Tim Burgess' City View

Lake Union Streetcar Use Soaring

This morning, the Council's Transportation Committee approved (3-0) and sent to the full Council an ordinance that accepts $65,000 from South Lake Union employers who want to "buy" more operating hours for the South Lake Union Streetcar during the afternoon/early evening commute. 

What was most surprising to me in this morning's briefing was the surge in ridership.  Average weekly ridership soared 43.6% to 2,471 this month compared to 1,720 in May 2010. Ridership averaged 1,404 per week in May 2009.  But there's more.  So far in 2010, the average number of riders per hour on the streetcar is 46.6.  The same measure of ridership on nearby trolley bus routes is 48 riders per hour. 

You can watch this morning's Transportation Committee meeting here. 

UW Land Use Amendment Passes Council 7-1

Consistent with the City's long-range goals for the area, the City Council voted 7-1 (CM Licata voted No; CM Harrell disqualified himself) this afternoon to approve a land use amendment that will allow construction of three medical research buildings in the South Lake Union neighborhood at Mercer Street and Dexter Avenue North.  (I blogged earlier about this topic here, a link that includes a video summary of my position.)

Today's action is another step toward creation of an Urban Center environment in South Lake Union that encourages much higher job and residential density and development of bio-tech and medical research facilities.

The public review process for these changes started last summer and was extensive, including neighborhood meetings, Council hearings, a great deal of lobbying by neighborhood and University of Washington representatives, and debate among council members.  Some argued that approving the rezone now would compromise the ongoing neighborhood planning process, but I found that the changes being sought by the UW were consistent with the existing neighborhood plan, last modified in 2007, and would advance vital medical research. 

While the ongoing neighborhood planning is important, so too is our effort to grow this area and create the overall environment that has been chosen for South Lake Union.  As former Mayor Charles Royer is purported to have said, "Seattle likes to chew but not swallow."  I think it's very OK to swallow during the meal (neighborhood planning).  I would have opposed the rezone had it been inconsistent with the existing neighborhood plan.

The final Council action lowered the maximum height limit allowed on the parcels that were rezoned to 120 feet, plus up to 15 feet for rooftop mechanical equipment, and added an open space and street-scape activation requirements.

Why I Voted for UW Zoning Change for South Lake Union

I voted in favor of a zoning change at the intersection of Mercer Street and Dexter Avenue North yesterday in the Council's Planning, Land Use, and Neighborhood Committee.  The "text amendment" rezone was sought by Vulcan and the University of Washington so taller medical research buildings can be built next to the existing research facilities immediately to

Tunnel, Fire Station, Museum

Three important votes at City Council this afternoon. All votes were 9-0.

1. Council voted (yet again) that city policy supports the State's decision to replace the Alaskan Way Viaduct with a deep-bore tunnel under downtown.
2. We voted to support relocation of the Museum of History and Industry to Lake Union Park.
3. We ended a four-year ordeal and voted to site Fire Station 20 at 15th Ave and West Armour St.

Battery Street Tunnel From the Inside

Earlier today I did a walking tour of the Battery Street Tunnel which was closed for inspection and cleaning.  I "ran" through the tunnel back in the late 1970s as part of the Seafair Torchlight Run (when I could run!), but today was the first time I had a personal tour.  It's bigger when you're standing on the pavement and not just whisking through in a car. 

The Battery Street Tunnel, built in the mid-1950s, will likely be closed when the new deep-bore tunnel replacing the Alaskan Way Viaduct is opened in 2015 or 2016.  Inside the northbound lanes we watched as a sewer-rat video camera broadcast images from deep inside the storm drainage system running under the tunnel.  The video camera is mounted on a husky little platform with four large rubber tires; it reminded me of one of the police department's bomb detection mobile cameras.  The camera "vehicle" is lowered into the sewer by a technician who then "drives" it through the sewer, remotely controlling its speed and camera angle. 

At the north portal of the northbound lanes, crews were drilling deep soil bores, some as deep as 170 feet, to collect soil samples for testing and evaluation.  The north portal of the new deep-bore tunnel will be in this general area and soil sampling is an important part of the engineering work required for tunnel design.  In the above photo, I'm watching as a technician transfers some of the soil sample to a small jar for additional testing.  The whole operation seemed like a crime scene forensic exercise; collect the evidence, package it for transmission to the lab, wait for the results. 

In the southbound tunnel we watched as the walls were cleaned with a giant, truck-mounted brush, then sprayed with a cleansing solution.  Last night, the fire suppression system was tested.  The sprinklers in the tunnel are designed to release a deluge of water if there is a fire.  We also tested the emergency phones positioned at several points in the tunnel; I picked up one handset and the police 911 center answered in seconds. 

As we stood at the north end of the tunnel, I tried to visualize what it will be like in a few years to drive into a new tunnel that will stretch all the way south of the stadiums and how I would use the three streets that will be opened across Aurora just to the north (John, Thomas, and Harrison), a transformation that will reconnect lower Queen Anne with the south Lake Union area.  Once completed, the Mercer Corridor and the Alaskan Way Viaduct replacement projects will revolutionize how we move between these neighborhoods.  After 40+ years of congestion, confusion, delay, and debate, we are finally on the verge of good solutions.  It's about time!

Street Cars and Seattle's Future

(UPDATE @ 6:05 p.m.) The Council voted 6-3 this afternoon to continue planning related to a possible streetcar network.  Our vote did not authorize any new expenditures or give the go-ahead for a streetcar network.  Councilmember Licata offered two amendments to the resolution that passed, then voted with the majority of council members.  It's a good compromise that allows for continued planning and feasibility work.

(Earlier Post)  A reactive mindset creeps into our local discourse from time to time that stifles imaginative thinking and threatens to halt projects that push the edge or require bold steps.  I call it “status quo thinking” that seeks to keep things just the way they are. 

I’m certainly glad our city leaders didn’t do that at the turn of the twentieth century because we would be paying nearly $340 million more in annual electric utility bills if they had.

In 1902—Seattle’s population was about 81,000—J. D. Ross and some other early pioneers pushed the edge by dreaming up a series of dams in the North Cascades to supply Seattle with electricity.  Many people thought they were nuts and complained bitterly about the project’s costs since electricity only cost 20 cents per kilowatt hour. 

Two-Way Mercer and Leadership

 

(Note:  Updated March 16, 2009.)  There has  been some controversy since the Council voted 8-1 to continue work on the two-way Mercer  Street project. Some see the project as a boondoggle designed only to benefit Paul Allen and his interests in the South Lake Union neighborhood. Others view it as a waste of money because the promise of traffic congestion relief is minimal at best.

Still others argue that competing projects, such as north end neighborhood sidewalks originally promised in the 1950s should have higher priority for the limited public funds available.

I voted  with the super majority on this issue and here's why.

First, the two-way Mercer Street project is about a lot more than just traffic congestion relief, although that certainly is a worthy justification. This project is one of several to improve our city's livability and it must be viewed within an overall strategic framework. The big picture goal is to reunite two important neighborhoods, South Lake Union and the Uptown neighborhood (lower Queen Anne, to many) while also creating a link or union between the lake, Seattle Center, and the central waterfront.  

Two-way Mercer is also one of several steps aimed at reconnecting the east and west sides of Aurora Avenue North and returning neighborhood cohesion to this important area of our city.  The other steps are re-opening three streeets across Aurora at Thomas, Harrison, John Streets and extending Sixth Avenue North all the way to Mercer Street. These moves would significantly improve the street grid throughout Uptown and South Lake Union and, along with two-way Mercer, improve traffic flow and access.

Another part of this overall strategic framework made possible by the changes described in the paragraph above is the addition of bike lanes on both Valley and Roy Streets, and the incorporation of the formerly-named "Potlach Trail" into the new street grid connecting South Lake Union to the central waterfront through the Uptown neighborhood.  

These street changes also need to be considered as part of the city's overall Urban Mobility Plan which is currently being developed in our effort to replace the Alaskan Way Viaduct with a deep-bore tunnel and surface street along Alaskan Way that will allow us to remove the viaduct and revitalize the central waterfront.

Last, but certainly not least, two-way Mercer, along with the other steps I've described, allows the streets immediately adjacent to Lake Union Park to be transformed into a pedestrian, bicycle, and vehicle friendly area serving as a gateway to the park.  

So, I voted in favor of continuing planning, financial feasibility studies, property acquisition negotiations, and other necessary work because the two-way Mercer project is just one element of a broader strategic plan to improve two neighborhoods (Uptown and South Lake Union) that will accept more density and jobs in the coming years. The project makes good urban planning sense,good environmental sense, and wise financial sense when viewed in the context of the larger strategic goals for the area.

Second, I  reject short-term, status quo thinking which is often a mask for a not in my  back yard or anti-growth mentality.  

We are well past the growth-no growth debate. Our region, and our city, has adopted a growth management plan that calls for Seattle to accept more residents and to cluster these new residents in our Urban Centers. The Uptown and South Lake Union neighborhoods are both Urban Centers. The Mayor and the City Council have taken a firm stand on this issue and it won't be reconsidered. Seattle is going to see an increase in population over the next 20 years. The issue is how to accommodate this growth wisely and efficiently.

I keenly remember several projects in our city's history that were opposed because they (a) would contribute to growth, (b) cost too much, or (c) seemed to favor developers and property owners.  

Remember the late 1960s when we twice rejected a light rail system because it would cause growth and damage Seattle's small-town atmosphere? You can ride our light rail system in Atlanta, Georgia today. City officials who fought hard for passage of the Forward Thrust transportation measure deserve kudos. Too bad we failed to follow their bold leadership!

Remember, too, the opposition to Pacific Place downtown? It was cast as a give-away to a private developer, a waste of city resources. Pacific Place is the single most important anchor development that contributed to the revitalization of our downtown business core.  

It's a great example of a public-private partnership that resulted in huge public benefits to our city, primarily strong economic transformation of our downtown. I appreciate the leadership Mayor Norm Rice and others demonstrated to win approval of that project.

Third, I'm grateful when property owners want to maximize their investments and contribute to the welfare of our city. Rather than detest Paul Allen and his colleagues, I appreciate the fact that he is willing to invest in our city and create jobs and wealth. His investments in South Lake Union will result in new residents living close to our downtown core in an environmentally sensitive manner, tens of thousands of new jobs, and a resurgence of an area that urgently needed it. Twenty years from now we will likely praise Paul Allen for his initiative and entrepreneurial spirit. Don't you wish he owned the Sonics instead of the Portland Trailblazers? (In the spirit of full disclosure, employees of Allen's Vulcan Northwest contributed $1,600 to my campaign for City Council last year, but not Mr. Allen himself. The Vulcan employee contributions represent four-tenths of one percent of the total amount contributed to the campaign.)