BNSF Corridor gives this Eastside Trail advocate a new view on NIMBYs
How many of you travel through Totem Lake during rush hour? If you do, you already know how crowded and busy an intersection it is. Now imagine a train coming through with the street traffic having to stop numerous times to let a train pass. I can only imagine what a mess this would be and glad it’s not a place I commute through regularly.
Rob Butcher asked me if I was interested in writing a guest post on this blog regarding the trail/train as this is an issue I’m passionate about. Since I’d written comments in response to the previous post about the BNSF rail line and posted some articles on my blog, www.kirklandhighlandsrealestatebuzz.com , I thought I had shared my thoughts. But then I decided to get my trusty flip video camera out and use it to show people how difficult it would be to have a commuter line crossing busy intersections.
What I realized when I got involved with The Eastside Trial Advocates, www.eastsidetrailadvocates.org, is how important and serious this issue is to everyone on the eastside, particularly Kirkland. The idea of the train is great, but not in practicality. It will be diesel, the only one in the area, cross by schools, through parks, and over 53 intersections causing traffic problems for those who live closer-in.
I understand people writing the trail supporters off as just NIMBY. I’ve done the same in the past about other issues. I realize I never really knew the full story on these other issues when I was labeled others as “NIMBY.” I never got involved enough to know all the facts. It was easy for me to write a situation off as NIMBY, because that’s what it appeared to be to me when I looked at the issue from afar.
Because the train/trail issue affects Kirkland and the Highlands neighborhood, of which I am a part, I’ve gotten involved and learned the facts. I know about the private interest groups supporting an “impartial” study for a commuter line. I know about Sound Transit flip/flopping with their support of the BNSF corridor as a commuter line. I know about the impact on safety and street traffic as the train crosses through all these intersections. I know what a loss it would be to the city of Kirkland to have a double whammy: the loss of the potential for a world class trail and the negative impact of a diesel commuter line coming through the city.
Decide for yourself. Come to the Port of Seattle Open House on Wednesday at 7 PM in the Peter Kirk room of City Hall at 123 Fifth St. Here is your chance to learn from the decision makers as to what may have happen with the BNSF rail line.
Additional articles related to this topic can be found at http://www.kirklandviews.com/tag/bnsf-trail/
Posted by Debra Sinick on Monday, July 7, 2008 at 12:07 pm
Filed under Transportation · Tagged with Transportation
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Truth: Everyone has been a NIMBY at one time, in some fashion, over one issue or another. There are nearly always positive and negative points on each side of every controversial issue. Resolving these issues to the common, long term good of the community is the challenge.
Assumably, if one didn’t care about Kirkland, they would not bother reading the Kirkland blogs (or serving on the City Council). Hopefully this new technology will bring more people into the process of civic awareness and involvement.
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It would be possible to revamp some crossings so that the tracks or the road had a over pass or underpass.
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The Ghost of Peter Kirk:
I had planned to respond to your comment on the previous post about NIMBYS and special interests. But here goes: it’s clear NIMBYS do have a special interest, but if you look at the facts, it becomes clear as to what the right direction is to solve our transit problems. A diesel train is not the answer.
Rapid buses are a better choice, as stated in the Puget Sound Regional Council (PSRC) $800,000 study of the train line. By the way, speaking about special interests, the new study that Sound Transit is conducting is partially funded by the Discovery Group. This is one of the groups looking to put a train on the tracks. So how impartial is that?
This is one of the key issues that has raised the level of concern for the trail advocates. The new study is being funded by those “special interest” groups you are talking about.
Also, no money has been budgeted to shore up the intersections and the crossings. The price quoted for a commuter line does not include any upgrading to these areas. It would be considerably more money to do the under and overpasses.
The Port may sign a document by the end of this month to allow train traffic on the line. This means nothing will change with the line, but train traffic will increase.
Hmm…whatever happened to public process?
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Thanks, murph
I think everyone who blogs and comments here is trying to hash out the issues and see that Kirkland is headed in the right direction.
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Didn’t I read somewhere that the only near-future train traffic would be in the Woodinville/Snohomish area, since the RR bridge over 405 in Bellevue has to be removed?
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Tia,
You are partly correct. Snohomish is looking towards a train, but that is not the full story. The Port of Seattle may sign papers no later than the end of this month either for a “demonstration” train or the dinner train to go on the tracks. This would all be done without the proper public process.
One of the reasons none of this makes sense, is the train line will no longer connect further south than Bellevue because, as you say, the RR bridge over 405 is being dismantled as I write.
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What is the format for the Port of Seattle meeting in Kirkland on Wednesday? Formal presentation with questions or comments? Please refresh my memory on where the meeting is being held.
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Debra,
I did not mean to be talking about the proposal for use of the existing tracks. I only meant to refer to the use of the right of way for some sort of rail at some future time. I do not profess to any depth of knowledge on the proposal, and I’m sorry that I went into it in my post above.
However, I want to get back to my post from the other thread that you mentioned. I’ll paste it here to be sure the context is clear to any reader:
“Yes, NIMBY’s do bring important info into the spotlight so that more people are aware of them. However, they do not present the whole story, not by a long shot. They are far from impartial, they are advocating for their own selfish self interests. It would be like getting your Presidential campaign news from one of the two major parties. There can be a lot of spin and even an untruth here and there.”
That’s a statement about the group. It’s independant of this rail-trail issue.
I think we might have different definitions of “NIMBY”, but I have to get back to my job right now, or I won’t be able to afford to keep living in Kirkland.
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Murph,
The meeting with The Port of Seattle is on Wednesday night, 7 PM in the Peter Kirk Room of Kirkland City Hall, 123 Fifth St.
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The Ghost of Peter Kirk:
The line will be rail banked as required by Federal law. I have no problem with that. I just would like to feel the appropriate research is done to merit the use of a train along the line now. I have not seen that at this point and think it may be a long way off before a rail line is truly viable.
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Debra,
Thank you for writing such an informative and well-argued post. Your passion for this issue is commendable!
I just returned from City Hall meeting you recommended and it was packed! I was lucky to get a seat as many had to stay in the foyer. Good to see you there. The vast majority of speakers were in enthusiastic support of your position.
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Thans, Rob. I will try to write a follow-up from the meeting as I think it is important. I will write something here or on my blog and include a link.
Interesting meeting, though. Definitely a lot of strong opinions and passionate speakers.
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Debra — I don’t agree with your position. I feel the BNSF line is a unique opportunity for us to have a commuter rail system at a fraction of the cost of the light rail systems Sound Transit would normally install. There are some obstacles, but they can be overcome.
The intersection issue — Some important roads already have over/underpasses, such as the two main routes into downtown Kirkland, NE 85th St. and Kirkland Way. There are some major intersections that would pose some problems, notably 124th and 124th as you pointed out and NE 8th St. in Bellevue. But, these intersections already have rail traffic on them. This would increase, but would still be far below the traffic on most major roads.
I live one block from the tracks in Kirkland, but I just don’t see the problem with these trains. Several have mentioned diesel as if it’s a horrible thing. Every bus and large truck on the road — thousands of vehicles in our area — use diesel, and the trains wouldn’t increase this use a measurable amount.
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Hi Don,
Thanks for your feedback. Ironically, I was over at the Totem Lake intersection today just before 1 PM as a train came by. Obviously, all the traffic had to stop. During a non-rush hour time in which I was already near the beginning of the line at the stop light, it took 4 minutes for me to get through the intersection. Imagine if it was 7:30 in the morning when many, many more cars are coming through the intersection. If a train came through and all traffic stopped, how long would it take for cars to negotiate the intersection? Since I was right in front of the line, it took me 4 minutes. I’m guessing it could add at least 10 minutes or more to someone’s commute. Mind you, the person whose commute would be impacted would be someone who lives in Kirkland or on English Hill in Redmond. The local commute time would be increased by a train delivering people from further out. Our local commute would suffer at the expense of the train commute.
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The corridor south of Woodinville should be thought of for what it is, an abandoned rail-banked right-of-way that is now available for better uses.
Even the dinner train through Kirkland would severely compromise the corridor for far better uses, by requiring fencing off the rails for liability reasons, keeping people from accessing and enjoying what should be a continuous (not possible with rail) commuter bike trail, and a second trail for pedestrians and children where there is space in densely populated areas such as Kirkland. I have been caught on the right-of-way when the dinner train came by and it is frightening to be within 50′ of it. The rails need to be removed if we are to have a delightful urban greenbelt.
More and more space is being freed up on the freeways as fuel prices increase and people switch to buses and carpools. Let’s use public transit funds to get more buses rolling on express routes all around the eastside.
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I noticed how many people here are against the train as it would be diesel so it must be a huge, smelly, and noisy train that would be “frightening to be within 50′ of it”. The new Diesel Multiple Unit trains are very quiet compared to the diesel commuter train in use right now and are clean and fast. These trains are used all over the world and are extensively used in Europe. While they are not common in the United States, they are gaining in popularity.
Some examples:
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Links to Examples:
Diesel Multiple Train in France
Diesel Multiple Train in New Jersey – Riverline
Diesel Multiple Train in San Diego – NCTD
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