Click image to see larger version.

Click image to see larger version.

Sound Transit will be holding an Open House for their South 200th Street light rail extension from 5 p.m. – 8 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 5th at SeaTac City Hall (4800 S. 188th St., SeaTac).

At this event, you’ll be able to:

• Review the station, guideway and parking design elements
• Review proposed public art elements
• Review bicycle and pedestrian access improvements
• Talk to project staff

“Learn more about extending light rail south of the SeaTac/Airport Station to South 200th Street in the City of SeaTac,” reads a press release, which continues:

On July 28, 2011, the Sound Transit Board of Directors approved the extension of Link light rail between Sea-Tac Airport and South 200th Street by 2016.

This project will extend Link light rail service about 1.6 miles from Sea-Tac Airport to South 200th Street, where a station and park-and-ride lot will be located.

Keep up to date about the project – sign up for email updates at www.soundtransit.org/subscribe.

Sound Transit plans, builds and operates regional transit systems and services to improve mobility for Central Puget Sound.

For more information, contact Jennifer Lemus, Community Outreach at 206-398-5314 or jennifer.lemus@soundtransit.org. Web: www.soundtransit.org/S200thStreet

To request accommodations for persons with disabilities, call 1-800-201-4900 / TTY Relay: 711 or email accessibility@soundtransit.org.

Wednesday, Oct. 5, 2011 5 – 8 p.m. Presentation at 6 p.m. SeaTac City Hall, Council Chambers 4800 S. 188th St., SeaTac

Light rail is coming to your neighborhood in 2016!

Parkers are welcome in both General and Terminal Direct parking at the main terminal airport garage. Terminal Direct parking at Sea-Tac Airport offers the most convenient access to the airport terminal and quick connection to Link Light Rail. You’ll park on the 4th floor of the airport garage, an easy walk to the pedestrian bridge leading to the SeaTac/Airport station.

Parkers MUST present a Seafair $10/day parking coupon to a cashier upon exiting the airport garage. Parkers must enter the garage after 6 a.m. and leave before midnight. Parkers without a coupon will not be granted the $10 all day rate. A separate coupon will be needed for each day. Coupons can be found on the Seafair webpage as well as the Port of Seattle/Sea-Tac Airport Parking webpage.

The promotion will last during the weekend’s Seafair events August 5, 6, & 7.

Catch Link Light Rail on the Terminal Direct parking level and travel to the Othello Station, where a shuttle will transport you to the Seafair events on Lake Washington. Parking in the Airport Garage is a perfect way to make the connection to Link Light Rail and stay out of the traffic hassles on Seafair weekend.

Fans riding Link to the Seafair events can skip any post-game ticket lines by purchasing a round trip ticket ahead of time or by using an ORCA card from any ticket vending machine before boarding.

The Port of Seattle announced this week that Sea-Tac Airport is expanding its half-price parking offer to include all weekend Mariner, Seahawk, Sounder and Husky game days to connect with Link Light Rail.

Here’s the rest from a press release:

The 50 percent discount applies to parking in Terminal Direct on Friday, Saturday and Sunday games at Qwest and Safeco Fields, and it begins with this weekend’s home opening series for the Seattle Mariners.

Terminal Direct parking at Sea-Tac Airport offers the most convenient access to the airport terminal and quick connection to Link Light Rail. You’ll park on the fourth floor of the airport garage, an easy walk to the pedestrian bridge leading to the SeaTac/Airport Station.

During 2011-12 Mariner, Seahawk, Sounder and University of Washington Husky football home games, customers parking in Terminal Direct will enjoy a $2 per hour rate, 50 percent off the regular rate. The discount period begins three hours before game time and is a way to avoid traffic congestion and the hassle of downtown parking.  Discounted parking is available for up to eight hours and will automatically be credited at the special rate when you exit the airport parking garage. A minimum stay of three hours is required and you must park in Terminal Direct.

Catch Link Light Rail on the Terminal Direct parking level and travel to the Stadium or International District Stations, where you’re an easy walk to Qwest or Safeco Fields.  The airport’s Terminal Direct parking is a perfect way to make the connection to Link Light Rail.

Again, the special parking rate is valid for all Mariner, Seahawk, Sounder and UW Husky football home games. The discount will apply if you arrive to park at Terminal Direct within three hours before game time and stay a minimum of three hours, up to a maximum of eight hours.

Fans riding Link to the game can skip any post-game ticket lines by purchasing a round-trip ticket ahead of time or by using an ORCA card from any ticket vending machine before boarding. The round- trip fare from SeaTac/Airport station on Link Light Rail to the Stadium Station is $5.

Sound Transit will be holding an Open House on the proposed South 200th Street light rail extension on Wednesday, March 2nd, at SeaTac City Hall, and the public is invited.

At this event, you’ll be able to learn about the proposed route, station elements and public art plan for the extension of Link light rail service to South 200th Street.

According to their website:

Funding to extend Central Link light rail south from the SeaTac/Airport Station to S. 200th Street in the City of SeaTac was approved by the region’s voters in November 2008. The extension will run on an elevated guideway primarily along 28th Avenue S. It will provide reliable service to Sea-Tac Airport, downtown Seattle and the University of Washington.
S. 200th Street Link light rail extension project

The S. 200th Street light rail extension project consists of 1.6 miles of track and a new Link station near S. 200th Street and 28th Avenue S. in the City of SeaTac.

Project elements include:

• 1.6 miles of elevated double track guideway
• Train platforms with covered waiting areas
• Electronic ticket vending machines and ORCA card readers
• Off-street parking for commuters, including parking reserved for vanpools
• A kiss-and-ride passenger drop off area
• Public art and landscaping
• Bicycle amenities including bike racks and secure bike lockers
• A bus loop for local bus and bus rapid transit service connections

The S. 200th Street light rail extension project is currently in the preliminary engineering phase. Link light rail service to S. 200th Street is scheduled to begin between 2015 and 2020 depending on funding.

Here are the event details:

WHAT: Sound Transit Open House on proposed South 200th Street Light Rail Extension.

WHEN: Wednesday, March 2, 2011 5-8 p.m.

WHERE: SeaTac City Hall, Council Chambers, located at 4800 S. 188th St., SeaTac.

INFO: For more information, contact Rachel Wilch, Community Outreach Coordinator, at 206-398-5460 or rachel.wilch@soundtransit.org, or visit www.soundtransit.org/S200thStreet

To request accommodations for persons with disabilities, call 1-800-201-4900/TTY Relay: 711 or e-mail accessibility@soundtransit.org.

Project Contact:

Rachel Wilch
Community Outreach Coordinator
401 S. Jackson St.
Seattle, WA 98104
Telephone: 206-398-5460
FAX: 206-398-5217

e-mail: rachel.wilch@soundtransit.org

The second annual “No Pants! Light Rail Ride” is coming this Sunday, Jan. 9th, from 3pm – 6pm, sponsored by Emerald City Improv, which encourages link light rail riders to ‘drop trou’ and ride like nothing’s going on.

This public prank is open to everyone, and to participate, you simply just show up, pay your fare, get on board and take your pants off while riding Sound Transit’s Link Light Rail; just be sure to wear a non-revealing undergarment of some kind.

Most pantsless pranksters are gathering just before 3pm at Westlake Center in downtown Seattle, but we encourage our Readers to buck that trend by boarding either at the SeaTac or Tukwila stations sometime between 3pm – 6pm, and riding the other direction. We think this will allow for more surprising reactions from unsuspecting travelers, and after all, humorous reactions is what this entire prank is about.

We also encourage everyone to take photos and/or video (without being too obvious) and email them to us for posting after the event.

This is affiliated with the “No Pants Subway Ride,” which is a global event started by Improv Everywhere in New York in 2002.

We sent our crew out in 2010, and here’s a video we produced of the event (read our coverage of last year’s event here), starring the frequently-pantsless Bart Bryan along with numerous other whimsical locals:

Click here to view the embedded video.

Here are other videos from last year:

Click here to view the embedded video.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Here are the event details:

WHAT: Second annual No Pants! Link Light Rail Ride.

WHEN: Sunday, Jan. 9th from 3:00pm – 6:00pm.

WHERE: Most are meeting just before 3pm at Westlake Center in downtown Seattle, but that’s not a requirement; in fact, we discourage our Readers from starting there, as you will have to wait to board the trains, plus, you’ll be stuck with dozens, if not hundreds, of other “No Pants!” riders. If you board from the SeaTac or Tukwila stations, we think you’ll most certainly garner a stronger reaction from unsuspecting riders.

INFO: Created by Emerald City Improv, Luke Greenway

From their website:

** Invite your friends!! **

Emerald City is proud to announce that we will again be having a No Pants! Light Rail Ride, as part of Improv Everywhere’s 10th annual No Pants Subway Ride. Cities around the globe participate. This year’s event will take place on Sunday, January 9th.

REQUIREMENTS FOR PARTICIPATION:

1. Willing to take pants off on light rail
2. Able to keep a straight face about it (or at least try really hard)
3. Wear non-offensive underwear
4. Pay your fare
5. Bring a small bag or backpack to put your pants in during the event.

WHERE TO MEET: MEET AT 4TH AVE AND PINE ST, across from Westlake Center, a little before 3pm.

After the event: right now we are planning to meet at Fox Sports Grill again this year to talk about all of our stories over a beer. It was a great time last year.

IMPORTANT NOTE: You may NOT wear any revealing or “skimpy” clothes. If deemed too revealing, we will ask that you put your pants back on. This includes thongs, jock straps, ass-less chaps, whitey-tighties that can be seen through etc. Please use common sense.

Check out last years media page here.

Last year’s facebook event may be found here.

Questions? Contact:

Kelsey Wildstone
Cell: 206-913-1140
Kelsey@EmeraldCityImprov.org

Luke Greenway
luke@emeraldcityimprov.org

by Ralph Nichols

The official groundbreaking ceremony for the Burien Transit Center parking garage is scheduled for Oct. 23.

And by then, work on the King County/Sound Transit Transportation-Oriented Development (TOD) project, including physical groundbreaking for initial construction activity, will be underway.

Dick Loman, Burien’s economic development manager, said the ceremony was delayed until later in the month “to fit the schedules of a number of important officials involved in the funding for this project.”

The Metro Transit park-and-ride lot at the northeast corner of SW 150th St. and 4th Ave. SW will be closed on Saturday, Oct. 2, to clear the way for construction activity.

Transit parking during construction will be relocated at the old BBC Dodge site at 1st Ave. South and SW 148th St. Bus routes that stop at the transit center will also stop there.

Developer of the $20.5 million parking garage is Los Angeles-based Alliance Property Group. Pankow Construction is general contractor for the project.

The five-story facility, with another level underground, will be located on the south part of the existing park-and-ride lot. It will have 466 parking spaces – 50 of them with plug-ins for electric cars.

An additional 36 parking spaces will be located on an adjoining surface area in the north part of the existing park-and-ride lot.

The project will give a boost to the local economy, Loman noted. It “will create a number of new jobs in Burien. They will be temporary jobs, like all construction work, but they will be well-paying jobs.”

Most of the money for the parking garage will come from Sound Transit, which is contributing $14.73 million in taxpayer-approved ST2 funds. The balance will come from King County through a joint agreement with the transit agency.

Sound Transit and Metro have targeted November 2011 for completion of the parking garage, which is Phase I of the King County Department of Transportation’s TOD project in downtown Burien.

In addition to commuter parking, the facility would provide evening and weekend parking for movie-goers if a proposed multiplex theater is built in Town Square at the southwest corner of SW 150th St. and 4th Ave. SW.

Preliminary plans for Phase II call for construction of approximately 100 affordable multi-family units on the south side of the facility, with retail and office space located on the ground level.

Phase II will begin after the parking garage is built – when market conditions permit, Loman said.

A new Transit Center used by Sound Transit and Metro buses opened in early summer 2009.

With funding for a long-anticipated Burien Transit Center parking garage approved by the Sound Transit Board of Directors on July 23, the project is now transitioning from concept to reality.

The five-story, 466-space parking garage with an adjoining 36-space surface parking lot will be located on the northern half of Metro Transit’s park-and-ride lot at SW 4th Ave. and 150th St. SW.

Sound Transit will contribute $14.73 million in ST2 funds to the $20.5 million Transit-Oriented Development project, with the balance coming from King County under a funding joint agreement.

“I’m happy that this Burien transit project is moving forward now,” said King County Councilwoman Jan Drago. “Every construction project creates jobs and helps the local economy. The finished product will be a real asset to transit users and to Burien’s downtown core.” Drago represents King County Council District 8, which includes Burien.

City Manager Mike Martin said earlier that he expects ground will be broken in early fall, probably by late September. Sound Transit is targeting November 2011 for completion.

Construction of the parking garage is Phase I of the King County Department of Transportation’s Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) project in downtown Burien.

Preliminary plans for Phase II call for construction of approximately 100 affordable multi-family units on the south side of the facility, with retail and office space located on the ground level. Phase II will begin after the parking garage is built and as soon as market conditions permit.

A new Transit Center used by Sound Transit and Metro buses was completed in summer 2009.

The Sound Transit Board of Directors must give final approval to plans before King County’s developer – Alliance Wasatch I, LLC – proceeds with the project.

When completed, the parking garage will be leased back to King County, which will operate the Transit-Oriented Development complex.

Temporary transit parking during construction of the garage will be located at the old BBC Dodge site at 1st Ave. S. and SW 148th St.

[EDITOR'S NOTE: This Story has been updated since first being posted Monday, July 19]

by Ralph Nichols

A joint funding agreement for a $20.5 million Burien Transit Center parking garage was approved on July 19 by the King County Council.

The agreement for Phase I of the city’s Transit-Oriented Development project now goes to the Sound Transit Board of Directors for final action on July 22.

If Sound Transit directors OK the plan as expected, “construction should start before the end of this year,” said Linda Robson, communications director for County Councilwoman Jan Drago.

Drago, who represents the Burien area on the council, was not available for comment following the action.

But, Robson noted, “Sound Transit agrees to contribute $14.73 million for construction to expand the facility as promised … lots is happening in a couple of days to get us closer to breaking ground out there.”

And with approval of the funding agreement by Sound Transit, “ground is expected to be broken in early fall, probably by late September,” according to Burien City Manager Mike Martin.

“We’re thrilled the project is at last going forward. It will be a real asset to the city.”

Earlier this year, the county council approved a ground lease of Metro Transit’s park-and-ride lot at the northeast corner of SW 150th St. and 4th Ave. SW to Alliance Wasatch I, LLC.

Alliance Wasatch will build the five-story, 500-parking-stall facility, with a sixth level underground, at that location.

The council also approved at that time a lease back to the county of the parking facility upon its completion.

Alliance Wasatch I and Metro Transit submitted on July 7 an application for an administrative design review of the Transit-Oriented Development project.

If approved by the county, construction on a new, multi-story transit-oriented parking garage could begin this fall.

That application “is the culmination of over a year of intensive work on the part of … staff with the developer and King County to refine and detail the design for the multi-phase, mixed-use project,” Martin told the Burien City Council.

Phase I – the multi-story parking garage – is “the primary focus of the design review process, which should be completed by Aug. 12,” which will be followed soon by applications for construction permits.

Martin said construction of the garage – which could also be used for evening and weekend parking by patrons of a multiplex cinema proposed for Burien’s Town Square at the southwest corner of SW 150th St. and 4th Ave. S – is expected to be completed about a year after groundbreaking.

“We’re looking forward especially to the second phase, which will provide affordable housing in the downtown area,” he added. Phase II, with retail as well as residential development on the southern part of the property, “will commence when the economy improves.”

Temporary transit parking during construction of the garage will be located at the old BBC Dodge site at 1st Ave. S. and SW 148th St.

Preliminary plans for Phase II of the Transit-Oriented Development call for construction of approximately 100 affordable multi-family units on the outside of the five-story parking garage. Retail and office space will be located on the ground level of the facility.

We know there are no excuses for posting this video so late, as the event took place last Sunday (Jan. 10th), but, um…we left our Flip camera in our other pants, and since we weren’t wearing any to begin with…

Actually, we hate to just throw up lame raw video, and editing takes time, and um…there’s that whole “other pants” thing again.

But first, a little interesting behind-the-scenes backstory:

Two days before the pantsless prank, we received the following email from Emerald City Improv‘s Kelsey Wildstone:

First, please remember that we’re trying to be inconspicuous here.

If you’d like to film the event with a motion camera, try to find a way to disguise your camera in a box or something to make it a sort of “hidden camera”.

Use some creativity here, but the point is that we’d like to avoid people seeing you openly point a camera around.

Considering that we respect the fine art of successful pranking, and that our Publisher used to work on a hidden camera TV show (“Totally Hidden Video,” Fox), we wanted to abide by this request (unlike some local TV news stations who just showed up and shot with their huge cameras and “Reporters”). The end result was that our shooter Mark Neuman went out of his way to “disguise” our Flip camera thusly:

Mark discovered that the Flip cam fit nicely inside an empty coffeecup. Just don't put it in a full one...

A little bit of cloth and tape secured the cam in tight.

...and with a hole cut in the side, it's hidden camera time!

Okay, so here it is (finally!)…with video shot by Neuman, featuring Bart Bryan, edited by Scott Schaefer and featuring the groovy public domain hit “Midnight Special” recorded by some long-dead dude named Bill Cox in 1933, ironically during the last Great Depression when not wearing pants wasn’t a prank, it was a way of life:

Click here to view the embedded video.

Also, we were very curious to find out what the MuckyMucks at SoundTransit thought of this pantsless prank, so we sent an email to Andrew Schmid, Sound Transit Media Relations director –here’s his response:

Q: Was ST aware beforehand that this was going to happen?
A: No, we were totally caught with our… (unless you lack internet access, it was almost impossible to not know about this event).

Q: Did ST security goes pantsless?
A: No.

Q: Was security worried about this prank at all?
A: Slightly – our security is worried about everything.

Q: Did this event increase ridership? if so, by how much? (have any estimate on the # of pantsless?)
A: Yes, but the infrared technology on Link’s Automatic Passenger Counting machines is not designed to distinguish between the pant-sed and the pants challenged.

Q: Will ST tolerate future events like this?
A: So long as folks follow our code of conduct (read it here).

Q: Will ST ever sponsor future events like this?
A: No.

Q: How about creating some ST underwear for folks to wear?
A: Sorta already been done – see this.

Q: Did you, or any other ST officials, attend?
A: NO COMMENT

And in case you haven’t seen the other videos, here they are:

Click here to view the embedded video.

Click here to view the embedded video.

by Theresa Frasch

I emailed the link from The B-Town blog to my friend Pam a few days ago and said, “You are the only one I know that would do this with me. Want to?” After a little cajoling and the promise of boxers, she and her daughter agreed.

We were in the first group to get on the light rail. Everybody was assigned different stops to “de-pant.” We were stop number two. There were two guys sitting in our section looking very nervous. One of them said to the other, “I don’t think I’m going to be able to do this.” I asked which stop they were and he said, “Two.” “Well, so are we – so we’ll all do it at the same time. Remember, when the doors close”

At stop number two we were prepared. Just as the doors were closing and we were preparing to de-pant we heard a lady walking toward us. She was saying, “That is highly inappropriate.” She walked through our car repeating that phrase as we were taking our pants off. Guy number two lost his nerve! He regained it at stop number three with a little help from his new found friends.

All five of us got off at the Beacon Hill stop to mix it up a little and wait for the next train. That was pretty safe – it was underground. Then we got off at Columbia City – out in the real world, but still pretty protected. The ultimate test was the Rainier Beach stop – right in the middle of the street, nowhere to hide, traffic coming from both directions.

The train was rolling to a stop. We girls said we were going to do it. The guys said they weren’t. I told them they’d regret it if they didn’t. “Next year,” they said. The doors opened. “Come on,” I said. They protested. Finally I grabbed one and just pulled him out the door with us and the other one followed. We had so much fun watching the passersby faces! When we got back on for our final destination our new friends thanked us for “making” them go with us.

Thanks to Emerald City Improv for giving us such a good laugh and a chance to have some fun.

Here’s a Photo Slideshow of Sunday’s “No Pants!” pics, taken by various Flickr Photogs:

Click to View Photo Slideshow

Here’s a video from today’s “No Pants!” Subway ride in NYC:

Click here to view the embedded video.

Read our other coverage here.