Four the Future - Transit Effects

Today: Bad transit stops, increasing transit demand, changing transit communities, and a transit public health win.

• This Tiny Roadside Refuge in Silver Spring Is Your Sorriest Bus Stop, America
  Source: StreetsBlog USA; July 8, 2016
  Summary: StreetsBlog USA had a tournament of "sorry" bus stops. The tournament allowed readers to vote of how bad the bus stops were. The worst is in Maryland, where the bus stop is completely inaccessible to pedestrians. There is hope, however, as there has been a request to fund a pedestrian crossing so people don't have to take their lives into their hands just to catch a ride.
  Opinion: If you follow the link in the story to the Washington Post article, you'll see that it used to be even worse--probably because none of the responsible agencies would take responsibility. And, what's the effect of this kind of infrastructure? Little, except perhaps reinforcing the perception that transit is mainly for people who don't have a choice, because who, exactly, would use this bus stop if they had an alternative?


• TransLink report highlights chronic overcrowding and record ridership
  Source: CBC News; September 8, 2016
  Summary: The transit system in Vancouver, British Columbia is experiencing overcrowding even outside of peak times. The federal and provincial governments have committed to expansion plans. TransLink is in talks with local governments to find the additional revenue needed to expand service.
  Opinion: Many transit systems experienced expansions in the last decade as communities experienced a significant shift in their travel habits. The increase in demand must have a spatial effect, as transit is concentrated in specific locations. So what's the effect of high ridership? Consider the increased value of the land and buildings adjacent to places with significant transit investment, as in the next story.


• Watching Los Angeles Gentrify
  Source: City Lab; September 6, 2016
  Summary: There appears to be a correlation between the construction of transit lines in Los Angeles and the increase in the value of the adjacent neighborhoods. In neighborhoods where transit investments were made, "residents became whiter, richer, and more educated." People with lower incomes were displaced.
  Opinion: It makes perfect sense that when a service that is valued is added to a location, the location's value goes up. However, it is not correct to assume that because the location's value goes up that the people who live there can continue to afford it. I've mentioned this before and it bears repeating. Just because you make improvements in an area doesn't mean that the benefits will go to those who currently live there. Indeed, you may tear the neighborhood apart. You must be mindful of whether the benefit is designed to help the place or the people.


• When Light Rail Opens, Do People Really Get More Exercise?
  Source: City Lab; September 8, 2016
  Summary: One of the benefits touted for transit use is that people who live near light rail stations walk more. But, it may be that the level of exercise you get is actually related to how much exercise you got before--only sedentary folks increased physical activity. Bus trips may have been replacing walking and biking trips for more active people. There is still much we must learn about how transit affects neighborhoods.
  Opinion: It makes sense that one change to a person's environment may not be enough to change a person's habits all by itself. Certainly, when a person has already made a commitment to physical activity, adding transit wouldn't alter that too much. But, as the study notes, getting a sedentary population to walk more is a significant public health win. Providing focused assistance to this population might have a great effect. (Need I note that many Americans are part of this population?)

A Developer's Perspective

9:09 AM: Presentation by Jason Wheaton, President, Greenstone Corporation

9:11 AM: Jason came from California, which he likes, but this area is paradise. They consider themselves as a communication company rather than a developer. When things go wrong it may be because they failed to communicate well with their internal and external customers. They tell themselves that 30% of everything they're doing is wrong. It's a hard thing to say. If you have the attitude that 30% of what you're doing is wrong, you can always get better. 30% of environmental regulations can be better, too.

9:15 AM: Market Conditions...job growth and interest rates will be the driving force in the recovery. With efforts to reduce the deficit loom, the effect on local and regional governments should be monitored. Vacancy rates are leveling off. There are opportunities, and there is some optimism.

9:17 AM: Housing inventory is beginning to be depleted. California still has a great deal of inventory. We're in a better situation. But, our market is fragile. They closely monitor the Spokane MLS Quintile Analysis. Greenstone tries to serve the middle three quintiles. There's little margin at that level for brownfield remediation.

9:21 AM: Spokane is a relatively affordable market for nice housing. The community is "tremendously appealing." With the medical base, there's good economic prospects. There are existing opportunities as demographics change. The current housing mix isn't good for our future demographics. "Investment Capital is very difficult to attract." Money is currently going to markets which were hardest hit. Spokane isn't in that category.

9:25 AM: Greenstone has adjusted to the new market, bringing down their labor force by 25%. "Hope is not a strategy." Buyers are purchasing homes for shelter, not investment.

9:26 AM: How does out region manage growth. Greenstone is pursuing a "Sustainable Growth Model." "We need strong urban growth in the next 20 years." The baby boomers are aging and are looking for a different kind of lifestyle. Empty nesters will increase by 244%. "This will be a huge burden on our government."

9:29 AM: We spend about 32% of our income on housing, and 17% on car ownership. That's 49%. If we can develop lands to reduce auto dependency, then more can go to housing and less to cars. "Shelter isn't going to be less expensive." Health care is getting more expensive. What's happening is that discretionary expenses are going away: entertainment, clothing, household furnishing, education, pensions and social security contributions. It's an attack on what made the middle class feel prosperous.

9:35 AM: Municipal infrastructure is crumbling, and it will be expensive to repair. $21.8 billion annual need for over 20 years just for transit. $131.7 billion and $9.4 billion annually for deficient roads and bridges. Water will be $151 and wastewater will be $390 billion.

9:37 AM: Only 10% of the growth is occurring in the areas which are designated as centers and corridors. Development is happening in the wrong places. There are several incentives to encourage development in the right places, but it's not happening. The brownfields in Spokane are so intense, the original map was impossible to read. There are significant areas which cannot be utilized because of this. You can follow the rail line through town on the brownfields map.

9:39 AM: Jason recommends very strongly the Department of Ecology's "Guide to Leveraging Brownfield Redevelopment for Community Revitalization." (Publication number 10-09-054.) He read the full first page of the document.

9:41 AM: There are benefits to brownfield development: creating jobs, leveraging existing infrastructure, neighborhood revitalization, new local revenue and taxes, clean up environmental problems, reduce urban decay. "Neighborhoods are always getting better or getting worse."

9:43 AM: Developers need information about the land in order to create economic certainty. Financial institutions resist investment due to "perceived long term liability and marketability issues." Brownfields depress land values, this prevents investment for remediation, so it perpetuates the problem. Most of the brownfield projects are downtown because land values are higher. This is highly inelastic, small price changes eliminates the ability to build. Worse, it affects adjacent properties' value that discourages continued investment.

9:48 AM: A review of Kendall Yards and its changing ownership. Had to leave to prepare for next section, entitled Q&A with the Deal Makers.

Four the Future - October 25

This week, you have several public participation opportunities.

• STA seeking public input on budget cut proposals
  Source: Spokesman-Review; October 4, 2010
  Summary: Spokane Transit is preparing for service cuts next September. Planning for the cuts is already underway. The cuts affect a number of areas and STA projects they will to reduce ridership by 6 percent. You can read the proposed plan and share your opinion right now.
  Opinion: The board was preparing to cut service by 40% back in 2004 when the voters of the region forced them to put a revenue enhancement on the ballot. Transit will become a more and more important part of our transportation mix in the future. It is important for us all to make sure it is there when we need it.
  
• Help shape Spokane's transportation future!
  Source: Spokane Central City Transportation Alternative Analysis
  Summary: Focusing on the needs of downtown Spokane, this effort needs input to help guide the future of transit for the region. The Open House is on Tuesday, October 26 from 3:30 to 7 p.m. at Riverpoint's South Campus Facility at 412 E Spokane Falls Blvd.
  Opinion: Lots of studies have been done. This is intended to pull them together, and your input should be provided to ensure that the transit options are made available and are integrated into everyone’s planning.
  
• Is The Suspense Killing You?
  Source: SRTC Transportation Blog; October 22, 2010
  Summary: The whole region is waiting with twitchy mouse fingers to play Spokane's transportation planning game. It should be available on Wednesday, October 27 at the Spokane Transportation Vision web site.
  Opinion: *twitch, twitch*
  
• Change in greenhouse size limits proposed
  Source: Spokesman-Review; October 15, 2010
  Summary: Spokane County has been petitioned to allow larger commercial greenhouses on rural lands. The current limit is 20 percent of the least dense rural zones, 25 percent on Rural-5 zones, and 50 percent on rural activity center zones. The public hearing is at 9 a.m., Thursday, October 28, in the basement of the Spokane County Public Works Building at 1026 W Broadway, Spokane.
  Opinion: Really? They want rural conservation lands, the ones specifically held aside for important wildlife habitats, to be completely covered by buildings? Irrational. I don’t even understand why 20% is permitted in those areas currently. Unless the farm is actually using the ground as the growing medium, greenhouses shouldn’t be in rural areas, anyway. In that case, put them in the marginal lands currently designated for industrial purposes. After all, we have a serious oversupply of that.
  

Four the Future - September 14

Transportation! Light Rail legal challenge, expanding valley highway, fewer youthful drivers, and transit cutbacks.

• State Supreme Court to hear fight to ban light rail from I-90
  Source: The Seattle Times; September 12, 2010
  Summary: The state Supreme Court has agreed to hear a case alleging that building light rail on I-90 would be a violation of the state constitution. Light rail opponent Kemper Freeman argues that using that the gas tax which built the freeway limits it to "highway purposes" and that using it for transit is a violation of the state's 18th amendment. The state argues that the lanes will be replaced by new ones, and that the lease of the property to the transit system is mere administration of the system. Transit has always had priority use on the inside lanes of highways.
  Opinion: First, as I've stated before, the 18th amendment is legislation posing as fundamental law of the land. It needs to be rescinded. Second, watch out: the North Spokane Corridor has a space allocation for dedicated transit lines. Third, next we'll hear that rail can't cross roads because that space is only to be used for "highway purposes." That's ridiculous, of course, but where's the line drawn? Transit uses the road space on a daily basis. Here in Spokane, it even upgrades major intersections to concrete. There’s space for everyone on the travelways. Let's hope the supreme court is rational about this.
  
• Third lane planned for I-90 from Sullivan to Barker
  Source: Spokesman-Review; September 13, 2010
  Summary: $25 million in construction bid savings is allowing WSDOT to expand I-90 from Sullivan to Barker to six lanes. Additionally, ruts from downtown Spokane to the Geiger exit will be repaired for $15.5 million. Construction will begin in the spring.
  Opinion: The ruts are caused by studded tires. The purchase of those tires should include a fee based on the expected amount it will cost to repair its share of the damage. That way those who think they improve driving can have them, and those who don’t do not have to pay for the inordinate amount of damage they cause. And with the widening project, now I-90 won’t be congested at the Sullivan exit. It will be congested at Barker, instead. Was ramp metering even in the alternatives analysis? (Was there an alternatives analysis at all?)
  
• Sweet 16 can be sweeter without driver's license
  Source: USA Today; September 13, 2010
  Summary: There are more and more 16 year olds who do not have a driver’s license. This bodes well for traffic safety. Some credit less mobile children, protective parents, and the poor economy, but graduated drivers’ licensing is to be credited.
  Opinion: Whatever the cause, one must consider what kind of society begins to form when 16 year olds cannot be assumed to have a license, let alone a car. Musing with my friend, KC Traver, I wondered out loud what would happen if the Eagle Pass program (which gives all Eastern Washington University students, staff, and faculty use of the bus system without payment at the bus) were extended to all high school students. We would have the opportunity to help teach students before that magical driving age how to get around without a car. And, in this economy, who wouldn't want to reduce the household transportation cost? In the long term, it would be better to have a community built in such a way that the need for transportation is reduced, such as mixed use neighborhoods. These are strategies which can be used to make ourselves more resilient in the face of a changing world. But, as the next story shows us, we're not always making progress in that direction....
  
• Riders sad for WTA's last day of Sunday bus service
  Source: The Bellingham Herald; September 12, 2010
  Summary: Whatcom Transportation Authority shut down its Sunday service to both regular route and paratransit riders after voters turned down a tax increase. Many riders were unsure how they'll get to church next week.
  Opinion: Whatcom is suffering the losses Spokane Transit managed to avoid. Still, STA is in route-cutting mode as well.
  

Four the future - December 12

Today: transit expansion in Idaho, densification near Liberty Lake, traffic in Millwood, and making a future for Rockford.

• In brief: Free bus system gets boost
  Source: Spokesman, 091212
  Summary: Citylink received $1.7 million to build a new transit center in Worley, near the casino, and purchase 4 buses. $1.5 million was from the federal stimulus package. The tribe will also be providing $225,000 in operating expenses for the system.
  Opinion: Rural transit systems are heavily dependent on federal funding, and Idaho compounds that unfortunate situation by being hostile to local transit funding. So, since we're all paying for it in addition to our local transit taxes, would it be too much to ask to put the transit center near the rail line so that it can do double duty if the Plummer line starts running passenger service from Spokane?
• In brief: County’s zoning vote Tuesday
  Source: Spokesman, 091212
  Summary: Spokane County commissioners will be considering a proposal to increase residential density next to Liberty Lake. The proposal faces almost unanimous opposition from the neighbors, in part due to fears of lake contamination by the increased density.
  Opinion: The lake won't be harmed by the increase in density itself--the Liberty Lake Sewer and Water District does a handsome job of protecting that critical watershed. My only concern about it is the chance that increased traffic along those county roads may increase oil spills to an area which may not have adequate catchment. (Which the county could fix, but these roads aren't race tracks, so....) Having said that, the density increase would be out of character in that neighborhood, and it would violate the comprehensive plan. Not that that has stopped Richard and Mielke before.
• Council delays traffic alterations until spring
  Source: Spokesman, 091212
  Summary: The City of Millwood conducted a traffic study and found that in 11 of 12 locations, the standard measurement for traffic speeds exceeded the posted speed limit. They will be looking into ways to slow down traffic. The City will conduct public hearings when the weather gets warmer. Additionally, the council passed their required critical areas ordinance to protect the aquifer, fish and wildlife.
  Opinion: Millwood is rightfully proud of its history and character. It is a beautiful community. High speed traffic is a detriment to the image they wish to maintain. However, Millwood will be in for a shock as the County proceeds with the Bigelow Gulch project and makes their main street a part of the de facto North Spokane Corridor. If they think they have traffic concerns now, just wait.
• Building a city’s identity
  Source: Spokesman, 091212
  Summary: the Town of Rockford had received an award for their community economic development activities and grant monies to improve Rock Creek, which flows through town. It has issues with both flooding and erosion. Mayor-elect Micki Harnois wants to crate a small-town community that people want to stop in.
  Opinion: My personal opinion is that Rockford is a good little town, and I know my little towns. I am told that there are several challenges in Rockford, not the least of which is that the fire station is on a flood plain. As, indeed, is much of the town. However, their determination is welcome, and the fact that they've invited engineers and planners into the conversation shows they're serious about their community's future.