event
information & details
Lecture / Talk
Action Night: Transit on 520
Date/Time
February 16 (Tuesday),
6:30-8:30
Location
Sierra Club HQ, 180 Nickerson St, Suite 202, Seattle, 98109
Sponsored by
Sierra Club - Cascade Chapter
Please join Sierra Club for an evening of action on Highway 520. Come learn about the issue and how you can help make sure we build 520 for the future. Take direct action by contacting decision makers about this important issue.
If our elected leaders don't hear from us, they may make a decision that negatively impacts our City, Region, State and Planet for the next 100 years.
full description & details:
Dear Environmental & Transit Activists,
If you've been following the news lately, you've probably noticed that the Sierra Club has joined with a group of allies to make sure that when we rebuild the 520 Bridge, we build it for the future (light rail), not build it based on the way things used to be (for cars). The politics of the issue are moving quickly (detailed below), and we need your help to make sure that our City Council members and other elected officials seize this moment and build 520 right.
Please join us next Tuesday evening (Feb 16th), from 6:30-8:30pm, at the Sierra Club Office (180 Nickerson St, Suite 202, Seattle, 98109) for an evening of action on 520 where you will learn more about the issue and what you can do to make sure we build 520 for the future, and take direct action by contacting decision makers about this important issue. Please RSVP so that we know how many people to expect.
If our elected leaders don't hear from us, then they could easily make a poor decision that will negatively impact our City, Region, State and Planet for the next 100 years.
Hope to see many of you next Tuesday Night,
Craig
Why all the fuss about Highway 520?
The Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) has released a Supplemental Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) describing the alternatives for replacing the SR 520 floating bridge. The DEIS evaluates a set of 6-lane alternative design options, while a recommended option called “A+” put forward by a Legislative Workgroup in December 2009 is considered the preferred alternative for any further Legislative action on this project during the current session of the Legislature. On January 28, 2010, the Seattle City Council wrote to the Governor and the Chairs of the transportation committees in both the State Senate and House requesting that the city be given an additional 120 days to improve the design of the proposed SR 520 interchange at Montlake Blvd., including a way “to maximize the opportunity for dedicated transit lanes” on the bridge itself and to reduce its height. In exchange the Council would agree to have the State begin reconstructing SR 520 on the east side of Lake Washington to keep the project on schedule so the replacement bridge can be opened in 2014.
http://www.seattle.gov/council/attachments/520_response_letter_state_officials.pdf
On February 1, 2010, State Senator Ed Murray, House Speaker Frank Chopp, Representative Jaime Pedersen, Mayor McGinn and a large group of community and environmental groups announced the city’s intension to seek a design approach to the west landing of the new SR 520 corridor that prioritizes transit by designating the added two lanes (+2) of a 6-lane bridge for high capacity transit only rather than HOVs. The Governor and Legislative leaders rejected the notion of changing any lane designations for fear it would delay the project timeline. More information is available here:
http://seattletransitblog.com/2010/02/01/sr-520-news-roundup/
http://horsesass.org/?p=24325
What is at stake?
The design and function of the new SR 520 Bridge will set the stage for future development not only in Seattle, but in the region. We have a choice to either accept more autos entering the city or provide good options to encourage more use of transit.
http://www.publicola.net/2010/02/01/what-should-sr-520-be/
Without HOVs in the +2 lanes, buses can stop in these lanes requiring less width at the interchange than a configuration that has HOV traffic in separate lanes passing buses at the flyer stops. We can’t build our way out of traffic jams, and the more we try, the worse off the region becomes in the long run. When investing in massively expensive infrastructure, public funds need to buy us a smart option, not an outdated approach with consequences that will need to be undone later.
The Arboretum is one of the crown jewels of the Olmsted park plan for Seattle.
http://www.seattle.gov/PARKS/parkspaces/olmsted.htm
http://www.seattle.gov/FriendsOfOlmstedParks/FSOP/history.htm
We have an opportunity to correct the mistakes of the past and remove the ramps that connect SR 520 with Lake Washington Blvd. causing far more traffic to travel through the Arboretum than it was ever meant to handle. Option A+ would substantially add to the traffic on Lake Washington Blvd. relative to the current volumes.
Main points to convey to city and state elected officials about the SR 520 design include your support for:
* total of 6 lanes on new SR 520 bridge with extra 2 lanes for light rail
and/or bus rapid transit only (not HOV);
* keep transit stops along SR 520 at Montlake Blvd.;
* no ramps connecting SR 520 to/from Lake Washington Blvd. in Arboretum;
* context-sensitive design for SR 520 through west side landing which includes Arboretum north wetlands.
Removing HOVs from the +2 lanes allows the transit stops along SR 520 at Montlake Blvd to be retained without adding a large amount of width to the interchange. The key change is to remove the HOVs at the west end of the corridor. If it opens as bus rapid transit w/out light rail (as appears to be the case given ST funding and plans), the +2 lanes could function with HOV but only if the vehicles move out of the lane before Montlake ramps (westbound) or wait until past these on-ramps to enter the lane (eastbound). But then we have the expectation problem at a later date making +2 lanes more restrictive for transit only.
--
Craig M. Benjamin
Conservation Program Coordinator
Sierra Club Cascade Chapter
180 Nickerson St, Ste 202
Seattle, WA, 98109
(w) 206-378-0114 x 320
craig.benjamin@sierraclub.org
www.cascade.sierraclub.org
Website for more info:
http://cascade.sierraclub.org/node/2282
Contact Person:
Craig Benjamin
Contact Email:
craig.benjamin@sierraclub.org
Contact Ph. Number:
206-378-0114 x 320
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