Seattle « The Transport Politic

Seattle’s North Link Light Rail, Originally Considered for Highway-Running, May Be Partially Tunneled

June 23rd, 2010 |

» Underground route may actually save money — but it raises possibility of altering the alignment.

Seattle’s light rail expansion program may be one of the most ambitious in the nation: Not only did the region open a 14-mile first segment last year, but it has a northern extension currently under construction and three further routes mostly funded and in advanced planning. Unlike most new light rail systems, Seattle’s is also being built to light metro standards, with capacity for four (long) cars at every station.

This huge investment does not correlate with a perfectly planned system, of course. One of

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Light Rail Along Road Rights-of-Way: a Cheap Solution to an Expensive Proposition

March 25th, 2010 |

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» Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn proposes to build a new transit line to West Seattle and Ballard along the street.

The dividing line between what Americans reference as a streetcar and what they call light rail is not nearly as defined as one might assume considering the frequent use of the two terminologies in opposition. According to popular understanding, streetcars share their rights-of-way with automobiles and light rail has its own, reserved right-of-way.

But the truth is that the two modes use very similar vehicles and their corridors frequently fall somewhere between the respective stereotypes of each technology. Even the prototypical

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In Seattle, as in Most Cities, Transit Works Best When It's Not Highway-Bound

February 10th, 2010 |

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» Sound Transit advances plans for East Link light rail; Bellevue council member leads push for I-405 alignment.

In few places in the country is the choice between a quality transit alignment and a miserable one as stark as in Bellevue, Washington, through which light rail trains from Seattle will run by 2020.

The Puget Sound’s Central Link light rail line opened last year between downtown Seattle and SeaTac Airport. It forms the spine of what will be a much larger system that eventually extends south, north, east, and potentially west. The East Link,

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Mayoral Elections Highlight Controversies Over Transit Provision

November 3rd, 2009 |

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» Third in a series of three articles on today’s elections. The first considered governor’s races; the second reviewed ballot measures.

In six big cities across the country — Atlanta, Charlotte, Houston, Miami, New York, and Seattle — transportation is playing a role in the mayoral race being decided today. With the economic crisis front and center, however, transit isn’t anyone’s biggest priority.

Mayor of Atlanta, GA

Mary Norwood vs. Kasim Reed vs. Lisa Borders (front-runners in a nonpartisan race)

Update: Mary Norwood, with 46%, and Kasim Reed, with 36%, have moved on to a runoff on December 1st.

Atlanta’s dramatic growth over the past twenty

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