According to the headline in the Seattle Times, the “Airport link makes Sound Transit line the train to somewhere“…
The airport line is not expected to have a huge impact on near-term ridership, but routing to such a logical place squelches earlier complaints that light rail is the train to nowhere.
But… Central Link stops in my neighborhood. Huh. I guess that means I live “nowhere.”
As do all the other residents near stations in Tukwila, Rainier Beach, Rainier Valley, Columbia City, Mt. Baker and Beacon Hill.
At least, in the eyes of Times editors.
I wonder if that attitude might help explain how little the Times seems to care about issues concerning folks here in South Seattle, and how dismissive the Times editorial board is about the values, priorities and preferences of voters around here? Hmm.
UPDATE:
Um… one more thing:
South Tukwila, where the current route ends, was an embarrassment to transit planners who could not afford and design an airport station in time for the opening of the first segment.
Actually, most of the delay in the airport station was due to the fact that Sound Transit couldn’t start designing and engineering it until after the Port of Seattle had finalized its ever-changing airport expansion plans. The fact that this segment is opening so soon — on time and on budget — is a credit to ST, not an embarrassment.
From east side, the 560 to SeaTac is a slow and meandering mess, average speed 20 MPH. I would take the 550 to connect with rail in the city just to feel like I was getting somewhere on the way to the airport.
It is a legitimate complaint, Goldy, that the train terminated in a BFE part of Tukwila. The only thing worth mentioning in Tukwila is Southcenter Mall, which is two miles from the Tukwila Int’l Blvd station and isn’t even connected to it by bus. It was an awful political move made just to get the line built this decade.
Just like the monorail detractors poo-pooed the monorail because “nobody wants to ride from Ballard to West Seattle”. Maybe it would have been more popular if they added some stations downtown. Oh, wait….
(buzzer sound)
Not valid. I’m tired of the nutballs who ALWAYS complain that the very first line of a transit system doesn’t go everywhere, isn’t a complete transit “system” from the beginning or won’t relieve that much traffic. Crazy. EVERY train system has to start with ONE line somewhere. I suppose if we had infinite resources we could just build a magic system in one move that connects everything from Everett to Tacoma to Redmond.
But in ‘reality’ land you have to start SOMEWHERE with one line. The airport is as logical and cheap as any. I’d like to see a tiny spur line into West Seattle from SoDo…no biggie.
But on your point, this DOES show how upper middle class folks like the Times board don’t consider normal neighborhoods like this (or even West Settle) as being “anywhere”. Didn’t they recently call the West Seattle water taxi a boat to “no where”? Forget that West Seattle is one of (or the largest) single neighborhoods in the city.
I guess only a train to Medina would count as a train to somewhere? But not a train that connects the entire south side or West Seattle? LOL.
@4
Right on.
The editorial is much ado about nothing.
An early link between downtown and the airport just makes so much sense it’s hard to imagine anyone would object to it (other than the taxi companies). It promotes business travel to Seattle and conventions by providing a relatively cheap, quick, and easy transit between the airport and the downtown hotels, the convention center, and the office buildings where meetings will take place. This is exacty the type of commerce which the business-types and the city/county are trying to promote. Most of these people aren’t carrying a lot of baggage, they have a single rolling carry-on bag and a briefcase/purse, so riding the train isn’t a big problem for them. (Families on vacation are another matter, though). In environmental terms, it makes so much sense for thousands of daily taxi trips with one passenger to be replaced by a regularly scheduled light rail route.
Now, if we could just get a light rail up the I-405 corrider from SeaTac to downtown Bellevue, avoiding the I-405 traffic jam between I-5 and the S-curves, and also avoiding problematic I-90 bridge engineering and cost problems!
In the past month I’ve been to two housewarming parties for friends who have bought houses along the lightrail line on MLK. Yes, there are issues with gentrification, but the amount of new development in what used to be one of the most depressed areas in the city is amazing. There are more benefits from good transit than simply getting people from one interesting place to another.
Goldy,
I believe the TSA may have had something to do with the final location of the Airport station as well. Kind of annoying, but good on Sound Transit for opening the Airport extension only 6 months after the initial line. Sadly we’ve likely got quite a wait before any further Link expansion with UW in 2016, Northgate & Bellevue in 2020, and a possible one stop extension to S. 200th in 2012 or 2013.
@6
The current plan is to open a line between Overlake and Downtown Seattle via Bellevue and I-90 first. While this may not be as convenient as a line direct from Bellevue to Seatac it will at the very least get you out of traffic.
It is looking like further expansion past the ST2 plans might include a Burien to North Renton line along 518 and 405 with stops in Burien, Tukwilla International Boulevard (and transfer to Central Link), Southcenter, Tukwilla Sounder/Amtrak, Renton Transit Center, and North Renton.
I am removing your blog from my RSS feed. Why? Because I already don’t read the execrable Seattle Times, yet a sizable fraction of your content is dedicated to quoting, paraphrasing, and complaining about the ST. There are more than enough unpleasant things in life without your constant reminders that (for the moment, anyway) the ST still exists. I just don’t need that shit.
‘Bye.
Goldy, what did you expect from the Mercer Island Times?