Results tagged “seattletransit”

Seattle's transportation projects and politics tend to be the Achilles heel of progress in this city. Ironic, isn't it? On Friday, the state House passed a $4.9 billion two-year transportation budget, with the intentions of funding select mega transportation projects (ferries, viaducts and the 520 bridge, oh my!), as well as restoring the funds (per voters request) to move I-90's HOV lanes to prep for the East Link light-rail route. A win in Sound Transit's column, although we are beginning to see those pesky politics and pet-projects--yes, House Speaker Frank Chopp and your one or two billion dollar 520 Tunnel idea, we're talking about you--try to take precedent over the November 2008 voter-approved transportation initiatives. Here we thought a complete transit system was in our foreseeable future (sigh).

• Capitol Hill Seattle is asking for your help in making a "Collective Hill Playlist" filled with songs about or mentioning Capitol Hill. Do you have any songs for the list? Sorry, but "Posse on Broadway" has already been mentioned.
• If you're arachnophobic, we'd recommend not reading this little item. A Ballard family that found a Black Widow spider in a bunch of grapes from their neighborhood Fred Meyer, has donated the spider to the Woodland Park Zoo's Bug World.
• Local blogs are still aflutter about an anonymous poem about Snowmageddon 2008, which could be the first local viral email of '09. Both the Big Blog and The Rainier Valley Post talked about the snow poem.

As a follow-up to yesterday's post about Metro bus service ("Report Says Metro Runs on People"), we've tracked down two other commentaries. ECB over at the Slog has some illuminating boarding cost numbers to share: "Because so many suburban buses still run virtually empty (while urban buses are crammed past capacity), the cost per boarding in outlying areas is significantly higher—$7.27 in the East subarea, and $4.79 in the South, compared to $3.64 in the West." The Seattle Transit Blog mentions Metro's defense, that the "cost-per-passenger-mile is relatively low."

• Hillku sums it all up nicely, in 3 metric phrases of course.
• The Seattle Transit Blog had a very happy day yesterday. We hope they enjoy their well-deserved victory and then get right to fixing the clusterfuck that is public transit in Seattle.
• Strange happenings are afoot--or rather, aflight. Capitol Hill Seattle spotted a blue heron perched on their roof yesterday morning. Lost little birdie? Or just joining the nation's big blue celebration?

Yesterday, we looked up at the clock tower and noticed we had just enough time to duck in for coffee before heading off to...Wait a minute! We what!?!