We here at the Lake Boren Rapid Transit Report are always on
the lookout for ways to keep you informed.
The primary purpose is to remind everyone that we’re still on the
job. The secondary goal is to help you
understand what’s going on with the grand plan for a Rapid Transit Center on
the shores of Lake Boren. Last our
purpose is to make stuff up because the real news is just annoying.
Sound Transit and the Bellevue City Council have been arguing
over the light rail route in Bellevue for years. In a stunning development the City Council
voted unanimously to approve the Sound Transit plan. The main point of the agreement was that
nobody is happy. In other words the
reason for the agreement is that everyone lost something.
We don’t need to get all in depth over it but the Evelyn Wood
version is that the route on Bellevue Way and 112th annoys the
lowest number of people. And those that
would be most annoyed will have their houses purchased so they can move to
Newcastle.
In Newcastle we’ll have a new library branch sometime next
fall. The steel frame is going up that
will hold up the weed covered roof. We
watched as they installed the cistern that will be used to water the
weeds. Apparently the point is that a
layer of dirt and live vegetation will provide adequate insulation for the main
part of the library.
On the corner leading into the Safeway strip mall parking
area and the street the library is on they erected stop lights. Just like a big city we’ll have a crosswalk
and left turn arrow. For some reason
everything is installed but the lights have not been activated.
Down the street some there’s a new condo growing out of the
ground that will have a commanding view of Lake Boren. During construction lulls one can look over
the trees and see another project on the far hillside. As a retired person I get to spend time
watching the projects slowly come to life.
Nobody pays me so I don’t care if I waste time.
Meanwhile over in Bellevue we have this light rail agreement
all approved and ready for the construction crews. Except for the legal issue about running the
tracks on I-90. Several cities across
the country have installed these light rail systems and they run them along
some of the streets taking up lanes where cars used to go. Here in the Greater Newcastle Metro Area we
have a street that was completely rebuilt to add transit down the middle and
still have two lanes going in each direction.
We don’t know for sure if any of those projects actually use
an Interstate but I would bet some do. I
don’t go everywhere so I just don’t know.
Maybe that’s a good project for me; go everywhere and inspect light rail
systems. Would somebody pay me for that?
I like to ride the rail once in awhile and watch how the
locals behave. That part of town where
it goes down the street has a large population of people who don’t speak
English. Most of them speak these Asian
dialects. Several are a little miffed
that the bus route they used to take to work has been discontinued and replaced
by the light rail. You can see signs
along the way expressing miffness.
Bellevue has a completely different kind of neighborhood that
will have a rail line running down the street.
Most of those people don’t speak anything but English. And they speak it very loudly when you
mention the light rail plan. Their signs
are bigger, too.
To make their point these anti rail people have joined to
form a protest group and their plan is to occupy Lake Boren. That’s right; they will pull up their hip
boots and wade into the lake with signs in all languages. Glen will be furious.
One result (we hope) is that they will raise the water level
and make it drain faster into Boren Creek.
When they are eventually evicted the lake will go way down and we can
see all the debris that’s been under water for years.
In the mean time architectural drawings of the palatial Lake
Boren Rapid Transit Center are progressing.
Plans call for a performing arts center, world class art museum, and a
dunk tank. At some point way out in the
future we’ll have trains from all over Puget Sound running right through
Newcastle. By that time we’ll probably
have a bullet train to Portland going.
It’ll be amazing. The Newcastle
City Council will probably do something to mess up the plans but until then we
can dream of how wonderful it’ll be when it’s all finished in 2182.
Al
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