Feds Will Pay For 3 Minute Travel Times Between the University District and Capitol Hill

According to the Seattle Transit Blog, the University link of our not-sure-we-wanted-it-but-now-we-got-it--might-as-well-expand-it light rail system is getting the Federal funding it was looking for. It's headed to the President's desk with Seattle receiving the highest possible recommendation for funding from the Federal Transit Administration arm of the U.S. DOT. Screw you, Prop 1! Love you Patty Murray!

Here's the Sound Transit release:

The project connects the three largest urban centers in the region: downtown Seattle, Capitol Hill and the University District. It will offer much faster travel times for transit passengers than buses. Light rail will carry passengers from downtown to the University in 9 minutes instead of 25 and to Capitol Hill in 6 minutes instead of 14. Trips between Capitol Hill and the University District will take 3 minutes instead of 22. Riders will also enjoy reliable service no matter how bad the weather or traffic congestion.

Three minutes from the U District to the Hill is a dream we haven't dared to have until now, so that's pretty damn exciting. No mention of funding the rail north of the University District--as per the Sound Transit plan--indicating that we'll have to slug it out for every station in the future, but planning and funding a station is easier than planning and funding a whole system (or 3, ahem, Prop 1). It's just going to take a little longer.

Seattle Transit Blog added this note:

Also, it shows just how badly we need real, rapid transit here. This got the highest possible rating, and just two stations adds 70,000 riders to the line. This is basically the cheapest transportation project attempted in recent memory in this area. At fully one-tenth the cost of widening I-405, this will add more than more than 25% as much people-moving capacity..