{"id":510006,"date":"2010-04-02T18:16:06","date_gmt":"2010-04-02T22:16:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/seattletimes.nwsource.com\/html\/northwestvoices\/2011510283_uwslightrailstation.html?syndication=rss"},"modified":"2010-04-02T18:16:06","modified_gmt":"2010-04-02T22:16:06","slug":"uws-light-rail-station","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/510006","title":{"rendered":"UW’s light-rail station"},"content":{"rendered":"

Rainier Vista alternative designed to enhance access<\/strong><\/p>\n

Editor, The Times:<\/p>\n

In the interests of making sure the public is fully informed about an important regional transportation project, we are writing because several key pieces of information about Sound Transit\u2019s University of Washington station were missing from \u201cUW pushes for grander, costlier light-rail entrance\u201d [Seattle Times, page one, March 30].<\/p>\n

After the UW and Sound Transit agreed in 2008 on the pedestrian overpass solution for campus access, Seattle Department of Transportation officials expressed reservations about the overpass because of its visual impacts, potential to detract from the pedestrian environment, and potential to exacerbate pedestrian and bicycle conflicts at the Burke-Gilman Trail. SDOT recommended City Council conceptual approval of the bridge but asked the UW and Sound Transit to join in a study of alternatives for moving Sound Transit passengers to various parts of the campus. This was not a UW \u201cU-Turn\u201d as the article stated.<\/p>\n

Sound Transit, the city of Seattle and the UW analyzed a range of options and narrowed the analysis to the Rainier Vista Plan. This option eliminates the pedestrian overpass, potentially makes it easier for pedestrians and cyclists to access the campus, and can provide for much-needed bus-layover space and new options for solving the train-bus intermodal connection at Husky Stadium.<\/p>\n

King County Metro recognizes the bus transit advantages of the Rainier Vista Plan and has applied for a grant to enhance trolley service on a new lowered Northeast Pacific Place. The plan also improves the pedestrian and bicycle continuity to the Montlake Bridge and the proposed Highway 520 trail across Lake Washington.<\/p>\n

The cost of this alternative \u2014 which is designed to enhance access to the campus and support the regional transportation plan \u2014 is higher than originally planned by an estimated $12 million. We are continuing the analysis, including looking for ways to fund the revised plan, acknowledging that the impacts of the prolonged recession and decline of key revenues make it particularly challenging. A decision on whether to proceed with it will need to be made by June. This project is not about \u201cgrander\u201d or more \u201celegant.\u201d It is about finding the best transportation solution for our region.<\/p>\n

\u2014 Mark Emmert, president, University of Washington<\/em><\/p>\n

\u2014 Joni Earl, CEO, Sound Transit<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Rainier Vista alternative designed to enhance access Editor, The Times: In the interests of making sure the public is fully informed about an important regional transportation project, we are writing because several key pieces of information about Sound Transit\u2019s University of Washington station were missing from \u201cUW pushes for grander, costlier light-rail entrance\u201d [Seattle Times, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2861,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-510006","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/510006","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2861"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=510006"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/510006\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=510006"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=510006"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=510006"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}