Years ago, Fred Jarrett told us that Sound Transit’s own estimates indicated that there would x # of deaths per year with an at-grade alignment on MLK Way.

Unfortunately, it has eventually come to pass- a man has been killed while crossing the street. Yes, apparently the man might not have been paying attention to the flashing lights and arm down across the crossing- but that is exactly the point!

Wherever there is at-grade light rail, there are at-grade accidents, because no amount of education seems to keep 100% of the people out of harm’s way (there was an earlier death in July 2009 that was termed a suicide- click here ). At grade alignments are inherently more dangerous than grade-separated alignments.

Smart planners would eliminate at-grade alignments and grade-separate whenever possible at the next stop for Sound Transit’s light rail line- Bellevue – for obvious reasons.

Unless we are comfortable with more train vs. pedestrian accidents throughout the East Link line…

Reference to the man’s death was buried by the Seattle Times on page  B3 of the NW Friday section (January 7, 2010), presumably because it was more important to cover the NFL playoffs on most of the front page today…

Details from the accident are grisly- “He was thrown or possibly dragged 30 to 40 yards, according to a police”…

News organizations have been reporting that Sound Transit has a $3.9 Billion deficit from ST’s original budget projections due to the ongoing economic downturn.

Sound Transit admits it is altering its alignment choices due to this deficit, and is making statements that appear to be indicating that it is uninterested in lessening adverse impacts to Bellevue’s Downtown business district- essentially making the case that they don’t want to pay for a tunnel in the Downtown.

In addition to that, Sound Transit wants to run the alignment for ST2  through some of Bellevue’s founding neighborhoods, Enatai, Bellecrest, Bellefield and Surrey Downs, as well as the new Downtown neighborhoods (condos, apts), impacting thousands of people with adverse noise impacts and other blight, because they think that is the cheapest option.

Meanwhile, pedestrians continue to be hit by trains (click here) on the at-grade alignment in the Rainier Valley, and numerous car vs. train collisions have occured (click here, and here), because the choice of an at-grade alignment was thought to be cheaper.

It’s a miracle there have not been numerous  deaths yet.

But nowhere has it been stated yet by Sound Transit or the news organizations discussing these altered budgets that the downturn in the economy will necessitate a reduction in staff at Sound Transit.

If Sound Transit is intent on cutting all of the mitigation that they once purported to be possible on the East Link (ST2) project, and the scope of the projects are being altered (click here, here, and here), can staff reductions be far behind?

17-year-old hit by light rail train on MLK Jr. Way Seattle Times The accident occurred at about 4:30 pm at the intersection of Martin Luther King Jr. Way and South Graham Street, said Ron Griffin, chief of Sound Transit ... and more »

Man guilty of deadly shooting at FedWay transit center Seattle Times ... were later dropped after private criminal-defense attorneys hired an investigator to review hours of video-surveillance tapes from Sound Transit. ...

A driver and his passenger sustained minor injuries this morning when they were hit trying to make a left turn against the light in front of a light-rail train. According to Sound Transit spokesman Bruce Gray, the accident happened about 11 a.m. when the car – heading north on Martin Luther King Jr. Way – [...]

Authorities increase security at Federal Way Transit Center Northwest Cable News In response to the violence, Geoff Patrick with Sound Transit says security has been increased significantly at the Transit Center. For the first time, ... and more »

Good to know that all it takes to change a stupid security policy is to wait for someone to be beaten within an inch of their life, THEN change the policy. How about figuring it out AHEAD of time, so the public is protected?

Doesn’t Seattle remember Kristopher Kime (click here, or here), who was murdered in the sight of the Seattle police in 2001? Weren’t we going to learn from that travesty?

The Seattle Times reports (click here):

“The way Metro uses Olympic guards is similar to Sound Transit’s contract with Securitas, whose unarmed guards are paid $16 to $18 an hour to conduct fare enforcement and to patrol transit stations. Sound Transit’s policies, however, anticipate they’ll sometimes intervene:

“When faced with a clear and immediate threat of bodily harm, the Security Officer must always first consider retreating with any other people present to a secure position. When necessary to protect self and others from a clear and immediate threat of bodily harm, a Security Officer must use only the degree of force necessary to repel an attack or threat of an attack.”

Love this statement:

“After several crimes on Portland rail lines — including the beating of a 71-year-old man with a baseball bat at a suburban station — officials doubled the transit police from 28 officers to 58 during 2008-09, and crimes decreased, according to an Oregonian newspaper report.”

Ya think?

Read this article by the Seattle Times and watch this video (click here) provided by KING-TV of a beating in the Seattle bus tunnel.

Then tell us how the outcome will be different if groups of thugs decide to ride the light rail alignments or loiter at stations and behave in this manner.

Choose from the following:

1. The camera will protect me?

2. The “Security Guards” will intervene? (Hmmm, they are directed NOT to).

3. I’m on my own.

4. Tell me why I want to stop using my car, again?

*Understatement Award of the Year:

“The county executive has ordered us to work with the Sheriff’s Office to review the circumstances surrounding this incident and seek advice from other security experts to determine whether we need to change our security protocols.”

Pathetic.

Bus-tunnel attack while guards watched prompts review of Metro security Seattle Times Sound Transit fare-enforcement officers are employed by the private firm Securitas. King County Metro's Transit Police, who are sheriff's deputies, ... and more »