a good way to do that. More sales for my fake transponders! I wonder if I’ll get caught.

Anyway, they’re holding hearings around the state to try and arrive at a fair toll amount. If they charge too much everyone will be annoyed – more yard signs. If they charge too little they won’t get enough money. It has to be just right. I think taking several thousand opinions and then picking an average is pretty sane. I think $2.23 “exact change only” ought to work just fine. One thing sure is it will be fun to watch.

Al

My New Book

Writing a book seems like it might be easy. Just write a title and make people believe it by the time they reach page 1589. This is how non-fiction books are done. When I first thought about a non-fiction book I scouted around to see how others do it and that’s pretty much the process.

I need a key concept. That’s what we writers call a topic or idea. We use as many words as possible. Topic is too concise so we say “Key Concept.” Then we make it the title of the book.

Another piece of sound advice I’ve often heard is “write about what you know.” Sounds simple enough. So I scouted around and discovered I don’t know much. Sure, I’ve reviewed a lot of non-fiction books and watched a lot of Discovery Channel shows, but mostly I use that stuff to help me fall asleep. And my gullible tubes are burning out so I’m not sure I believe a lot of what I read or see on TV. You shouldn’t either.

The other problem is that if I see it on TV or read a book about it then it’s not my idea. I’m not above plagiarism but I can’t see trying to copy a whole book. I’m also not above loafing and copying a whole book seems like a lot of work. I need a key concept all my own.

Recently I made a trek to Nebraska. The purpose was to visit relatives and wish happy birthday to a 90 year old cousin. Along the way I visited Oregon Trail sites.

The Oregon Trail is where John Wayne and a couple hundred happy go lucky pioneers (extras) set out from California toward another place in California. At least that’s what it looked like in the first movie I saw about it. In subsequent history classes and various books and TV shows I got more facts but I didn’t get a true sense of what it must have been like.

I have relatives in Nebraska because some of my ancestors settled there. They were among the people who wisely didn’t set out across the plains and mountains in a flimsy covered wagon. “I’ll wait for the train” is pretty much what they said.

The Oregon Trail (along with the California Trail, Mormon Trail, gold miners, army, Pony Express, Telegraph, oxen hauling freight wagons, and the first railroad west of the Missouri) is a major reason people settled in southeastern Nebraska in the 1800s. So I wanted to see it for myself.

The trip looked like a good way to get a key concept for my book. There are many places along the way that have books for sale. I checked the titles and even got a couple for myself. They cover every aspect of the pioneer trails including accounts written by people who actually made the trip. All very fascinating. All well researched unlike any book I might write.

Problem is they cover the subject pretty well. No unique key concepts popped up. There are several accounts of modern day adventurers who set out to do the trail themselves. That might be fun to do, as long as I could fly home and sleep in my own bed every night. So I’m not doing a book about my trek along the trail. Besides I might have to cite some actual facts and I tend to shy away from that kind of thing.

One thing I noticed is the railroads still use the route to haul coal to power plants. One day I counted 10 of those extremely long coal trains heading east. Eight were stopped a various places waiting on track maintenance and two were moving. There were a number of empties heading west along the route as well. It’s astounding how much coal is coming out of the ground someplace. 10 loaded trains in a 6 hour period translate to … ummm, hundreds per year. Lots of power being generated.

But there are so many books about railroads that I don’t even want to think about inventing a key concept in that area.

Usually the key concept is the title. There might be a book titled The Moon is a Lump of Dung. Shoppers at Barnes and Noble might see the title and simply say “No it isn’t” and pass on by without even checking the dust jacket to see if the author is handsome.

The key concept is out there for all to read and only those who really need help falling asleep will pick it up. So I’ve decided the best way to write a book is to put the key concept out there and not bother with all the supporting facts and data. Why bore everyone? I’m not out to make money or to get my picture on the dust jacket (although I am handsome).

OK, what did I learn along the Oregon Trail that might make a key concept for a prize winning book? Thinking back on the trip I remember driving along country roads looking for markers and trail sites with the windows open. The weather was nice and not too hot so the breeze was comfortable. But as we passed near trees we heard this tremendous noise that can only come from cicadas.

I found one of these creatures and it’s pretty ugly. They emerge in late July and August which is probably good since you wouldn’t want that noise around all year long. We don’t think they hurt people and they don’t eat much. Why not make one a pet? Easy care, benign, no cleanup, no need to fence the yard, and most of the year you don’t even have to look at it. And that’s my key concept:

“Cicadas Make Good Pets, If You Can Stand the Noise.” No need for a lot of boring facts and data. Either you agree or you don’t. If you want facts and data go to: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cicada . They seem to know a lot about cicadas and there are plenty of pictures.

Al

What's a Patagonian Toothfish?

The Seattle City Council approved an ordinance that requires grocery stores to charge 20 Cents for each plastic or paper bag. Their thinking is that making people pay for the bags will result in a lot more re-use. Take last week’s bags back and fill ‘em up again.

When the idea was proposed most groceries immediately began offering durable bags for sale. They can be canvas or some form of nylon reinforced frog skin. They popped up all over.

The new bag ordinance is universally panned by all the grocery chains as well as the plastic grocery bag industry. They ran radio ads suggesting people chain themselves to grocery carts in protest. Stores ran petition campaigns (sponsored by the plastics industry) to try and get a billion signatures to defeat the ordinance.

Now, in grocery stores all over the Greater Newcastle Metropolitan area there are big displays right at the door showing reusable bags for sale. It costs about 3 cents for a 12 year old barefoot worker in some remote third world sweatshop to make one. Safeway sells them for a dollar. And they have the Safeway logo all over it. The other stores have their own logos.

So now we have yet another way to pay a business to advertise their name. But it gets better.
The ordinance is only in Seattle. That’s a minor Newcastle suburb somewhere on the other side of Lake Washington. So, if a person in Newcastle wants to pay 20 cents for a grocery bag he/she has to drive to Seattle.

And soon there will be a toll on the SR 520 Bridge. We don’t know how much yet. Could be $2 or $20, depending on some alien formula concocted in the basement of the State Department of Transportation. We call them WSDOT pronounced “wash-dot” sort of cutsie like somebody likes them.

Paying the toll will be easy, just like the Tacoma Narrows Bridge and Valley Freeway – just get my $49.95 fake transponder and you can cross as many times as you like until you get caught. Wash-dot calls them “Good To Go” passes but I call it a gold mine.

Christine only has a couple of years before she drives her bulldozer up from Olympia and starts to bash down the Alaska Way Viaduct. Greg, the Seattle Mayor, meanwhile, is proposing car free days in Seattle. That pretty much addresses the issue.

So the scenario is this: You want to get Seattle certified groceries because the local Newcastle Safeway is just not quite as cool as it should be. So you get into the Smart Car and fire that puppy up. That’s the car that’s as long as it is wide so you can park any old way you want. And it gets over 100 MPG. Maybe. Then attach my really cool fake transponder to the windshield and head for the Pike Place Market. The mayor greets you at the Seattle side of the SR 520 Bridge and informs you that it’s a car free day in Seattle. Way cool. Get out and unleash the pin striped baby jogger from the roof of the Smart Car. You don’t have a baby, you use it for cargo. Head for the nearest trendy Seattle food-o-rama. Maybe it’s called Che-Grub or something. Buy a $20 rip-stop nylon bag with the store logo all over it. Get some really fresh bananas that just flew in from Bongo Bongo. And maybe some pinto bean granola and Patagonian Toothfish steaks. Check out and head back to the Smart Car and thence back to Newcastle. Invite the neighbors. Oops, forgot the wine. Dang, the Smart Car is out of gas. So you go downstairs through the library (because you bought one of the 80 condo units above the library) and cross Newcastle Way to Safeway for some gourmet wine in a designer box. And buy a Safeway bag for $1.

Here’s the total: $108.45 for a catfish sandwich and splash of wine. Oh, and a two week old banana. But living in Newcastle requires you to be cool so money is no object. Did you remember to invite Greg, the Mayor? I think he lives in Newcastle too.

Back at the fish fry at your place above the library you get into endless and pointless discussions over who should be elected Governor. Christine or Dino? I’d say vote for Christine, because I really want to see her knock down the Viaduct. Hope she rolls in on a car free day.

Al

Let's get out and Register

I know you’re as excited as I am about the next election. Apparently the excitement has infected others with a rash of registration head colds and post nasal fake votes. Gosh I’m clever.

Once again Christine and Dino are going toe to toe in a battle for the governorship of Washington State. And once again thousands of dead, felonious, and non-existent people will troop to the polls and vote.

Real voters vote by mail. Most of the state is converting to the mail voting system which is easier and probably cleaner. You don’t have to go to a school with thousands of contaminated kids and clouds of germs.

I know many people like the idea of voting in person. It’s almost a social event. You bump into a neighbor who you thought was pretty smart and he’s got a large button for the wrong candidate. On the way home you TP his house and kick off a multiyear feud. What fun.

Voting from home you don’t have to mix with convicted felons and dead people. And you can get out your ballot and all the other ballots in your household and vote as many times as you want. The Post Office is happy with the process because those oversized envelopes require extra postage even though they’re much easier for the sorters to handle.

Another advantage of voting from home is you don’t have to spell your name 27 times to help the volunteer find it in the registration book. It was always a mystery to me how a private matter, such as voting, required you to bellow your name loud enough for the polling person to hear and then spell it over and over. Showing your voter registration card doesn’t help because the printing is too small for volunteer eyes to see.

Outside you’re accosted by pollsters who ask who you voted for. Right. I NEVER respond to polls except when they block my way and then my response has nothing to do with their question.

“Excuse me sir, do you have $100?” “Yes.” “OK, give it to me.”

I don’t mind saying hi and passing a little time but don’t ask me who I want to govern me. I’d have to spell my name again. The person I want in charge of my life is myself.

Voting by mail eliminates those electronic voting machines as well. You know the ones that can be hacked, leave no paper, and quit working just as it’s your turn to vote? The good news is they prevent recounts, so they aren’t all bad.

OK, let’s see if we can think of a problem with voting by mail. Hmmm. Too many procrastinators will wait too long and their ballots will fail to make the postmark deadline. Or they’ll forget to sign. Or they leave little messages or hearts in the margins. Or they get so annoyed at seeing a certain name they rip up and throw it away.

Then there’s the chance of voter fraud. In a polling place a real person has to show up and loudly spell his/her name 27 times. At home one person can vote hundreds of times. So it seems ballot fraud might be a problem. But don’t forget, each ballot requires validation that a registered voter with that name and address is on the list. So the real fraud is in registration.

You’ve probably seen some news about a nationwide “civic” organization that’s been responsible for bulk fake registrations. I won’t mention the name because search engines would find my blog and they seem like a nasty bunch. Several states have arrested members of that group for filing hundreds of fake registrations. They have political agenda bias and swinging certain elections is a good way to promote it.

Dino and Christine are getting pretty nasty already. They both claim the other one is responsible for everything that went bad in America since Columbus. My phone rings several times a day with some candidate begging for my support. I tell them they can have my full support as long as they promise not to call me anymore. Doesn’t work. Nothing does.

Al

Bellevue EL Proposals

B - EL - levue

Bellevue Washington would be considered a big place in almost any state. It includes almost every kind of business and diversion known to any typical American City. It even has some stuff you would expect to find in cities located in foreign lands.

One thing missing is a rail transit system. We know there’s a rail line that traverses the city because they used to run the Spirit of Washington Dinner Train on the track. Some local (loco) leaders think we should run commuter trains on the line.

But in the palatial Bellevue City Hall recently there was a meeting to review options for a light rail connection to the Sound Transit Link yada yada yada system. It’s a mouthful.

They refer to the Bellevue connection as “East Link Light Rail Project” or East Link for short. See the word “Link” has somehow become the keyword for light rail within the Sound Transit regional purview. You’re probably surprise I’d use a word like “purview” but if you did I’d call you pusillanimous.

OK, OK, let’s get right to the funny part: The Bellevue City Council meeting reviewed the “Light Rail Best Practices Final Committee Report” at a meeting. It was the first of three meetings to review the report. Only a committed committee could come up with a name like that. It took them a year to complete the report and the first three months were devoted to hammering out the title.

The Bellevue mayor, Grant Degginger (whose name is also the result of a committee) asked “How do we make our voice known and engage the community?” Grant is such a card. “Use a megaphone!” is pretty much my answer. I usually don’t include politicians’ last names because it normally doesn’t matter, but this guy’s name is a hoot.

So now everyone on the east side of Lake Washington knows the light rail proposal will be known as the EL, short for East Link. Ever been to Chicago? They have the El and it’s been around since French explorers from Québec discovered the Calumet Skyway in 1066 BC. I may have my history a little fogged up, but don’t forget one of my rules: Accuracy – Optional.

The committee also provided some principles: “the light rail system should enhance, not diminish, the quality and character of Bellevue; the system needs to connect places where people want to go; the city should anticipate project impacts and advocate for exceptional mitigation;…” Holy moly, does it get any deeper than that? Still awake?

It took these nimrods a year to come up with this stuff. And here I was loafing and enjoying my retirement. I could have been on that committee. Man I dodged a bullet there!

But, as if that’s not enough: They will get the second briefing on July 14 and after some review and public comments (those should be rich) they plan to vote on something on August 4. I read it seven times and could not really get what they plan to vote on. Maybe politicians understand, but then that just validates my lack of understanding, right?

Sound Transit is expected to release the Environmental Impact Statement in Mid-September. Ok, here’s a question: How can anyone project information on an “environmental” impact if they have no clue what the actual design is? This is just a pretend study of a committee proposed idea of a political concept of a blind faith fad of the week. Sound Transit will have 45 days to allow public comments. Mine is, “huh?”

Sound Transit Board will provide its preferred alternative in spring 2009. But voters may be asked to approve funding in the November 2008 election. Following the Sound Transit announcement the Bellevue City Council will then make its own selection of a preferred alternative. Then King County will announce theirs, followed by Kirkland, Renton, Redmond, Issaquah, and finally Newcastle. The Newcastle alternative will be adopted. Glen, the Lake Boren Carp, will have the final say. Seems fair.

Following each announcement the Newcastle City Council will also announce yet another configuration for the combination City Hall, Library, Post Office, Condo, and Transit Parking facility to be built on a one acre parcel in Newcastle. Each one will be different. It’s a committee.

Al

A New Way to Think About Rain:

Oklahoma City is one of those places where the wind comes whistlin’ down the plains. They get thunder, twisters, lightning, and torrential downpours. The weather comes in from the west and sometimes has people running to the storm cellars. Now the Seattle Sonics are on the way in from the west.

Clay Bennett has managed to secure a settlement with the city to move the team immediately; so there! In exchange the city gets $45 million out of the $75 million in rent the Sonics would have paid over the next two years. And the city gets to keeps the rights to the team name and colors.

That means Oklahoma City has to come up with a new name and color scheme right away or else the NBA won’t let them play. In a gesture of good will the Seattle basketball fans have submitted hundreds of suggestions. We don’t need to review them here because blogspot might remove my blog. Let’s just say some of them are pretty creative, imaginative, and anatomically impossible, if you get my drift.

The NBA promises that Seattle can buy a new team at some point if they really want to have a team. But to do that Seattle has to build a new arena for them to play in, because after all, that old 1962 World’s Fair venue is just not enough space.

And that brings us back to thinking about rain. The agreement essentially says that if taxpayers are somehow tricked into buying a new arena that holds tens of thousands more fans the city will get the other $30 million rent. In other words we would have to seed the clouds with $500 million before they will rain down the $30 million. And in doing so make some filthy rich basketball team owner richer by selling a gazillion luxury box seats. At least there’s a plan.

Al

Transit Center Plans in Newcastle:

We’ve been reviewing the ongoing plans to build a world class rapid transit station on the shores of Lake Boren. Newcastle will someday be the jewel of eastside transit. It could possibly include a professional basketball arena. In the meantime Sound Transit wants to build a transit center at the main intersection in Newcastle.

The plan is to break out the curbing on Coal Creek Parkway and Newcastle Way so busses can get off to the side. I think they call these “bus pockets” or “gopher cheeks” or something. I don’t know.

But in order to make this happen, according to Sound Transit and Newcastle, they’d have to buy parts of adjacent lots. That’s because the right-of-way is already full of road. If you build a pocket wide enough for a big bus to pull off the road and include some of those bus shelters you need more land. Also where do the riders park their cars? I bet they want to add a big parking garage someplace as well.

Sound Transit has no extra money for this project so Newcastle is supposed to help make it happen since the roads belong to them. And, of course, everyone promises it’ll reduce traffic. Gas prices have already done that.

One person who owns a large parcel of land on one of the corners has decided he’s not interested in selling. He says his business would be hurt badly because the gopher cheek would eliminate his customers’ parking and block off the entry. He’s going to fight the whole thing. (Probably fighting for more dollars is what he really wants.)

In a city council meeting the Sound Transit planning people were showing off the drawings of the proposal when a guest showed up. The new person is another traffic planner who had a set of drawings as well. This new person was hired by the objecting land owner. A scuffle ensued and the Newcastle police were summoned to restore order. Later everyone denied there was a scuffle and they said the police were called in (from across the hall) just to give their opinion. Their opinion was “If you kids don’t play nice we’ll confiscate the coffee and donuts.” So everyone calmed right down.

What Sound Transit wants to do is institute a big construction project at a major intersection on Coal Creek Parkway. The road is already a mess further south because of the widening project (Phase 2 & 3) as well as the closure of Duval Ave. The timing would be just about when the widening projects are finished. That way it would take another year before traffic again flows smoothly in Newcastle. And it’s hard enough for Bellevue people to get to the Renton Wal-Mart as it is. But when it’s all done they can take the bus.

Oh, I guess they don’t think they need a parking garage because the busses will run around and pick up people and the “transit center” will be a hub. So while you’re standing in the rain (because the shelters are full) waiting for the bus to Renton you can contemplate things like what to call the Oklahoma City basketball team or why hasn’t the Newcastle Library been built yet?

There’s McDonald’s on one corner and Starbuck’s on another corner as well as the AM/PM on a third corner. Just one more and everyone waiting for busses will be able to get coffee before they catch the next bus. Now Sound Transit will have to consider scheduled potty breaks.

Al

HOT Lanes

I’ve been measured for a bobble head. It’s probably going to attract a few thousand fans. That’s the point of a bobble head: attract fans. What kind of fans? Basically people who collect bobble heads.

One reason is because of my vast experience with HOV lanes and HOT lanes. Washington uses transponders on the Tacoma Narrows bridges to lets people cross without having to stop at the toll booth. This is a big fad around the nation. Many of your bigger cities collect tolls this way.

The transponder goes in the windshield behind the rear view mirror. Yes, that’s right; that mirror in the middle of your windshield is for looking behind you, not for putting on makeup at 70 mph. The toll authority, Dubai or somebody, has a device that can read the ID of your transponder and send a message to the accounting department. It deducts another $12.50 from your bank account. The whole process is electronic so don’t even try to argue.

HOV lanes are set up so that car pools, busses, and dog sleds can use them to get past all the single occupant vehicles. Now individual drivers can buy a transponder and drive in the HOV lane if they’re willing to pay. They call it HOT lanes. However, in order to enforce the rules we’ll need to have somebody watching. The state Patrol will watch for single drivers using the HOT lanes without a transponder. What you do is buy one of my fake transponder decals. Paste it in your windshield and anybody looking will think it’s real. If the state patrol catches you then you may find it would have been a LOT cheaper to get a real one. And, since the state makes a whole lot of money when they catch a fake they slip me a little rebate – so everyone wins.

Washington has spent millions installing HOT lanes on the Valley Freeway. This is a daily jam up road from Auburn to Renton that’s been under construction for decades. Now you can drive from Renton to Auburn in the HOV lane and pay HOT money to avoid the slow lanes or use my fake decal and it’s free. The radio stations tell you how many minutes you can save by using that lane. “The Valley Freeway HOT Lane will save you three minutes today, but you’ll lose that when you get to I-405 because it’s stopped.” Public service.

That means there are several decisions to make each time you hit the road. How many minutes will I save? Is there anyone in the car with me? Can I afford the current HOT price? Will I be able to send my text message before I finish my breakfast burrito? Why in the world am I going to Renton anyway? How can I paint the screen door and power wash the deck if it’s raining? So many decisions you really need my fake transponder decal. Only $89.95.

This multi year study will determine if the state will install this kind of system on other freeways with HOV lanes. In essence they want to know if it relieves traffic congestion. NO. Traffic congestion is based on one simple issue: outlet. Aside from roadside mayhem that causes people to stop and gawk the main reason for congestion is you have to stop at the end points.

I-405 backs up every day because people leaving the freeway have to slow way down and dodge trucks trying to merge onto the freeway. Or dodge HOT lane drivers who have to cross from the far left lane to the right side exit in about 100 feet. Everyone has to stop. So the freeway backs up for miles. Every day. The DOT wants to make it wider. Just means more lanes to stop.

The Renton end of the Valley Freeway is a serious design flaw. If you can’t get onto the I-405 ramp there’s a traffic light on Grady Way that stops all lanes. They need to extend the HOV/HOT lane into the middle of Renton over the top of Grady Way. Then it would be worth the HOT lane fee. And even cheaper if you have a fake transponder.

My fake $89.95 transponder decal comes with a free Bobble Head Al; only $29.95 additional for shipping and potential legal fees. I’ll throw in a little bag so you’ll have a place to keep those annoying tickets.

Al

Rabid Transit Update

First, there was a note in the Newcastle News that a City Councilman is leading the charge to preserve the 42 miles of BNSF track from Renton to Snohomish. He’s actually serious. As I mentioned before, the most compelling reason BNSF wanted to sell the track is the cost of mitigating the grade crossings. It’s got to be enormous.

The second reason, of course, is the lack of business. The corridor no longer serves bulk customers. For railroads to make money they need to haul bulk cargo. Things like cars, coal, 737 bodies, and passengers. But the eastside cities have gone to office intensive businesses and bedrooms. The other big railroad cargo category is containers. We don’t have any container facilities over here in Bellevue. While I’m advocating using the railroads to carry as many of those annoying big truck trailers as possible I don’t see them being delivered to places between Renton and Snohomish.

There’s a third reason BNSF wants to sell the track: the State DOT is destroying part of it. The I-405 project will remove a section of track that goes over the Wilburton Tunnel right now. They had planned to use chance to do the job. What they were hoping for was a big accident in the tunnel that would require emergency demolition, but they finally gave up on that. The emergency demolition would have been required since major accidents attract about 200 emergency vehicles and they figured demolishing the tunnel would be the only way to find room to park them. But no such luck. They even changed the lane markings at random hoping to trigger a big wreck, but it just made people more alert. This is pretty much typical of DOT ideas – THEY DON’T WORK!

But the point is BNSF wanted to get rid of that 42 miles of right of way because it was no longer an asset. And the Port of Seattle was the designated buyer. The plan was that the Port would trade it to King County for the Boeing Field Airport. This was almost a good solution except that the Port Commission got in trouble with auditors due to some over charging of tax payers for hauling dirt. Hauling dirt is one of our main industries and spending a few minutes along the Maple Valley Highway will confirm that. Dump trucks loaded with dirt are bumper to bumper. Both ways. You’d think a couple of phone calls could cut that in half but what do I know?

Anyway, King County would eventually acquire the 42 mile corridor and they planned to designate it a park and install a bike path. That’s right, a bike path to Renton. Go figure!

But the Light Rail nut farmers, including the Newcastle councilman, want to run commuter trains on that track. And, if you don’t have a practical mind, it seems logical. Here’s an existing rail line relatively parallel to I-405 that could be used to get hundreds of drivers off the freeway every day. It would only cost $200 million to build stations, buy trains, and hire sign wavers to stand of street corners and yell at cars. Except the grade crossing mitigation would cost billions, but we don’t mention that. Sure, building a light rail from scratch costs billions but it’s designed as a light rail and includes flyovers and tunnels. Trying to retrofit this line would cost lots more.

Have I tipped my opinion?

Also, I’m apparently being recalled to active military duty. I got a letter from the Army today with all kind of stuff about what a great bunch of guys the Army is. There’s even a metal pin. I suppose it’s supposed to go on my uniform someplace when I report in. But where do I report?
I’ve decided: I’m going to report to the Newcastle City Council. I’ll tell them I’ve been recalled to active duty and that my first assignment is to clear a corridor for commuter rail between Renton and Snohomish. Poof! I’m done. “Just use the existing rail,” is what I’ll say. Then Honorable Discharge follows. The stunned looks will suffice as concurrence and its back to civilian life for me. Boy, the Army is easy.

Worried yet?

Lastly, I’m pronouncing the Renton Saturn dealer is a bunch of pusillanimous prevaricators. These boneheads recently sent my father-in-law off with his newly serviced Saturn and one of the items marked as “done” was “check outside lights” which they didn’t do. He has a brake light out. They didn’t check. For that they get a mention in the Lake Boren Report. If they goof up again, watch out. I might tell them I’m in the Army now and watch them quake.
Has Duvall Avenue closed yet? I need to go check.

Al