Building a Better Bellevue (BBB) has come out with a piece that suggests that the South Bellevue Park and Ride in Bellevue could be returned to a park/wetland status if the B7R alignment is adopted for Sound Transit’s East Link light rail, utilizing the A2 station option.

Another aspect of this plan would be that the B7R alignment protects the only property on the National Register for Historic Preservation (NRHP) on the Eastside, by avoiding it altogether.

The B2M alignment would pass directly in front of the historic stucco house, and there is concern from historians that vibration from the trains would damage the stucco, and eventually require the house to be removed from NRHP status.

Muddying the (peat) water further (much of the land near Mercer Slough is a thick peat bog), is the fact that Sound Transit must show due diligence in a good faith effort to “avoid” historic properties when it accepts federal funds for transportation projects, per federal laws 106 and 4(f), or to show why it is “necessary” to choose an alignment that adversely impacts a historical property.

Sound Transit’s FEIS was just released; it remains to be seen whether they have proven their case regarding due diligence, when B7R has been studied to a 5% level of engineering, and B2M has been studied to a 30% level of engineering…

Additionally, a fact unacknowledged by supporters of B2M is that the B2M alignment actually utilizes land in the wetland on the east side of Bellevue Way and 112th Avenue…

See BBB’s article at www.betterbellevue.org :

“Rejuvenation and Revival of Mercer Slough Wilderness and Wetlands, Once B7R Is Implemented

Preserving Mercer Slough, and creating a unique Nature Park there, has been a vision and desire of many nature supporters starting from the 1960s. As time progressed and development pressures intensified in the late 1980s several major commercial developments were in preparation to be constructed in the Mercer Slough wetlands.  They included the Enatai Plaza Office Complex, Enatai Corporation Office Complex, White PUD and the North West Building Corporation Office Complex.

At that time a proactive group was formed called “Save the Mercer Slough Committee” — our objective to save the remaining lands of the Mercer Slough and ensure that they would forever be kept for the public benefit and enjoyment.

Working with the City, King County and The Trust for Public Lands we were successful in having Park bond measures placed on the ballot for public approval. The levies were approved and the remaining lands saved.

There was one significant piece of land, some 11.5 acres, located along Bellevue Way that had already been covered in asphalt for a Park and Ride facility. This was recognized by our committee and by the public at large as an environmentally damaging result for the Mercer Slough.

Fast forward to today as “Building a Better Bellevue” (BBB) and the majority of our City Council are supporting the B7R light rail alignment (along I-405) rather than Sound Transit’s B2M alignment along Bellevue Way that will result in further expansion of the existing Park and Ride facility, and thereby creating further damage and blight to the Mercer Slough.

The B7R alignment with a new Parking/Transit (A2) station  (on firm lands) near I-90 will result in the existing Park and Ride facility along Bellevue Way becoming redundant, with an attendant opportunity to remove the asphalt and return the 11.5 acres of land to a natural vegetative state to become part of a larger, better and  more complete Mercer Slough Nature Park.

As a steering committee member of BBB I whole-heartedly support the B7R alignment and of the opportunity to enhance the Mercer Slough Nature Park and protect the historical Winters House.”

~Geoffrey Bidwell, a Steering Committee member of BBB

and former Chair of the “Save the Mercer Slough Committee”

Building a Better Bellevue has posted a study titled: “Inconvenient Truths That Prove the Feasibility of B7R for East Link”, which argues that the B7 alignment for Sound Transit’s East Link light rail in Bellevue is:

• cost-effective,
• has similar or better ridership,
• would have less traffic impacts during construction,
• and would reduce some impacts to the community.

See the post at Building a Better Bellevue’s site (click here).

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”…

Download BBB’s new, comprehensive review of  Sound Transit’s work on the B7 alignment at: www.betterbellevue.org

See BBB’s “Optimized B7” proposal :

“Building a Better Bellevue has also included an “Optimized B7” alignment that offers a B7 alignment with improved cost considerations.”

On November 18, 2010 the Sound Transit Board unanimously approved a purchase and sale agreement with Artspace USA for Sound Transit-owned property at the foot of the Mount Baker Link light rail station.  Artspace plans to build an exciting, green, transit-oriented mixed-use development with affordable artist housing to boot!

In September, 4Culture was pleased to award Artspace a $15,000 Unforeseen Opportunity Arts Facility award to aide them in doing due diligence assessment for this project. We are thrilled to see it move forward.

Artspace will build 51 affordable loft-style family rental artist housing ...

  This seems timely-

These are the comments of Ted Van Dyk, writer for Crosscut, regarding an article by Knute Berger on transportation in the Puget Sound region:

Posted Tue, Sep 28, 10:20 a.m. 

Good piece. As someone who lived in Boston, NY, DC and LA before returning home to Seattle 10 years ago, I can attest that local transportation congestion is minimal compared to that experienced in those metro areas. We are not at some transportation crisis point.

The Alaskan Way Viaduct and Evergreen Point Bridge must be replaced or retrofitted because they represent a threat to public safety. We are nearly 10 years late in dealing with them.

We have a totally unneeded Allentown trolley, from downtown to South Lake Union, to feed Vulcan Inc.’s desire for such a link (and with a bit of tourist-appeal trolleyism thrown in). It has been running near empty since Day One. We are beginning a First Hill streetcar system not to meet any particular transportation need. Existing buses could do it.

Sound Transit light rail actually will cost far more than the $18 billion sum you cite. The three-county system now being planned—which includes retrofitting the I-90 bridge for light rail—will take many years of capital construction. At the end of the period, congestion will not be reduced—same as with the Mercer Mess redo. The transportation need could be met immediately with simple and far less costly expansion of existing bus service.

We should not underestimate the degree to which these projects are driven by the economic self-interest of powerful local players—the Mercer Mess redo and trolley for Vulcan; light rail to feed the ST bureacracy, contactors and sub-contractors, law firms, financial and p.r. firms, and unions which feed at the light rail trough—and who keep campaign money coming to the elected officials who support light rail.

Badly missing in all of this are elected officials, at federal, state, and local level, with the capacity to examine priorities and options and, then, to choose those in the public interest.

Transportation should not be consuming such a disproportionate amount of local energy and resources. Much is being driven not by public need but by the voracious appetities of those who benefit financially from transportation projects.

— Ted_Van_Dyk 

See http://crosscut.com/2010/09/28/mossback/20197/Why-is-transportation-in-the-driver-s-seat—/?pagejump=2

Tonight, the case for a potential conflict of interest was laid out re: Bellevue City Council member Grant Degginger and his law firm Lane/Powell by a Bellevue citizen during public comment. Lane/Powell apparently represents Sound Transit and Degginger admitted he has tried and won a case for them.

After Degginger’s comments re: his involvement, he called out his challenger by disparaging a group she belongs to.  That led to an escalation of conflicts between Council members.

See the streamed 09/27/10 City of Bellevue Council meeting on their website at: http://www.ci.bellevue.wa.us/bellevue_tv.htm

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?

 Building a Better Bellevue says:

1. It has support from its Bellevue neighbors all over the city, and that

2. Large signs are going up on private property on Bellevue Way to visually demonstrate opposition to Sound Transit’s effort to utilize Bellevue Way and 112th regardless of the city’s wishes, and to

3. Point out that the City of Bellevue’s preferred alignment for the route into the city remains the B7 alignment.

See the Building a Better Bellevue site here: www.betterbellevue.org