Orphan Road

This quarter I'm taking a travel demand forecasting class. It has been very theory heavy but luckily our final project is hands on. The goal of the project is to reduce emissions, total delays and VMT with a hypothetical city. The catch is that we have to do this with as little money as possible and oh by the way population and employment will increase by 50%.

Well today I slaved away in the dungeon, ie the CEE computer lab for a few hours and I got a good way through the project already. We have the authority to control where growth is located. My strategy was to increase the percent of intra-zonal (ie local trips, which are not loaded onto the regional transportation network) by focusing all growth in three TAZ's one of which was the CBD. I also tried to balance housing and employment so all of the TAZ's have a good balance. This included the smaller TAZs as well. These strategies are essentially what smart growth is all about. Put people closer together and close to everything they want.

I haven not made changes to the roadway or transit network yet but as you can see below smart growth principles have cut delay in half (even below current levels) and substantially reduced VMT. Emissions did not go down much because cold starts are the major cause of emissions and I didn't cut down much on this yet.

Base / New / Change / Change%
Benefit:
VMT= 355242 / 249295/ -105948 / -29.82
Delay= 19010 / 778 / -18232 / -95.91
Emission= 0.85 / 0.81 / -0.04 / -4.58

Also look at the difference of intra-zonal trips and average travel times. This approach reduced the average trip travel time from 12 minutes to 5 minutes. Not to shabby! We'll see what happens when I get the transit network working. I'll post again when I complete this project.

Base
Total / Intra / Avg Time
HBW = 122673 / 39.81% / 13.08
HBO = 136416 / 64.48% / 8.04
NHB = 170281 / 66.29% / 14.69
TOT = 429370 / 58.15% / 12.12

New
Total / Intra / Avg Time
HBW = 122673 / 56.73% / 6.96
HBO = 136416 / 70.26% / 4.45
NHB = 170281 / 75.62% / 3.77
TOT = 429370 / 68.52% / 4.90

I show this just as an example. This is a hypothetical example and there were a lot of simplifications that went into the model.

WSDOT just uploaded images that show how each of the 8 alternatives will look in real life. First off I want to say how amazing these images are. WSDOT is trying very hard to make sure that the public understands how these alternatives will look.

Second look at alternatives A through C. Just imagine it! These alternatives will completely change downtown seattle. This street will be lined by cafes and restaurants that spill out into the sidewalk. It will be filled with Seattlites strolling and just enjoying themselves. We will wonder why we even contemplated keeping the viaduct. And look at this disaster. I would not want to be one of those people. They make alternative E look okay but I think the ends of the "integrated" structure will look awkward not to mention cutting off the rest of the city from the water. Lets not forget this is a freeway.

From a vehicle movement perspective alternative C is probably the best acceptable solution. I could do a calculation using the HCM to figure out the difference in vehicle throughput but I can't find my copy of the HCM right now.

From an urban planning perspective A and B are the best alternatives. A is a low capital option of B which is good to consider, but alternative B is a knock out! Read the description.

"Scenario B is similar to Scenario A, but it has more capital investments and more aggressive transit improvements.

Alaskan Way would be two-lanes in each direction north of Yesler Way, with bike lanes and parking. There would be signalized intersections along the waterfront. The east/west streets north of the Battery Street Tunnel would be reconnected with new signalized intersections on Aurora Avenue.

In this scenario the streetcar system would be extended, with lines to Fremont/Ballard, University District, central downtown, and Capitol Hill/First Hill. The bus rapid transit system would be extended with lines for Delridge and Lake City Way and from Ballard to the University District. This service would be in addition to planned new lines serving Ballard, West Seattle and Aurora Avenue.

There would also be more extensive I-5 improvements than with Scenario A. An additional northbound lane on I-5 would start near Cherry Street and go north to SR 520.

This scenario would offer open space of 76-86 feet along the waterfront."

The one down side of this alternative is that the pedestrian promenade along the water will be narrower and in alternative C. Maybe a hybrid of B and C could be used to increase the size of the promenade while maintaing the same vehicle throughput.

UPDATE
Daily transit trips to, from and within the city center will dramatically increase, from 196,000 to as many as 305,000 by 2015 if one surface option replaces the viaduct.

WOW!

Now that 985 has failed it looks like the 520 project is moving forward at full tilt. I'm not sure how long they have had this website up (http://www.build520.org/) but they are looking for feedback about tolling. Just today on the bus I also saw a metro bulletin asking if tolls on 520 should be used to fund bus service. Looks like some good stuff is in the works!

I read the strangers coverage of last week's debate between crazy Kemper and the Mayor and it prompted me to post this picture from London. 20 years ago this area was an industrial wasteland and now it is the financial hub of the UK. And guess what it is served by a light rail system. You can see it right outside the door (it is red).

So see Kemper you can make money off of transit. Lots of money. I bet the average income of everyone is this photo is significantly higher than Bellevue Square.

I wanted to start my series by showing these pictures because it perfectly sums up what I learned in Europe. No matter how different one country or culture is from the next we all have the same problems, what varies is the solution. As you can see some solutions are much better than others. All you do is push that metal attachment into the soap and you'll have dry soap every time you use it.

Hey everyone. Its been a while since I posted on here. I got back about a week ago now and I'm trying to get back into the groove. I'll be helping out the Mass Transit Now campaign in the next 8 weeks, which I hope all of you will as well.

Today I attended a little pre-kickoff kickoff to the Mass Transit Now campaign where Larry Phillips gave a very good speech pointing out that when he was 19 the region was in the exact same position as we are now, and it would be irresponsible for us to do the same thing to future generations (thus prompting the photo above). Sooo lets get this thing going!!! Orphanroad seams to have quieted down a bit since I left and we need to get everyone pumped up and excited again.

Over the next few weeks (or months depending on how much time I have) I'll be posting about some of the amazing things I saw in Europe. I think a lot of it will be about how they solve the same exact problems we have here but differently, and most of the time better. Also I took ton of photos (5000+) so most everything will be accompanied by photos to give you a better idea of what I'm talking about.

Why can't LINK have grass?

Pavillon de l'Arsenal, originally uploaded by Bejan.

Yesterday I spent most of the day at Pavillon de l'Arsenal which was very nice and has a great website ( www.pavillon-arsenal.com/home.php ). It is similar to the SLU discovery center but focus on history, urban redevelopment, and architecture. It includes a very nice timeline exhibit showing how Paris developed since it was founded. The exhibit included lots of old pictures as well as videos about project as well as interviews. It also included a very large scale model of Paris which you can see above.

The areas in yellow are areas where the government is focusing redevelopment efforts. They are mostly on the edge of the city and are located in areas that were previously industrial. The areas in purple are areas that are experiencing change. Combined these areas cover roughly 10 percent of Paris. As any good urban redevelopment project this effort includes the construction of a new tram line along the lime green line (tram line 3 www.ratp.info/orienter/plan_metro_pdf.php) which connects to many of the subway lines.

On a side note there are several things that I want to write about when I get back. They are:

-How bicycle design affect the riding experience
Yesterday I spent most of the day at Pavillon de l'Arsenal which was very nice and has a great website ( www.pavillon-arsenal.com/home.php ). It is similar to the SLU discovery center but focus on history, urban redevelopment, and architecture. It includes a very nice timeline exhibit showing how Paris developed since it was founded. The exhibit included lots of old pictures as well as videos about project as well as interviews. It also included a very large scale model of Paris which you can see above.

The areas in yellow are areas where the government is focusing redevelopment efforts. They are mostly on the edge of the city and are located in areas that were previously industrial. The areas in purple are areas that are experiencing change. Combined these areas cover roughly 10 percent of Paris. As any good urban redevelopment project this effort includes the construction of a new tram line along the lime green line (tram line 3 www.ratp.info/orienter/plan_metro_pdf.php) which connects to many of the subway lines.

On a side note there are several things that I want to write about when I get back. They are:

-How bicycle design affect the riding experience
-How best to mark bicycle lanes and the difference in bike lane design between the US and Europe
-How to improve the capacity and experience on buses and trains with flexible seating designs
-How to improve the capacity and experience on buses and trains with flexible seating designs

I do not think that I wrote about this but I will be in europe for the next 8 weeks on a "grand tour". Right now I am in Paris and I know I will post some updates. I already was on the RER and Metro and today I scoped out Vilib. I am also visiting these citys:

London
Brighton
Bournemonth
Amsterdam
Copenhagen
Stockholm (and possibly Oslo)
Berlin
Munich
Venice
Florence
Cinque Terra
Rome
Granada
Barcelona

Is there anything in these cities that are a must see?