Last Saturday I went over 520 to Seattle at around 9:30AM & returned going Eastbound around noon. The eagle pair were there at both times hunting- one was perching on the north metal sculpture, the other, on the lamppost nearest the sculpture.

Why, I wonder, does environmental law only protect where an endangered species nests, and not where the species hunts? Doesn’t the availability of their food source impact  a species as much as where to nest?

All this is because I’m wondering how WSDOT & SDOT & Sound Transit & the cities of Seattle & Bellevue will mitigate impacts to the wildlife living in the Arboretum when redevelopment of the 520 bridge happens….thoughts?

Update: I’ve seen other info re: the eagle pair hunting from the 520 bridge:

1. “Eagle Eyes on the 520 Bridge”- http://blogs.king5.com/archives/2009/03/eagleeyes-on-th.html

2. WSDOT SR 520 DEIS- http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/NR/rdonlyres/5969A3E2-01E1-4000-8F80-F18D006CEE7/0/SR520DEIS_AppendixWPart2.pdf

3. Northwest Cable News by Deborah Feldman- http://www.nwcn.com/archive/61211932.html

A state panel has finally selected a preferred option on replacing the floating 520 bridge. The panel voted 10 to 2 in favor of replacing the existing bridge from Interstate 5 to Medina with a new six-lane bridge, which would include one HOV lane in each direction. It would feature a new Montlake interchange, similar to the current interchange, with a new bascule bridge across the cut. It also would add some improvement to transit connections, as well as a reversible HOV lane connecting to Interstate 5. The cost will be about $4.6 billion but it will not increase ...

Washington is going where no highway tolls have gone before, a transportation consultant told state legislators Tuesday.

In today's SeattlePI.com, Aubrey Cohen asks, Will more Washington roads take their toll on drivers? The story focused on widespread tolling and its impact on consumers: Individual drivers would shrug off tolls "as the cost of living in modern society, similar to an increase in gas prices," but businesses would pass the cost on to customers, Ennis wrote. "The overall effect of extensive tolling will be to depress total economic growth - it would be like handing everyone in the economy a ten-pound weight to carry around; it is not enough to stop anyone in their tracks, ...

Seattle Times reporter Mike Lindblom informs us today that there will be variable speeds on I-90 at times in the future, and that WSDOT has installed “electronic variable speed signs” from Seattle to Mercer Island and Bellevue (click here).

“Starting Tuesday, the speed limit on the Interstate 90 floating bridge will no longer stay at 60 mph.

When traffic is heavy, the speed limit might temporarily be 50 or 40 mph. Ice on the roadway could force the posted speed limit down to 30 mph.”

This is probably a good safety practice during windstorms or bad weather, but I doubt many folks around here know about this yet.

Can anyone say “revenue stream“?

In an article in the Seattle Times, reporter Will Mari quotes various contenders for the 41st district seats.

Read their views (links to their websites are provided) on Sound Transit’s Prop 1 (ST2) tax proposal for 2008, and other ideas on transportation improvements that would provide congestion relief for the eastside, such as bus rapid transit (BRT), and the future use of the BNSF rail corridor.

Here’s a few excerpts from the Times article:

“(Steve) Litzow, 46, a Mercer Island city councilman, faces Democrat Marcie Maxwell, 53, in a tight race. The House seat became open when Democratic Rep. Fred Jarrett decided to run for state Senate.”

“The big issue on people’s minds is the economy, despite the area’s comparative wealth, and voters will not be marching in lock-step, (Steve) Litzow argues.

“Mercer Island residents depend on I-90, and most of the district’s voters live on or near I-405. As a result, transportation joins education as the most important issues on voters’ minds….”

“Litzow opposes Proposition 1, the proposed sales-tax increase that would extend light rail north, south and east. Instead, he wants bus-rapid transit combined with light rail running north-south along the former BNSF Railway line on the Eastside.”

Here is a link to Litzow’s proposals for transportation improvements on the Eastside (scroll down halfway):  Reduce Traffic Congestion: http://stevelitzow.com/index.php?p=30

“His opponent, (Marcie) Maxwell, is a Renton Realtor and member of the Renton School Board. She’s more on the fence regarding Prop. 1, but is concerned about the emphasis on light rail.

“On the Eastside, we need to have the convenience and the routes” to make mass transit more of an option for commuters, she said.”

Maxwell’s statement would seem to support the flexibility of bus rapid transit corridors.

Here is a link to her position on transportation:

Reducing Traffic Congestion:  http://www.marciemaxwell.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=13&Itemid=27

Fred Jarrett (D) is running for State Senate.

Here is a link to his website: http://vote4fred.org/default.aspx

From the Times:

“State Senate switcheroo”

“In the Senate race, Fred Jarrett is running as a Democrat for the first time.”

“Jarrett is in favor of Prop. 1. While not perfect, “it doesn’t matter to me whether the transit has rubber wheels or tracks,” he said.”

His opponent for State Senate is Bob Baker.Here is a link to his views on transportation:

“Are your transportation tax dollars getting you to work faster OR are they focused instead on government efforts at social engineering? “ http://www.voteforbaker.com/issues.shtml

From the Times article on Bob Baker:

“The 21-year Navy veteran, “Top Gun” graduate and Alaska Airlines pilot spent a career on the F-14 Tomcat as a test pilot. He also worked at the Pentagon, a job that included testifying before congressional committees and convincing admirals and generals to fund appropriation projects.

Like Jarrett, he said he shares a disdain for waste, and backs State Auditor Brian Sonntag’s use of performance audits to look for savings in state agencies….”

“An opponent of Prop. 1, (Bob) Baker favors bus-rapid transit instead of an east-west rail line.

“By Sound Transit’s own analysis, it won’t relieve traffic congestion,” he said.

As far as his district in concerned, he said it’s “not so much that it’s moved Democratic, but we have a lot of independents a, as people weigh their options.”

41st District is realigning Seattle Times, United States - 4 hours ago "By Sound Transit's own analysis, it won't relieve traffic congestion," he said. As far as his district in concerned, he said it's "not so much that it's ...

That's what John Niles, a transportation consultant, tells me in the e-mail below. Niles declares that he is a volunteer advisor to the campaign that is opposing Proposition 1, the $17.9 billion ballot measure for Sound Transit. I offer up Niles' observations and a couple of attachments for your perusal because I don't have time to go investigate how much Portland, Denver and all those other cities spend on their light rail vs. buses. Here are a couple pdf's that Niles sent. One is a spreadsheet, the other is the Washington Policy Center's take ...

Here are a few highlights from some compelling arguments put forth by Eastside Rail Now at : http://www.eastsiderailnow.org/proposition_1_redo.html

1.   It would do little to reduce traffic congestion…”In fact, the plan could even increase congestion in some areas, such as the I-90 corridor.”

3.   Poor choices were made on selecting the rail routes.…”The most urgent need for rail transit on the Eastside by far is in the I-405 corridor (which would also be vastly cheaper than the I-90 corridor).”

4. It would downgrade some existing bus service. For example, several bus routes between Seattle and the Eastside would likely be eliminated or cut back in attempt to induce their riders to switch to the light rail line.

8.   Serious technical problems remain regarding use of the I-90 floating bridge. “Rail transit has never before been attempted on a floating bridge…”

9.   It would have an adverse effect on freight mobility. Constructing a rail line on the I-90 floating bridge would reduce the freight capacity of the region’s most important east-west road freight corridor.

14.   It is enormously expensive, despite only marginal benefits.  …”Furthermore, these are only the direct monetary costs — not included are a variety of other costs, including the opportunity costs, that is, the loss to the region from not using the same funds for more effective projects, such as lower cost rail lines with better routes.”

And here’s the kicker:

16.   It would preclude the region from taking on more worthy projects for decades. The region would become legally locked into this massive and unprecedented tax increase and its poorly planned projects for many years. Tax capacity would be exhausted for decades, and all flexibility to reduce taxes or to replace the Proposition 1 projects with more effective projects, including those that might become necessary due to changing circumstances, would be lost. 

It’s the Opportunity Cost, folks… see the link here

In an article in The Ballard Tribune regarding Reuven Carlyle’s candidacy for the 36th District state House seat, The Tribune reports:

“Another issue Carlyle said he wants to look at is the lack of coordination between city and state agencies, exemplified in the case of transportation.

The candidate said he requested master plans from Sound Transit, Metro and the Seattle Department of Transportation but noted they were all completely different and did not mesh together.

It is going to be increasingly important in the next years for the city and state to figure out how to link separate transportation components like bike paths, HOV lanes and light rail, he said.”

Interesting that the same subject (lack of coordination) was discussed at the Neighbors for Responsible Transportation Forum on October 4th.  Speaker Ted Lane brought up a lack of coordination in regional planning:

“The interface between north-south trips and east-west trips is very poor“, as well as the interface at the planned University station. They have “designed a system where there’s no compatibility between them“.

Lane went on to say that “buses work well in areas that are growing, where rail seems to work best in areas that are stable”, and far more dense (a higher # of persons per square mile).

Lane further commented that Sound Transit 2 (Prop 1) was “poorly thought out” and “would lock us in” to a course of action.