What’s the current problem?

Right now, Sound Transit is facing a massive budget hole of $34.5B to deliver the entirety of ST3 which voters were promised. Sound Transit is currently exploring a few different options to close this budget gap, including stopping the light rail from reaching Ballard and/or Issaquah. We know that deferring projects simply makes them even more expensive in the long-run, and we must build it now. Sound Transit needs creative solutions to get the train from downtown Seattle to Ballard without breaking the bank. Right now, the entire Ballard extension is estimated to cost $20-22B for only 7.5 miles, over 8x what other cities are spending per mile. This means we are getting much less transit and public benefit per dollar spent. We need to ensure we do not spend outrageous amounts of money and create a budget hole that makes the system impossible to fund and maintain in the long run. Other cities like New York saw their systems fall into disrepair for decades due to prior budget crises. We cannot allow that to happen to our system by simply “building at all costs.”

We can get the trains to Ballard and Issaquah on time and on budget. We have the solution.

What are you proposing?

We propose a solution that saves $7-10B on the Ballard extension alone. This proposal improves travel times, without compromising on safety or reliability of the system. Saving this much money means we can get the trains to Ballard and Issaquah more quickly without putting the long-term viability of the system at risk. This proposal also delivers tremendous public benefits beyond simply getting our rail to Ballard and Issaquah. And it’s a proven solution that works in the world’s best transit cities like Zürich, Amsterdam, and Paris.

What’s the solution?

Instead of building a second downtown tunnel, we must build the Link trains at-grade through downtown via a linear park corridor along 1st Ave. This connects many of Seattle’s most iconic destinations, saves $7-10B, creates a new urban forest along 1st Ave for the public to enjoy, and ensures trains move quickly and reliably by removing any potential conflicts with vehicles by keeping cars off 1st Ave.

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We propose building a beautiful linear park along 1st Ave to add plentiful greenspace, outdoor activation, and restaurant seating, which will significantly reduce air and noise pollution. This creates a remarkably pleasant walkable and bikeable area that would transform 1st Ave into a world-class tourist destination in its own right.

At-grade transit doesn’t work in Seattle. Why is this being proposed?

All at-grade rail is not created equal. This proposal advocates for building at-grade transit that is fundamentally different than what we built in the Rainier Valley segment. This proposal is akin to the high-quality at-grade transit seen in European cities that are remarkably safe, fast, punctual, and reliable. In fact, Zürich (ranked #1 for public transportation in the IMD Smart City Index) predominantly relies on extensive, high quality at-grade rail with 15+ tram and rail lines with 200+ stops. Because of thoughtful design, aggressive signal priority, and pedestrianization in the densest urban areas, they enjoy significantly higher punctuality, reliability, and frequency than our entire mostly grade-separated system. They understand that it all comes down to design and operations, not at-grade vs. grade separation.

Even within Seattle, we have examples of good at-grade design. Most of the path on Mercer Island, the segment between SODO and Stadium, and between South Bellevue and Old Main is at-grade. However, no one complains about these segments because it is at-grade done well. It is safe, reliable, inexpensive, fast, and most importantly, separated from vehicles. What matters more than anything is having dedicated right-of-way and minimal conflicts.

How is this solution faster than our current downtown tunnel?

Our current downtown tunnel has short stop spacing and tight turns, which means trains move slowly through the tunnel and can’t get up to speed between stops. Trains today move at around 9-13 mph through the tunnel.

With full preemptive signal priority, the Ballard trains will move at-grade without stopping at any lights. They will move consistently at 20 mph like our current streetcar but will be much faster and more reliable because they will never stop at lights or get stuck in traffic. Trains will only ever stop at their stations. And at consistent 20 mph speeds in between stations, these trains will move faster at-grade along 1st Ave versus our current downtown tunnel.

With the straight alignment in our proposal with wider stop spacing, trains can stay at higher speeds for longer which means it gets through downtown from Pioneer Square to Seattle Center in less than 6 minutes. For shorter trips within downtown, even more time is saved because you do not waste 2 minutes getting down to the platform and another 2 mins to get back up to the surface at the end of your trip (total additional 4 minutes saved).

With Sound Transit’s current plan, spending $7-10B to tunnel through downtown to go slower underground due to shorter stop spacing and tighter turns doesn’t make any sense.

What about reliability of the trains?

In our proposal, trains only stop at stations and move at a consistent 20 mph otherwise. With dedicated right-of-way and full signal priority, trains can adhere to schedules and move consistently. In fact, trains can move even more reliably through 1st Ave at-grade than our current downtown tunnel.

Since these stations are at-grade, there are never any broken elevators or escalators – imagine that! And there will never be a delay or tunnel closure due to ventilation shaft issues which plague the system today. Long-term maintenance costs will be an order of magnitude less.

What about safety?

When they’re not waiting at red lights or in traffic, our streetcars already run at 20 mph at-grade today and no one complains. Our proposal moves trains only at 20 mph, with a train that takes a few seconds to pass through a point every 7-15 minutes. Compare that with the constant stream of cars that move at 25 mph (realistically 30 mph) along 1st Ave today.

With no cars along 1st, we move a LOT more people per direction than cars with high-capacity, frequent, reliable light rail. The street becomes a public space, connects both sides of 1st Ave together, and becomes remarkably safer for all. This is fundamentally different than the design of Rainier Valley today and cannot be compared.

This sounds crazy. Has anyone else pulled it off?

We have already significantly revamped many streets and spaces in Seattle. Terry Ave, the new waterfront, and NE 43rd St outside U District station are just a few prime examples. These places have given back precious public space to people, creating safer pedestrian environments, significantly improving business activity, creating new spaces for people to linger, and drastically reducing car-induced traffic, noise, and pollution.

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Pairing linear parks and urban forests alongside high-capacity rail lines through dense urban areas are remarkably commonplace in cities like Zürich, Amsterdam, and Paris. In fact, Paris is actively transforming many of their most congested streets into lush “urban forests” to fight heat islands, reduce air and noise pollution, and improve quality of life. Sydney recently went through this with George Street by adding light rail and pedestrianizing the rest of the street, which brought in $35B of private investment to the street within only 5 years. Oxford Street in London, Broadway Street in NYC, some of the busiest streets in the world, are actively transforming into pedestrian parks as we speak.

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