Uh...yes

So now what?

After rejecting the monorail project, and in reflecting on how to serve the transit needs now left unmet, we may realize how much sense it made to try to build a monorail.

That's the Seattle P-I posing a question which I wish it had shouted over the past 3 months.

•••

In the wake of the defeat of the monorail, the new fad is bus-rapid transit (BRT). The Stranger starts to explain why it's a Fast-Lane Fallacy, at least insofar as urbanized Seattle is concerned.

One flaw: dedicating lanes on existing arterials to BRT -- which would most likely be the curb lane on Seattle's narrow arterials -- means that any street with BRT can not have on-street parking. Thus such an arterial can never be a pedestrian-oriented place. Imagine the delights of sitting at a sidewalk cafe with buses rushing by at 40 miles per hour. Not. It will become an urban highway.

Comments

[Randy Paul]

David,

One thing that I notice about Seattle (and compare somewhat negatively to Vancouver, which in my opinion has a much better downtown) is I-5 cutting through part of downtown. Your thoughts on this?

[David Sucher]

Definitely so, Randy
Bridging freeways to reconnect neighborhoods separated by them is one of the major tasks of urban planning for the 21st century.

See for example Hello Columbus to the I-670 Cap.

[Gomez]

Isn't the reason rapid mass transit is being proposed because the highways are too clogged for buses to be rapid modes of transit?

I mean, do the people proposing BRT even understand what they're saying?

[dustin]

I wouldn't discount BRT so quickly. The majority of improvements that are made with BRT do not involve making the buses run at faster speeds on the roadway... And BRT is not required to run on the outside lanes.

The real benefit of BRT comes not from higher speeds, but rather decreasing the amount of stopped time. The three examples that come to mind are ramps at entry points (to decrease boarding times), pre-pay stations (to decrease boarding times) and signal timing priority (to decrease signal delays). There are just some of the improvements that can be made with BRT. On the 15th Avenue corridor in Ballard (proposed monorail route), these improvements could all be done in the center lanes, leaving room for off-peak parking. I can picture these type of bus ramps in the middle of roadways in many European cities (I just watched "Run Lola Run" last night that featured a few!), so I don't think these improvements are incompatible with a pedestrian friendly neighborhoods.

Anyway, I was a big fan of the monorail, but seeing as how it is officially dead, I'd at least like to see something happen to improve transit within the City.

[Adam Villani]

And today there was yet another problem with the monorail, as the two trains grazed each other on a curve, messing up a door and shattering some windows, and sending two people to the hospital with minor injuries. Not catastrophic, but problematic nevertheless.

[David Sucher]

I don't follow, Adam.
How is it even "problematic?"
Would one suggest that cars or trains are "problematic" every time ione has an accident/

Dustin, are you sure that there is enough room on 15th NW for such an arrangement? I'd like to see a diagram.