by Scott Schaefer

According to The Olympian, on Tuesday (March 2), a federal judge dismissed a lawsuit alleging that 18 Washington cities, including Burien, were charging too much for traffic violations caught by red light cameras.

This means that all Washington state cities with red light cameras will be able to continue charging their current fines, many of which are set at $101 and above.

The “order of dismissal” was issued by U.S. District Court Judge John C. Coughenour in Seattle, and this ends a lawsuit in which more than 40 drivers claimed that fines issued from red light cameras exceeded the amount intended by state law.

As we’ve previously reported, attorneys for the plaintiffs were seeking class-action status over a 2005 law that says traffic-camera fines “shall not exceed the amount of the fine issued for other parking infractions within the jurisdiction,” according to the complaint.

Burien has five red light cameras, which have been up and running since last March, and according to a city e-newsletter, were averaging “around 540 infractions per month” back in October 2009 – equaling a projected gross of over $654,000 in its first year of operation.

Burien currently sends out a $101 fine for red light infractions, with five cameras operating at these three intersections (see map below):

• 1st Avenue South at SW 148th Street
• 1st Avenue South at SW 152nd Street
• 1st Avenue South at SW 160th Street

View Red Light Cameras in Burien WA in a larger map

The camera earning the most money currently is the westbound one at SW 148th Street and 1st Ave South, which (as of Oct. 2009) generated about 35% of the total infractions, or 189 per month (just over 6 per day), equals to a monthly gross of $19,089 – or more than $229,000 annually, which on its own surpasses the original citywide $200k projection.

The cameras operate 24 hours a day and capture still photos and video of every vehicle that runs a red light at the intersection. After being processed by manufacturer RedFlex, the videos are accessed by Burien police through a website, where they are analyzed by an officer who decides whether or not to send out a ticket.

Other cities named in the lawsuit included:

• Auburn
• Bellevue
• Bonney Lake
• Bremerton
• Federal Way
• Fife
• Issaquah
• Lacey
• Lake Forest Park
• Lakewood
• Lynnwood
• Puyallup
• Renton
• SeaTac
• Seattle
• Spokane
• Tacoma

So, to all your speeders out there – don’t expect any reduction in red light camera fines.

And to the City of Burien (and all other cities with these device$) – let’s hope you put the massive revenues from this semi-automatic “cash cow” to good use during these economic times.

PREVIOUS COVERAGE:

• Class Action Lawsuit Filed Against 19 Cities, Including Burien, Over Red Light Camera Fines
• Burien’s Red Light Cameras On Track To Gross Over $654,000 In First Year, Nearly 3x Projected Revenue
• Burien’s Red Light Camera Citations Are “In The Mail”
• City Official Addresses Red Light Camera Concerns
• Red Light Cams Go Live Sun.;To Bring In $200k In 1st Year?
• Burien Speeders Beware: Red Light Cameras Start Mar. 1st

In the continuing saga of STITA vs the Port of Seattle, on Monday (Feb. 22nd), the Washington state Court of Appeals ruled in favor of the cab company by granting a temporary injunction against the Port of Seattle’s planned contract with Yellow Cab/Puget Sound Dispatch.

This means the Port cannot sign the planned contract “until further order of the Court” (click here to download/read the order as a PDF file), which could happen in April.

STITA’s request to expedite the appeal was granted by Commissioner Mary Neel. The Commissioner’s order states that this case will be heard by a three-judge panel “toward the end of the April 2010 term,” meaning that this ongoing SeaTac soap opera is far from over.

Members of STITA, who filed the original lawsuit against the Port of Seattle on Jan. 29, were obviously pleased with the decision.

“We are thrilled that the court stopped the Port from proceeding with an illegal contract,” said Jesse Buttar, a STITA member and spokesperson. “We’ve only ever asked for a fair process and a legal contract and now we hope the Port has finally listened and will re-do its flawed bidding process.”

Here’s more info from STITA’s press release, issued late Monday afternoon:

STITA, a non-profit co-op with one of the greenest cab fleet in the country, was created in 1989 by the Port of Seattle to exclusively serve the airport and provide reliable service to airport users. Now, after an unfair proposal process, STITA and its approximately 450 members and drivers will essentially be put out of business. They have the airport contract through August 2010.

STITA’s lawsuit claims that the Port’s bidding process violated state law by requiring bidders to commit to pay an unfair concession fee of at least 10 percent of their airport-based revenues to the Port. This revenue system violates the Airports Act, which says airport concession fees must be based upon the actual cost of operations and be reasonable and uniform. Previously, the Port had charged a per-trip fee to taxis based on the airport’s actual cost of services provided to the cabbies.

Additionally, the lawsuit contends that the Port’s new concession fees violate the King County Code and takes away from the King County Council’s authority to set “just and reasonable” taxi meter rates.

Despite protests from STITA to the Port about these glaring problems with the process and the proposed contract, the Port has so far declined to re-do its flawed contract bid.

A second lawsuit against the Port and Yellow Cab by Farwest Taxi was filed on Feb. 12.

Read our previous coverage of this ongoing legal battle here.

Former Burien City Councilmember Sue Blazak, along with Highline College Vice President of Administration Larry Yok, were appointed Monday (Feb. 22nd) along with 26 others to a new Regional Transit Task Force that will advise on the future of King County Metro Transit services.

King County Executive Dow Constantine announced the 28 regional and community leaders in a press release on the King County website:

“I’ve asked this cross-section of regional leaders and transit users to engage in a discussion about how we can best deliver transit service for all parts of the county within the resources we have,” said Executive Constantine. “I deliberately sought a group of people who are willing to put aside political divisions and think creatively about how to plan a transit system that will serve us well in the future.”

Constantine said the conversation will include development of a comprehensive vision for what the regional transit system should look like in the future as well as criteria for systematically growing or reducing the transit system, depending on the revenues available.

Sue Blazak

The geographically balanced 28-member task force includes a mix of elected officials and representatives of business, labor, education, and human service agencies, along with riders.

“Our goal was to pull together a task force that was diverse and represented the broad perspectives across our county—from students to elderly people, from business to labor, from Seattle to Maple Valley, and more,” said Metropolitan King County Councilmember Larry Phillips, sponsor of the motion creating the panel. “The Regional Transit Task Force is charged with developing a regional vision to shape our transit system for the future and address the revenue shortfalls Metro faces. I think these individuals, with input from the larger community, are up to that task.”

The task force is being asked to develop policy options for discussion by July and to adopt final policy recommendations by September 2010.

Here’s the full list of 28 appointees:

REGIONAL TRANSIT TASK FORCE
CATEGORY	NAME	REPRESENTING
Accessible services	Jane Kuechle	AtWork
Economic development	Kate Joncas	West – Downtown Seattle Assoc
Economic development	Christine Hoffman	East – Redmond Chamber
Economic development	Tom Pierson	South – Federal Way Chamber
Education	Larry Yok	South – Highline Comm. College
Education	Josh Kavanagh	West – Univ. of Washington
Elected official	Suzette Cooke	South – Kent
Elected official	Noel Gerken	South – Maple Valley
Elected official	Tom Rasmussen	West – Seattle
Elected official	Chris Eggen	West – Shoreline
Elected official	Grant Degginger	East – Bellevue
Elected official	Fred Butler	East – Issaquah
Environmental	Rob Johnson	Transportation Choices Coalition
Environmental	Chuck Ayers	Cascade Bicycle Club
Good government	James Kelly	Urban League of Metro. Seattle
Organized labor	Carl Jackson	Amalgamated Transit Union
Organized labor	David Freiboth	King County Labor Council
Puget Sound Regional Council	Bob Drewel	PSRC
Riders	Sue Blazak	South
Riders	Carla Saulter	West
Riders	Shiv Batra	East
Social services	Estela Ortega	West – El Centro de la Raza
Social services	Lynn Moody	East – Hopelink
Trip reduction	Liz Warman	South – The Boeing Company
Trip reduction	Jim Stanton	East – Microsoft
Transportation expert	Steve Marshall	Cascadia Center
Transportation expert	Jared Smith	Parsons Brinckerhoff
Transit Advisory Committee	Ed Miller	Transit Advisory Committee

The Port of Seattle is apparently being sued by a second taxi company – this time by Rainier Dispatch (aka Farwest Taxi) for ignoring collusion.

This is the latest twist in an ongoing legal war against the embattled Port of Seattle, and Rainier/Farwest is now the second taxi company to claim the Port’s process for selecting a new on-demand airport taxi contract is illegal (as we’ve covered previously, the first was STITA).

According to a press release we received Tuesday, Feb. 16th:

Farwest Taxi filed a lawsuit last Friday (Feb. 12th) in King County Superior Court against the Port of Seattle and Yellow Cab, its former partner in a joint bid for the airport contract. The lawsuit claims the Port’s proposal process was illegal. The lawsuit says lobbyist Chris Van Dyk drafted the bid for Yellow Cab, the winning bidder for the on-demand airport contract. Then he turned around and used that insider information to draft a less competitive proposal by the No. 2 bidder, a joint venture between Yellow, Farwest and Orange Cab.

“The Port of Seattle and Yellow Cab should be ashamed of this whole process,” said Gurcharan Dhaliwal, president of Rainier Dispatch. “Yellow Cab and Chris Van Dyk took our bid information and used it to make sure they came out on top, and the Port looked the other way.”

According to the lawsuit, Van Dyk knew trade secrets of the two other bidders in the joint venture, and used that proprietary intellectual property to ensure Yellow Cab submitted the top bid. In addition, in its legal filing, Farwest says it explicitly told Yellow representatives that it did not want anyone who drafted the joint venture proposal to also draft a proposal for any of the three individual members. They said they were assured that would be the case.

The Port’s own RFP states: “One or all responses will be rejected if there is reason for believing that collusion exists among Proposers, and no participant in such collusion will be considered in future proposals for concessions at the Airport.” [RFP, 13.4.1, p. 6]

This latest lawsuit follows on the heels of a well-publicized lawsuit filed by the Seattle-Tacoma International Taxi Association (STITA) on Jan. 29. STITA, which has the exclusive taxicab contract at Sea-Tac Airport through August 2010.

Like STITA’s lawsuit, Farwest Taxi’s lawsuit requests a court order barring the Port of Seattle from officially signing a contract with Yellow Cab. It also seeks an order disqualifying Yellow Cab from future re-bids of the airport contract.

STITA members were encouraged that another taxi company – even one of their competitors – saw the same foul play and are now suing the Port and Yellow Cab.

“Here is yet another reason for the Port to hold off on signing the illegal contract with Yellow Cab,” said Jesse Buttar, a spokesperson for STITA. “We hope the Port takes the opportunity to go back and review this whole process. This illegal process directly affects the 450 families who make up STITA. We just want a fair shot at the airport contract.”

A copy of this lawsuit can be downloaded here (as a PDF file).

With more twists and turns than Maplewild Ave SW, Tuesday afternoon (Feb. 9th) the case of STITA vs the Port of Seattle took another turn – the Court of Appeals Commissioner issued an order that temporarily continues the Stay that is stopping the Port from signing an agreement with Yellow Cab.

An oral argument is tentatively is scheduled for next Friday, Feb. 19th, at 1:30 p.m.

The stay will continue in effect until the Commissioner rules on STITA’s motion.

So be sure to stay tuned, as this case is certainly a lively one.

Here’s a scan of the order for all you legal eagles out there:

In a fast-paced legal tennis match, after briefly having its restraining order denied, a State Court of Appeals Commissioner issued a stay late Monday in STITA Cab’s lawsuit against the Port of Seattle.

This means that, pending any other legal maneuvering, the Port will not be able to sign a contract with Yellow Cab.

Earlier Monday, King County Superior Court Judge Steven Gonzalez denied a restraining order filed by STITA to block the Port from signing the contract with Yellow Cab.

The contract for on-demand taxi service at Sea-Tac airport won’t be awarded until the court determines if the Port acted illegally. Judge Gonzalez heard STITA’s case Feb. 4th, and issued his decision Monday afternoon.

STITA vowed to continue fighting. They immediately took the case to the State Court of Appeals, which agreed to issue a stay – meaning the Port cannot sign with Yellow Cab until the legal issues are resolved.

The commissioner is expected to consider the merits of the case this week.

“We’re thrilled with this late-breaking win,” said Jesse Buttar, STITA cab owner. “We know we have a case. We just want a fair shot at the airport contract.”

On Jan. 29, STITA filed a complaint asking the court to halt the Port from signing a contract that violates state law. STITA seeks a fair and legal proposal process in which all bidders can compete on a level playing field.

In 1989, STITA – a non-profit co-op with the greenest cab fleet in the country – was created by the Port of Seattle to exclusively serve the airport and provide reliable service to airport users. Now, after an unfair proposal process, STITA and its approximately 450 members and drivers will essentially be put out of business.

In its lawsuit, STITA contends the Port’s bidding process violated the state Airports Act because the Port discontinued its prior practice of charging fees to taxicabs based on the airport’s actual cost of services provided to the cabbies. Instead, it required bidders to commit to pay an unfair concession fee of at least 10 percent of their airport-based revenues. This violates the Airports Act, which says airport concession fees must be based upon the Airport’s actual cost of operations and be reasonable and uniform.

STITA contends the Port’s bidding process caused a predatory bidding war among taxi companies which not only was illegal but will be financially devastating to the King County taxi industry.

STITA’s lawsuit also contends that the Port’s new concession fee violates the King County Code, which requires the King County Council to set the taxi meter rate at a level that is “just and reasonable.” The Port’s new concession fee cuts directly into the county’s taxi meter rate and prevents cab operators from receiving the gross receipts that they legally are entitled to receive.

Despite notice from STITA protesting these glaring problems with the process and proposed contract, the Port of Seattle declined to re-do its flawed proposal and said it would sign an agreement with Yellow Cab. STITA had no recourse but legal action.

PREVIOUSLY:

On Monday (Feb. 8th), King County Superior Court Judge Steven Gonzales put up the first roadblock in a lawsuit filed by longtime Sea-Tac Airport vendor STITA Cab by denying its attempts to stop the Port of Seattle from signing a contract with Yellow Cab.

The exclusive taxicab contract was held by STITA for 20 years in a no-bid deal. After a harsh rebuke from the State Auditor over its contracting processes, the Port of Seattle issued a “Request for Proposal,” or RFP, for the first time last fall.

Yellow Cab won the award with a bid of $18.3 million, which is $8 million greater than the bid STITA submitted. Yellow Cab was named a defendant in the lawsuit, along with the Port of Seattle and other taxi associations.

In issuing the ruling, Judge Gonzales noted that the RFP allowed for prospective bidders to file complaints, or injunctions, to any portion of the RFP document; Gonzales said, “The Plaintiff had the opportunity to file a complaint during the process, and they did not. They only complained when they did not win the bid.”

Yellow Cab will have to expand to meet its new agreement and may add up to 150 taxis, which could mean transferring over some STITA drivers, according to company representatives.

Without ruling on the lawsuit’s merits, Gonzalez said that STITA’s request for an injunction was damaged by the fact that it waited until after the bidding process to object. Had STITA won the contract, it’s “inconceivable” they would’ve sought an injunction, he said.

As we reported Feb. 1st:

In its lawsuit, STITA claimed that the Port’s bidding process violated the state Airports Act, because the Port discontinued its prior practice of charging fees to taxicabs based on the airport’s actual cost of services provided to the cabbies. Instead, it required bidders to commit to pay an unfair concession fee of at least 10 percent of their airport-based revenues. This violates the Airports Act, which says airport concession fees must be based upon the Airport’s actual cost of operations and be reasonable and uniform.

STITA contends the Port’s bidding process caused a “predatory bidding war among taxi companies which not only was illegal but will be financially devastating to the King County taxi industry.”

STITA has 216 cabs, 450 drivers, and claims to have brought in $10.58 million to the Port between 2004 and 2008.

Burien is losing more express Metro service to Downtown Seattle.

According to this new schedule, the last Burien Park and Ride express bus service into Seattle, leaves at 9:18 am. No express bus service will be offered again until 1:10 pm. This leaves a 4-hour commute time frame that gives riders the only options of going through West Seattle, or taking the Link. Both are very time consuming.

Contact the King County Department of Transportation and the Burien City Council with your concerns.

Metro Bus Route Changes – Service revisions begin this Saturday, February 6.

Some midday trip eliminations on the 121, but two new a.m. and two new p.m. peak-period trips have been added.

Northbound trips leaving the Burien Transit Center at 9:58 am, 10:26 am and 1:09 pm, southbound trips leaving 3rd Ave & Pike St at 9:17 am and 1:36 pm, and the southbound trip leaving 7th Ave & Blanchard St at 12:17 pm will be discontinued.

Northbound Route 121 to downtown Seattle will have two new peak-period trips arriving at 3rd Ave & Pike St about 7:35 and 8:30 am. Southbound Route 121 to Burien will also have two new peak-period trips leaving 7th Ave & Blanchard St about 3:39 and 4:27 pm. WSDOT is funding these additional peak-period trips on Route 121 to keep people, businesses and the economy moving during Alaskan Way Viaduct construction. Visit
www.wsdot.wa.gov/projects/viaduct

More service change information: http://metro.kingcounty.gov/up/scvchange.html

- Meg Van Wyk
Burien Park and Ride patron

[EDITOR'S NOTE: Have something you'd like to say? Then email us your "Letter to the Editor" by clicking here. Be sure to include your real name and a way to contact you, and, pending our review, we'll most likely post it. Otherwise, feel free to leave a Comment below...]

The Port of Seattle Commission released a draft of its memorandum of agreement (download PDF here) with the State of Washington Monday (Feb. 1st) detailing its contribution to the proposed bored tunnel project that would replace the Alaskan Way Viaduct. Public testimony and comment are being sought by the commission prior to their vote.

The memorandum spells out the port’s intent to make an investment in this program, which is not to exceed $300 million during construction of the Viaduct Replacement Program. The port’s contribution will be linked to improvements that promote freight mobility and access to port facilities. Freight, cruise, agriculture, daily commuters and neighborhoods depend on this vital traffic corridor every day, and the corridor is essential to our regional economy.

The port commission is asking for your input before they make a decision on the MOA. There are several ways in which you can comment over the next two weeks:

• E-mail comments to Viaduct MOA Comments: viaduct@portseattle.org
• Mail comments must be received by close of business Monday, February 8, to:

Viaduct MOA Comments
Attn: Christine Lee, Regional Transportation
PO Box 1209
Seattle, WA 98111

Public testimony can be provided at two upcoming Commission meetings:

• Tuesday, Feb. 2nd, 1:00 p.m., (MOA item will come up around 2:30p.m.) at Aviation High School, 615 South 200th St. in Des Moines
• Tuesday, Feb. 9th, 1:00 p.m., Port Headquarters, Pier 69, 2711 Alaskan Way in Seattle
  

The commission is expected to make a decision on the MOA, following public comments, at their February 9th meeting.

Members of the Seattle-Tacoma International Taxi Association (STITA) will rally against the Port of Seattle Monday, Feb. 1st beginning at Noon in downtown Seattle, in an effort to heighten awareness of the Port’s decision to change cab companies at Sea-Tac Airport after 20 years.

According to a press release:

STITA has no choice but to take its case to court to prevent the Port of Seattle from signing a contract with a competitor on Tuesday.

In December, the Port of Seattle Commission awarded a new five-year contract to Yellow Cab.

Now, more than 450 families face the loss of their businesses and livelihoods (while the contract is awarded to a big business monopoly, Yellow Cab).

STITA is a non-profit co-op of 216 cabs owned by 283 people. STITA was formed 20 years ago to solve a problem – the failure of for-profit taxi companies to provide safe, reliable taxi cab service at the airport.

Here’s info on the rally:

WHAT: Members of the Seattle-Tacoma International Taxi Association (STITA) will make an important announcement and take questions from reporters.

WHEN: Noon, Monday, Feb. 1st.

WHERE: South side of the King County Courthouse in downtown Seattle, 3rd and Jefferson St. (the corner of the park)

INFO: Attorney Michael Goldfarb will discuss the legal case against the Port, and cab drivers and their families will be available to discuss the devastating impact of the Port’s flawed decision.

From STITA’s website:

STITA was formed 20 years ago by the Port of Seattle primarily to service in-bound passengers to SeaTac and residents of King County. STITA prides itself on providing excellent service. We have nearly 200 taxis in our owner-operated fleet. At STITA, diversity is embraced and our cab drivers are very proud of the fact that they work for an organization whose owners represent a broad range of cultural backgrounds including: Indian, East African, Pakistani, Somali, Filipino, Ethiopian, Iranian, and Bangladeshi. Many may not know that STITA is a not-for-profit association comprised of over 145 minority-owned businesses, meaning that STITA is governed by a Board of Directors and does not have a single owner or leasing agent. Because our cabs are owner operated, STITA takes customer service very seriously.

At the Port of Seattle’s request, several years ago STITA stopped driving traditional gasoline powered vehicles and now has one of the most environmentally friendly taxi fleets in the world. We operate both hybrids (40 vehicles) and compressed natural gasoline taxis (120 vehicles). The use of CNG has resulted in a significant reduction of air pollutants.

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:

Read our other coverage here.

[EDITOR'S NOTE: This is the first in a series of reports on Sunday's "No Pants! Link Light Rail Ride," where Reporter Gina Bourdage was brave (or foolish) enough to ride public transportation and drop trou. Look for more reports soon, including a first-hand video from Bart Bryan and Mark Neuman]

by Gina Bourdage

Most days being in your undies in public would be the nightmare we just woke up from.

Today is not that day.

After a frenzied Internet campaign via Facebook, the NYC group Improv Everywhere convinced people nationwide, myself included, to ride public transit today in their skivvies.

I have had that little voice in the back of my head ask me numerous times “What the heck are you thinking?!” and to be completely honest I have tried to talk myself out of participating.

In hindsight of the type of year 2009 turned out to be, most of us could use a little more light-hearted humor in 2010.

According to the Improv Everywhere website, “not taking life too seriously” is exactly the reason behind the nationwide “No Pants!” rides on buses, trains and subways all over the country today.

So relax, take a deep breath, drop trou and enjoy life…

Yep, actually getting out of the car and taking off the pants without the little voice telling me i am officially crazy was impossible. If it weren’t for the other twenty or so fellow pantsless participants I might turn and run. It is a little odd with children pointing “Hey mommy?!” but thank goodness everyone is “decent” and there’s nothing here you wouldn’t see on a beach.

After the first stop half the train is pants free. Who knew it was so easy to get people to rock their undies in public?

Oh boy this went to another level when i just saw a pantsless family.

I am impressed with the level that we, the pantsless mob, have pulled this off. Never have I seen so many strangers be so friendly with a smile and supportive silent acknowledgment that there really is something bigger going on here.

The confused and bewildered looks of the unsuspecting other riders is worth all the initial butterflies.

I encourage everyone to be a part of something that brings people together the way this has.

Here are some pics of the event (more to come so keep checking back, and if you participated and have some, please email us!):

Here are some pics sent in by Readers “xtina” and “hollywood,” who added:

“The ride was great…So much fun we got off and on at different spots … ending at Westlake and walked to Fox Sports Bar where we enjoyed a cold one in our undies… Way fun”

Read Report #2 here.

Sometimes when we hear about a comedy idea that’s as brilliant and hi-flippin-larious as this, we just have to post it and encourage all our Readers (or at least the ones with an actual sense of humor) to participate – we’re talking of course about the first annual “No Pants! Link Light Rail Ride” which is coming to our area this Sunday, Jan. 10th from Noon – 3pm.

The “No Pants!” idea comes from a group in New York City called “Improv Everywhere,” which puts on a “No Pants! Subway Ride” there every January. And now it’s coming to the northwest.

Ironically, or perhaps by design, this first annual pantsless event will also serve as a Seattle Singles Meet-Up. What better way to meet someone new than whilst riding pantsless on our new transportation service?

To participate, it’s quite simple – just show up on Sound Transit’s new Link Light Rail system between Noon and 3pm on Sunday, Jan. 10th. Have your pants on if you’re there early, then simply take them off while you’re riding, all the while keeping a straight face and acting like nothing’s different.

There’s a Facebook Page set up for the event here (thanks Julie Bradley for the link!).

Here are videos of the last two years of the “No Pants!” prank NYC that will give you a better idea of what to expect:

More details:

WHAT: Emerald City Improv invites you to participate in our first annual “No Pants Seattle! Light Rail Ride.”

WHEN: This SUNDAY, JANUARY 10th, from Noon – 3pm.

WHERE: Most participants will start in Downtown Seattle (most likely the Westlake Station), then ride Link Light Rail to SeaTac and back; we suggest that you board either at the Tukwila Station (which has parking) or the new SeaTac/Airport Station and ride roundtrip, thus boosting their original group.

COST: No fee other than a roundtrip ticket on Link Light Rail, which is $5.00; okay, the other cost may be your dignity, but it’s all in the name of senseless entertainment, which the world certainly needs more of…

INFO: From the Seattle Singles Meetup Group website:

Tell and invite your friends!! We want this to be epic!

Every January, Improv Everywhere in New York stages their annual “No Pants! Subway Ride.” Cities around the globe participate.

This year, Emerald City Improv in Seattle invites you to participate in our first annual “No Pants Seattle! Light Rail Ride.”

This event will occur SUNDAY, JANUARY 10th, from 12:00- 3:00.

REQUIREMENTS FOR PARTICIPATION:

1. Willing to take pants off on light rail
2. Able to keep a straight face about it

WHERE TO MEET:
Meet at the plaza at 4th Ave and Pine St, across from Westlake Center, at noon.

Oh, and if you do participate, please take pics (and/or video) and email us about your experience!

Sea-Tac Airport will be offering a special discount for Seahawks fans, with a 50% discount on Terminal Direct parking for the final home game on Sunday, Jan. 3rd versus the Tennessee Titans.

The idea is to allow affordable parking and encourage fans to take Sound Transit’s Link light rail from SeaTac to the “Stadium” stop near Qwest Field for just $2.50 each way.

According to a press release received Wed., Dec. 30th:

Sea-Tac Airport offers special parking rate for Hawks Fans

$2 per hour in Terminal Direct for football fans connecting with Link light rail

Seattle-Tacoma International Airport invites fans to score a “TD” with a 50% discount on Terminal Direct parking for the Seahawks final home game Jan. 3 versus the Tennessee Titans.

Terminal Direct parking at Sea-Tac Airport offers the most convenient access to the airport terminal and quick connection to Link light rail’s new SeaTac/Airport Station. You’ll park on the 4th floor of the airport garage, an easy walk to the pedestrian bridge leading to the Link station.

On Jan. 3, customers parking in Terminal Direct will enjoy a $2 per hour rate if they arrive between the hours of 8 a.m. and 1 p.m. – plenty of time to experience the quick, convenient ride from SeaTac/Airport Station to stations near Qwest Field. Terminal Direct tickets during that time period will automatically be credited with the discount rate when you exit the airport parking garage.

Hawks fans riding Link to the game can skip any post-game ticket lines by getting an ORCA card from any ticket vending machine before boarding. ORCA cards can be used like cash or as a transit pass on trains, buses or ferries throughout the region. For a limited time, cards are available with no card fee. Starting Feb. 1, a standard adult or youth ORCA card will cost $5. ORCA – One Regional Card for All – will replace about 300 various passes, tickets and transfers with a single smart card. ORCA’s replacement of most paper transfer slips on Jan. 1 means ORCA can help riders avoid paying full price when they transfer. More information on ORCA is available at http://www.orcacard.com

The opening of SeaTac/Airport Station on Dec. 19 means easier access to ORCA and to Link light rail for thousands of visitors, commuters, and Sea-Tac Airport employees. Sound Transit and the Port of Seattle collaborated on the Airport Link project which included the new light rail station, pedestrian bridges connecting the station to the airport parking garage and a pick-up and drop-off area to the east serving the city of SeaTac. The Port also relocated and upgraded the Airport Expressway and the Return-to-Terminal roadway loop. A ride from SeaTac/Airport Station to Westlake Station is 36 minutes and costs $2.50.

More information available at Sound Transit’s website here.

On Saturday morning (Dec. 19th) at 10am, Sound Transit opened its Link light rail service to SeaTac with lots of ceremony, local dignitaries, curious passengers, and of course, functioning trains that now link the airport to downtown Seattle.

The first 14 miles of light rail opened from downtown Seattle to Tukwila in July. This final segment from Tukwila to SeaTac / Airport Station, built under a close partnership with the Port of Seattle, connects the airport from downtown with 13 stops serving the SeaTac, Tukwila, Rainier Valley, Beacon Hill, SODO to the final stop at Westlake.

“It’s been a heck of a journey, but we delivered on what we promised: light rail from downtown Seattle to the airport in 2009,” said Seattle Mayor and Sound Transit Board Chair Greg Nickels. “This opens an entirely new option for travelers and commuters, and represents the first steps of a truly regional network.”

Service on the 1.7-mile extension line kicked off with an inaugural ribbon cutting at the SeaTac / Airport Station before the station and trains opened for regular passenger service at 10am, and Photographer Michael Brunk was there to capture this Photo Slideshow:

Click to View Michael Brunk’s Photo Slideshow

“Opening the doors to Sound Transit’s airport line in time for the holidays is great gift to residents of the Puget Sound region,” said U.S. Sen. Patty Murray. “This new line will provide fast and easy connections to downtown Seattle and a low-cost way to get around. This is just the latest in environmentally friendly transportation that will help ensure our region’s long-term economic growth.”

Sound Transit and the Port of Seattle collaborated on the Airport Link project which included the new light rail station, pedestrian bridges connecting the station to the airport parking garage and a pick-up and drop-off area to the east serving the city of SeaTac. The Port also relocated and upgraded the Airport Expressway and the Return-to-Terminal roadway loop.

“With more than 30 million passengers through Sea-Tac every year, and 15,000 airport employees, we anticipate light rail will be a welcome “green” alternative for travel to and from the airport,” said Port of Seattle Commissioner John Creighton. “Using light rail will reduce air emissions and traffic congestion. It’s good for the airport and it’s good for our region.”

The next light rail extension is scheduled to open in 2016 with service from downtown Seattle to Capitol Hill and the University of Washington. Construction is underway on that segment while Sound Transit plans for 36 more miles of light rail extensions to Lynnwood, Bellevue, Redmond, Mercer Island and Federal Way by 2023.

Link’s normal Saturday schedule will be from 5 a.m. – 1 a.m. with regular fares required. On weekdays, the first train from the airport to downtown will depart at 5:16 a.m. and the last one to downtown will leave at 12:07 a.m. The last train to Mt. Baker Station in the Rainier Valley departs at 12:46 a.m.

More detailed schedule and fare information is here: http://www.soundtransit.org/x11204.xml.

PREVIOUS COVERAGE:

• PHOTOS: Scenes From Sound Transit’s Airport Station Sneak Peek Ride
• Sound Transit’s New Airport Station To Open Dec. 19th
• I Rode Link Light Rail & Lived To Write About It. Have You?
• Ride Sound Transit’s New Link Light Rail All Weekend For FREE
• First It Was The Third Runway – Now Sound Transit’s Light Link Rail Is Too Loud? Take Our Poll…
• Sound Transit Begins Intensive Testing Of Light Rail
• Tukwila Link Light Rail Station To Open July 18th
• It’s Going To Cost $2.50 To Take Link Rail Downtown

Thursday morning (Dec. 17th), Sound Transit held a “sneak peek” ride for the press on the section of the Link Light Rail between the Tukwila and Sea-Tac Airport stations (which opens this Saturday), and Photographer Michael Brunk was able to stowaway on board, where he took these pics:

Click to View Michael Brunk’s Photo Slideshow

From Sound Transit’s website:

The extension of the popular light rail service means holiday travelers will have a reliable, one-seat ride between downtown Seattle, the city of SeaTac and the airport, taking only 36 minutes. This new station provides a smooth, green travel option for the 20,000 people who work at the airport and the 30 million who travel in and out of it every year.

The SeaTac/Airport Station is connected to the fourth floor of the airport’s main parking garage. A covered, level walkway separated from the main parking area will lead passengers to the main terminal. Station amenities include boarding pass kiosks, and in the near future, a flight time information display.

The first 13.9 miles of Link opened in July with service between downtown Seattle and Tukwila. Link service runs from 5 a.m. to 1 a.m. Monday through Saturday and from 6 a.m. to midnight on Sundays.

SeaTac/ Airport Station opens just in time for the holidays: Sound Transit is the official transportation sponsor for The Radio City Christmas Spectacular, starring the Rockettes.

For Central Link light rail service info, visit http://www.soundtransit.org/linkschedule

Artworks at the station
The new Sea-Tac Airport Station features four art installations. “Flying Sails,” by artist Werner Klotz, spans the mezzanine and platform levels of the station. The plates feature the names of First Nation tribes from Washington state and cities from around the world that share the latitude or longitude of Seattle.

Other works include Fernanda D’Agostino’s “Celestial Navigation” at the International Blvd. plaza; Christian Moeller’s “Restless” along the International Blvd. pedestrian bridge; and an exhibit on Northwest tribal culture on the mezzanine’s north end. The interpretive exhibit by Pacific Studios showcases a cast concrete canoe, and a display explaining the history of the Native American presence in the Puget Sound region.

The Port of Seattle alerts us that the north entrance to the Sea-Tac Airport Garage will close overnight for four nights beginning tonight (Monday, Dec. 14) and continuing through Thursday, Dec. 17th.

It will close at approximately 7pm each evening and will reopen each morning at approximately 5am.

The reason for the closure is that contractors will be removing the scaffolding below the pedestrian bridge between the Sound Transit Link Light Station and the Airport Parking Garage.

Link light service to Sea-Tac begins this coming Saturday, Dec. 19th.

During the north entrance closure, vehicles will be detoured via the upper drive (Departures level) to the south entrance of the garage. Rental car returns will be detoured to a temporary access road. Traffic exiting the garage will not be affected. Drivers should watch closely for the temporary directional signs.

The cityfolk tell us that construction on the westbound lanes of SW 148th Street between 1st Ave South and 2nd Ave SW will begin Monday, Nov. 30th, and will require three days of “dry weather” to complete.

Work is scheduled to take place between the hours of 8am and 5pm, so you might want to consider taking alternate routes.

According to a news release:

The City will be grinding and paving westbound lanes of SW 148th Street from 1st Avenue South to 2nd Ave Southwest beginning the week of Nov. 30.

This work should take three days of dry weather and it will affect several travel lanes.

Work will take place 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Motorists are advised to take different routes during construction time to avoid delays.

For information on this project, please contact Sam Basmeh at 206-439-3163.

[Photo credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/teo/ / CC BY-SA 2.0]

Friday morning (Nov. 13th), Sound Transit announced that its brand new Link Light Rail train station at Sea-Tac Airport will open at 10am Saturday, Dec. 19th.

This new station will expand the system from the current end-of-line Tukwila stop that opened in July, and will provide travelers the ability to travel from downtown Seattle (or other locations along the line) directly to the airport.

Prior to its Dec. 19th opening, in order to get to the airport, riders must board a Metro bus in Tukwila. Now they can just ride along to the final stop.

“With the opening of the airport line in December, Sound Transit is giving a gift to holiday travelers by providing a fast and easy connection to downtown Seattle,” Senator Patty Murray said at Friday’s ceremony.  “We made history in July by opening the doors of light rail to the public and since that time our region has enjoyed a new convenient, environmentally-friendly, and low-cost way to get around.  This new line will continue to seamlessly connect our region’s transportation system like never before.”

The new station is located near the main airport parking garage, by the intersection of So. 176th Street and International Blvd., and includes a skybridge that will connect pedestrians to the airport ticketing concourse.

By 2020, Sound Transit is projecting that approximately 3,000 riders are expected to board trains daily at the Airport Station every day.

The next big phase of this project will be a $1.9 billion tunnel that will reach the University of Washington by 2016. Voters have also approved spending $18 billion more to extend lines stops in Federal Way, Lynnwood and Redmond.

According to spokesman Bruce Gray, train testing will begin Monday, No.v 16th between the Rainier Beach Station and the new airport stop.

Adult fare to downtown Seattle is $2.75, one way.

So far, ridership on the recently opened Seattle-Tukwila line has averaged around 16,100 per weekday in October, showing growth but still 10,000 short of the number projected for late 2010.

(fortunately, we’re not talking about moldy ones…)

The Port of Seattle Tuesday announced that Sea-Tac Airport won first place for the Best “Green” Concessions Practice award among airports in North America.

The “green” in the award is referring of course the ecological elements that the food vendors at the airport use.

The honor was announced during the 2009 Airports Council International – North America Concessions Conference in Indianapolis, at which roughly 200 representatives of North American airport concessions industry were in attendance.

Sea-Tac was also awarded second place for Best Convenience Retail Program.

“We are thrilled to be recognized by our airport peers for our integrated recycling, composting and food bank program,” said Mark Reis, the airport’s Managing Director. “The airport concessionaires and staff have worked tirelessly to divert recyclable and compostable materials from landfills and thereby reducing waste, feeding the needy and helping lead our region and the airport industry to a sustainable future.”

According to a Port press release, during 2008, airport concessionaires recycled more than 1,200 tons of material – an amount equivalent to the weight of six Boeing 747 aircraft.  During the same period, they avoided disposal costs and generated revenue through rebates on recyclables which totaled $160,000. Sea-Tac concessionaires made waste reduction and recycling a priority by recycling cardboard, used cooking oil, food waste and coffee grounds. Since 2001, Sea-Tac concessionaires diverted thousands of tons of recyclable material from landfills through recycling, composting, and food bank donation programs. Concessionaires donated food that served 8,000 meals to needy families in 2008.

Sea-Tac’s recycling programs are even estimated to have prevented the release of Greenhouse Gas emissions equivalent to removing 819 passenger cars from the road annually; conserved an amount of energy equivalent to the annual energy consumption of 83 households (USEPA Waste Reduction Model), and saved 3,700 cubic yards of landfill space.

The purpose of the Airport Concessions Contest is to inspire creativity in the industry and to recognize innovative and outstanding airport concessions. These awards help to demonstrate the growing importance of concessions to the total airport experience. This year’s contest received more than 160 nominations from airports of all sizes throughout the U.S. and Canada.

Here are the results of the categories involving Sea-Tac Airport:

• Best “Green” Concession Practice or Concept 
1st Place: Seattle-Tacoma International Airport 
2nd Place: C-Pier Expansion, Vancouver International Airport
3rd Place: Concourse D, Portland International Airport
Honorable Mention: Enroute Spa, Indianapolis International Airport
• Best Convenience Retail Program - Large Airport 
1st Place: Atrium, Hartsfield Jackson Atlanta International Airport
2nd Place: Seattle Tacoma International Airport

Entries for this year’s contest were judged by an independent panel comprised of high-level professionals with no vested interest in concession operations, or the outcome of any one airport. In addition to the independent panel, one representative from the previous year’s overall winner was also involved in the judging process.

Previously, Sea-Tac Airport won the Richard A. Griesbach Award of Excellence in 2007 recognizing the Best Food and Beverage Program in North America. That year, three additional awards were won by Sea-Tac and its merchants: 1st place, Best Specialty Retail Program, 2nd place, Best New Food and Beverage Concept [Waji’s], and 2nd place, Best New Consumer Services Concept [butter LONDON].

by Ralph Nichols

Burien long has wanted an interchange connecting State Route 518 with Des Moines Memorial Drive to improve access to businesses that, city officials hope, will move into the Northeast Redevelopment Area (NERA).

Now an interchange from SR 509 to NERA, located under flight paths from Sea-Tac International Airport north to S. 138th St., is also under consideration.

Burien City Manager Mike Martin said recently that any interchange on SR 509 would provide access to the Northeast Redevelopment Area.

“No one has agreed to a 509 interchange,” Martin stressed. “This is just a concept. There are only draft plans (at the city) now.” And it’s not on any to-do list at the Washington State Department of Transportation or the Puget Sound Regional Council.

Both the Port of Seattle, which owns much of the property in the area, and the city anticipate business and commercial development here within a few years. Business parks, technology and light industry, and auto sales – perhaps an auto mall, to which dealers now on 1st Ave. S. would relocate, all could play a role in the economic development of the NERA.

“This property has been blighted by the second runway and now the third runway,” Martin said. “What we are doing (by planning for a new interchange) is trying to make NERA more accessible so we can put this property back into use.”

He added that the area “is large enough to accommodate small box stores and retailers of construction materials.” But the market will determine what kind of businesses locate here. In the meantime, “we need to prepare the area to be ready for certain types of activities.”

The cost of a new interchange, including planning, design and construction, has yet to be determined, Martin said. Most of the financing probably would come from federal and state funds.

So far, he’s talked with local state legislators, “who have received the idea very warmly.”

by Scott Schaefer

Burien’s four red light cameras have been up and running for about four months, and according to the city’s Oct. 22nd e-newsletter, they are averaging “around 540 infractions per month.”

This puts the program on track to gross over $654,000 in its first year of operation.

As we’ve previously reported, the city initially projected that the first year would bring in around $200,000, with $250,000 for the second year and subsequent totals dropping after 2011 as drivers became more aware of them.

So we did some simple math, and discovered some rather surprising totals:

• Each red light ticket = $101 fine
• 540 tickets per month x 101 = $54,540 per month
• 12 x $54,540 = $654,480 annual gross revenue
• The monthly fee to camera provider RedFlex Systems appears to cap out at $6,870 ($82,440 annually)
• If the 540 per month average continues, the city will take in over $572,000 in revenue during the first year of this program ($654,480 – $82,440 = $572,040)
• That total is nearly three times the initial projected first-year total of $200,000

The camera earning the most money currently is the westbound one at SW 148th Street and First Ave South (Go 148th!), which is generating about 35% of the total infractions, or 189 per month (just over 6 per day), which equals a monthly sum of $19,089 – or more than $229,000 annually, which on its own surpasses the original $200k projection.

These four revenue-generating red-light cameras are located at three intersections, so next time you pass one, listen for the familiar “ka-ching” cash register sound:

• SW 148th & First Ave South – westbound and eastbound
• SW 152nd & First Ave South – westbound
• SW 160th & First Ave South – eastbound

It’s not quite as controversial as drive-thru “sexpresso” stands with bikin-clad baristas, but members of Group Health can now get flu shots in their vehicles as their Burien Medical Center is providing drive-thru flu shots!

The Burien Group Health Center is located at 140 SW 146th Street, just north of the Safeway shopping complex.

Please note that these shots are just for seasonal influenza, not H1N1. While the drive-thru clinic is meant for G.H. members, they will not turn residents away; however, there is a fee for non-members.

Here’s the schedule for the remaining drive-thru shots:

• Monday, Oct. 26
• Tuesday, Oct. 27
• Saturday, Nov. 7
• Wednesday, Nov. 11
• Saturday, Nov. 14

For more information, visit their website here, or call 206-901-2400.

by Ralph Nichols

June’s grand opening of the new Burien transit center at SW 148th Street and 2nd Ave. South did not mark the end of transit development in the city’s downtown business district – just the end of the beginning.

Now work on a long-planned two-phase Transit Oriented Development project in Burien is about ready to begin. Phase One will be construction of a 503-stall parking garage on Metro’s existing 4.3-acre Park and Ride lot at the northeast corner of SW 150th St. and 4th Ave. SW.

King County “Transit Oriented Development” (TOD) projects incorporate multi-family housing and retail and office space together with parking for commuters who ride buses, usually in a single complex, as part of or adjacent to Metro transit centers.

Burien Economic Development Manager Dick Loman says groundbreaking for the parking garage will take place by January, if not sooner, with completion anticipated by the end of 2010. He notes that the King County project “is on King County land, with major funding coming from Sound Transit and King County Metro.”

Funding sources will include about $14 million from Sound Transit’s Proposition 1 ballot initiative, which voters approved in November 2008, and another $5.3 million from federal stimulus grants, along with an additional equity investment from Wasatch/Alliance, the joint venture that will develop this project.

“We want Phase Two to follow immediately,” Loman says. “We want to start work on Phase Two financing as soon as Phase One is underway.” Funding for Phase Two, which is estimated at $60 million, will come from a combination of federal, state, Metro and Burien sources.

Plans for Phase Two of Burien’s TOD include more than 100 affordable housing units, primarily for seniors and teachers in the Highline School District, and retail space. Loman says the housing and retail will wrap around the parking garage.

According to the King County Sheriff’s Department, a fiery car crash early Wednesday morning (Sept. 23rd) claimed the lives of three people in SeaTac when the car they were in ran off the road, slammed into a building and burst into flames.

The deadly accident occurred around 3:30am, along 8th Ave South by South 192nd Street near Sea-Tac Airport (see map below), according to Sgt. John Urquhart. The three victims were the only occupants in the car, and likely won’t be identified for another day or two.

According to Urquhart, speed was a factor in the fatal crash.

The car was apparently driving south at high speeds on 8th Ave South near South 192nd when it crossed the center line, hit a support cable next to a utility pole, careened through some brush, struck a tree and then a building, where it caught fire and burned, killing the occupants inside, Urquhart said.

Urquhart added that there was no evidence yet that the crash was the result of street racing, which has been a problem in the area recently.

Here’s a photo taken by Janet Grella Wednesday afternoon of flowers placed where the accident occurred:

View Larger Map

Your help is needed to help bicycles and pedestrians in Burien – Sustainable Burien is teaming up with the Cascade Bicycle Club and the City of Burien to count the number of people who walk or bike to their destinations.

In a partnership with the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) and the Cascade Bicycle Club, volunteers will count people bicycling and walking on paths, bike lanes, sidewalks, and roads. We’ve targeted key locations around Burien.

Volunteer shifts available are:

• Tuesday, Sept. 29th
• Wednesday, Sept. 30th
• Thursday, Oct. 1st

There are two shifts available:

• 7am to 9am
• 4pm to 6pm

WSDOT will use this count information to track progress toward the state’s goal of increasing bicycling and walking in Washington and reducing the number of vehicle miles driven.

Transportation Secretary Paula Hammond puts it simply:

“When people have safe and convenient places to walk and bicycle, they are more likely to leave their car at home. This count helps us to measure the demand for and benefits of existing paths and trails, and to identify new needs.”

To volunteer, contact the Cascade Bicycle Club at organizer@cascadebicycleclub.org or call 206-957-0689.

To contact or learn more about Sustainable Burien, visit http://sustainableburien.org.

We got an email tip from BTB Reader Jennifer about a Job Ad posted Monday (Aug. 31st) on Craigslist that implies that the closed/empty Burien Nissan may be re-opening in mid-September under new management from CarPros, which appears to own several dealerships in Tacoma, Seattle and Carson, CA.

Here’s the Ad:

Re-Opening Auburn & Burien Nissan (Auburn & Burien)

---

Date: 2009-08-31, 3:07PM PDT
Reply to: jobs@carpros.com

---

Automotive Parts or Service experience? Opportunity knocks!!!Nissan Dealerships are gearing up for mid September opening, we are seeking qualified applicants for all Dealership positions.

Bring your Parts or Service experience and join an award winning Puget Sound Automotive Dealer Group.
We set the standard for professionally managed Parts & Service, our environment encourages personal and professional growth and includes rewarding pay plans with superior benefits.

E mail jobs@carpros.com
Fax (563) 405-8144, experienced professionals feel free to direct dial Bradley Wolf @ (253) 222-4836

Applicants must be 18 years of age, possess a valid drivers license and be drug free. Car Pros is an Equal Opportunity Employer

Burien Nissan (their former website is still down and no new one could be found), located in a shiny lot at 16042 First Ave South, closed for business in May under ownership of the Rainier Automotive Group, which lost “flooring” (aka financing) and had their entire inventory reclaimed by Nissan in a 24-hour period in March.

Since then, the lot has stood empty, like a recently-remodeled $5 million, modern ghost town car lot in Burien.

We’re investigating this developing story further, and will have more in-depth coverage soon, so be sure to check back often, or subscribe to our free RSS Feed or receive updates via email.

PREVIOUS COVERAGE:

• BREAKING NEWS: Burien Nissan Is Now Officially Closed
• Burien Nissan Expecting New Financing In “A Few Weeks”
• UPDATE: More Information On Burien Nissan’s Inventory
• Burien Nissan Loses Entire Stock, Now An Empty Lot

GOOD NEWS: Brown Bear Car Wash is celebrating its 52nd anniversary with FREE car washes this Thursday (Aug. 27th).

BAD NEWS: You’re going to have to drive to either Renton, Kent, Auburn or Federal Way to get one.

Note that not every Brown Bear location is feeling generous – here are the only ones participating in South King County:

• 800 S Grady Way, Renton
• 1202 W Meeker St., Kent
• 621 Rainier Ave. S, Renton
• 77 Rainier Ave. S, Renton
• 814 Auburn Way S, Auburn
• 34017 Hoyt Rd. SW, Federal Way

For other locations, see www.brownbear.com.

Here’s some promo copy from their press release:

Over the last four years, the Seattle-based company has washed a total of 53,623 cars for free on their annual free car wash day held each August.

As a way to say “thank you” to area residents for over 52 years of patronage, Brown Bear will be offering free “Bear Essential” car washes to the public Thursday, August 27, from 8am to 8pm at all of the company’s automated “tunnel wash” locations in the Puget Sound area:

“We are extremely grateful to the people of Puget Sound for their decades of patronage. Our annual free car wash day is one way we can show our appreciation,” said Brown Bear founder and owner Vic Odermat. “Weather cooperating, we anticipate this year’s event to be our best ever. As in years past, our employees and car washes will be ready to efficiently meet the demand.”

Odermat started Brown Bear started in Seattle in 1957 with one location at 15th Ave West in Seattle. Brown Bear now owns and operates car washes throughout the Puget Sound area and Spokane. The family-owned company, through its parent company, Car Wash Enterprises, Inc. owns and operates a total of 40 car wash facilities in Washington State as well as a large network of gas stations and convenience stores. It is one of the largest privately held car wash chains in the U.S. and is widely recognized within the industry as being a leader in the environmental movement.

PARK(ing) Day 2009 is coming Friday, Sept. 18th, and people all across the world (and perhaps Burien?) will take to the streets to turn car spaces into people spaces, with a deadline for application of Thursday, Aug. 20th – so you’d better hurry the heck up!

The idea of the PARK(ing) Day is to “hire” a parking space, but then turn it into a mini Park rather than using it to park your car.

EDITOR’S NOTE: We know of a certain “Municipal Lot” that doesn’t seem to have many cars parked. Or you can always take over a spot on SW 152nd, First Ave South, Ambaum…you name it! Let’s see whatcha got Burien – be sure to email us if you’re going to do this so we can show up and take pics!

Putting together a parking space takes a little bit of planning, however it’s an easy and simple process and Feet First, Trust for Public Lands, and Seattle Parks Foundation will help you through it. The permit process has started but you can still get in thusly:

Email Elaine@feetfirst.info ASAP and remember, the deadline for application for a park on the street (filled out forms, plans and all) is Thursday, August 20th!

You can find lots more information and photos on http://my.parkingday.org. Here’s info from that website:

PARK(ing) Day is an open source invention, which means anyone can participate without official “permission,” as long as you observe the license (PDF).

That said, PARK(ing) Day has become a worldwide event, and this network allows participants, media and interested parties to connect and promote their PARK(ing) installations. We recommend that you “register” your PARK by:

1. Creating a group for your city or particular PARK location, or joining one if it exists already.
2. Adding your PARK to the 2009 Map. At least add your city, but we recommend adding the exact coordinates of your park once you’ve decided, since lots of people will taking PARK(ing) tours of their city on PARK(ing) Day.
3. Inviting other people to your group, including local merchants and materials donors.
4. Downloading the Media Kit (coming soon) and letting your local media know about your PARK. No need to contact Rebar – you’re the best spokesman for your big idea!

Here are some videos showing previous PARK(ing) Days to give you an idea of what this is all about:

Parking Day SE Seattle:

“Students from the New School perform at the ‘Distraction Preserve’ park on Rainier Avenue S. This park was organized by SEEDArts (www.seedseattle.org/seedarts/ ) with volunteers from the community!”

Parking Day San Francisco:

“The trailer for REBAR’s PARK(ing) Day 2006 – a worldwide reclamation of metered parking spaces as public parks! 47 PARKs in 13 cities.”

Parking Day NYC:

“Parking Day NYC 2007. Watch as over 30 parking spots all over NYC are liberated from the automobile and reclaimed as space for people.”

If you live in or near Three Tree Point and travel Burien’s scenic, winding road known as Maplewild Ave SW, you’ve probably seen the signs signifying that the road will be closed from 8am to 8pm on Tuesday, Aug. 18th.

Originally, the signs were placed near the top of Maplewild on the north, and on Sylvester/Marine View Drive on the south. They were then moved when residents inquired about the closure and found out the reason (according to the cityfolk):

There is a power pole located on SW 172nd (Three Tree Point) that is going to be replaced.

The power company, in an effort to warn the locals well in advance, has placed signs up on Maplewild and Sylvester that make it seem as though all these roads will be closed rather than just at the Three Tree Point area.

So fear not ye Maplewildians, you’ll probably be able to leave your homes.

However, be ready for delays due to the heavy machinery that will be used to place the new telephone pole, and be happy that this election day is a mail-in ballot.

Story by Ralph Nichols
Photos & Video by Oran Viriyincy

With Sound Transit’s Link light rail trains running at last between Tukwila and downtown Seattle, it was time to experience this new commuter option. So with my girlfriend, I boarded a train for a round trip from the South 154th Street station late on a busy Seafair Saturday afternoon.

With lots happening downtown, we weren’t surprised to find the station’s main parking lot full. (Tukwila has Link’s only free park-and-ride lot, like those at several Metro bus stops around King County, although there is private paid parking near the Beacon Hill station.) But there were a number of empty spaces at the overflow parking lot across the street.

Five minutes after parking, we bought our tickets – $5 per person for the round trip – and one minute later boarded a train that had just come in. With trains running from Tukwila every 10 minutes at that hour, this gave us 9 minutes to look around on the inside before our journey north.

Each $4 million electric-powered car, with electricity from overhead wires, is 95 feet long – three times longer than one of Metro’s articulated buses. Each car can seat 74 passengers and accommodate a total of 200 riders with standing room only, and each train consists of two cars. The trains travel at a maximum speed of 55 mph on the elevated track near Tukwila and at 35 mph on the ground.

The train doors closed – rather quickly it seemed – at 5:50 p.m. Soon it pulled out of the station, right on time. Less than half a mile down the track, we agreed the ride was not as smooth as expected; still, the vibration isn’t bad at all. And the train moves along at a steady clip without delays for vehicles when streets intersect with the tracks.

Station stops took far less time than I expected. Passengers got on and off with ease and without delay, and we moved right along. Here is how our station stops went:

5:59 p.m. – Arrived at the Rainier Beach station.

6:00 – Depart.

6:02 – Othello station.

6:03 – Depart.

6:06 – Columbia City station.

6:07 – Depart.

6.10 – Mount Baker station.

6:10 – Depart … and head into the tunnel under Beacon Hill.

6:12 – Beacon Hill (tunnel) station.

6:13 – Depart … and back into daylight.

6:15 – SODO station.

6:15 – Depart.

6:17 – Stadium station.

6:18 – Depart … and enter the downtown bus tunnel.

6:20 – International District/Chinatown station.

6:21 – Depart.

6:23 – Pioneer Square station.

6:23 – Depart.

6:24 – University Street station.

6:25 – Depart.

6:26 – Westlake station, the end of the line.

Twenty-six minutes from Tukwila to midtown Seattle via the Rainier Valley. Not bad.

When we left Tukwila, there were about 12 riders in our car including us. Picking up more riders at most stations along the route (none at a couple), usually ranging from an additional 6 to 12 at each stop, our car was almost full of seated riders by the time we reached Westlake. No one had to stand. As we stepped off the train, it looked like its other car had carried about the same number.

Getting from the train to street level – at Pine Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenues just below Nordstrom – is easy, as is returning to the train, which we did about an hour later. On the return trip, which took the same time, only 16 people were riding in both cars and only 8 beyond the Mount Baker station. It is logical to assume, given the number of cars still in the parking lot when we got back to Tukwila, that southbound ridership was much higher after events wrapped up downtown and people headed home.

Above ground, the view from a train car ranges from interesting, even scenic, along the elevated track north of the Tukwila station to very drab through part of Rainier Valley not far up the line.

A trip on Link light rail is comparable to a ride on Portland’s MAX, although a good stretch of that line parallels Interstate 84 – the major highway into that city – rather than winding through nearby neighborhoods along the way.

Sound Transit has reported that Link light rail carried an average of 12,000 riders per weekday in its first five days of regular paid service, and 16,900 riders on July 25 and 15,100 on July 26 during the first big Seafair weekend, when both the Mariners and Sounders also were in town.

With service on to Sea-Tac International Airport scheduled to begin in December, Sound Transit projects 26,600 one-way trips daily (13,300 round trips) along its 16-mile light-rail route by the end of 2010. The current trip from Tukwila to Seattle is 14 miles.

A footnote about our trip: While the actual travel time from Tukwila to Westlake was a reasonable 26 minutes, it took another 9 minutes to drive from my home and park, then another 14 minutes to get into the station, buy tickets, board a train and wait for it to depart. Riders who take light rail from other stations must walk, ride a bicycle or take a bus to get there since they have no park and ride lots.

Convenience, including time and destination, may be the determining factor for riding light rail for many commuters. I might take light rail from Tukwila to a Mariners game or dinner in the International District, but would not do so from, say, Columbia City due to lack of parking. At the same time, I probably would drive to SODO to shop or the Othello community to go to the park.

Regardless, once you’re moving on a light rail train, it’s a comfortable trip in good time to your stop. Still, at $2.3 billion for this line, it’s one expensive commute for the convenience it affords.

If you haven’t yet ridden Link light rail, here’s a video by Oran Viriyincy:

This section, approaching Tukwila Intl. Blvd., has the steepest grade in the system. You can hear the motors as the train climbs.

So…have YOU ridden Link light rail yet? Please take our poll or Comment below…

New B-Town Blog Advertiser Aurora Suzuki in Seattle is having a customer appreciation Open House this Saturday, July 18th, all day starting at 9am.

For those of you who aren’t aware, Aurora Suzuki has been family owned and operated for 45 years! The owner, Randy McAllister, started working in the business by assembling motorcycles for his dad when he was just eleven years old. After finishing school, Randy began working full-time at the store in 1975, and was in charge of the business two years later. To this day, Aurora Suzuki has always been in the Top 30 Suzuki dealerships in the country. However, in 1998, 1999 and 2000 our very own Aurora Suzuki was voted the #1!

Randy and his staff at Aurora Suzuki are heavily involved with local community events around the Seattle area, including a charity ride every September. Randy had two brothers that passed away due to cystic fibrosis, so all proceeds from this dual-sport ride go to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. In addition to the motorcycle events that Randy participates in around the area, he’s also in a band called “The Flashbacks,” and they just happen to be playing at the Open House on Saturday!

Randy has a firm belief that, especially in a tough economy, people still need to have fun. Having fun is the primary rule when you arrive at the Open House. First of all, everything on the floor will be on sale. In addition, there will be a barbecue going all day, free giveaways, live music, and even a horse power contest, where a dynamometer is brought in! Bike owners interested in how much “juice” their toy has can hook up to this and really impress their friends! Better yet, there will be prizes for bike owners with the most horsepower.

On a personal note, I purchased a 2009 Suzuki V-Strom 650 ABS from Aurora Suzuki a few months ago. I had called and emailed other Suzuki dealers in the area, but was impressed with how friendly and knowledgeable the staff was at Aurora Suzuki and how easy it was to work with them. Each staff member truly enjoys what they do, and it shows in how they interact with each other as well as with the people that walk through the door. You do have a choice in Suzuki dealerships, and believe me, there IS a difference. With 45 years of successful family business under their belt, they’ve survived many ups and downs of the economy. They must be doing something right!

Mention that you saw this ad in The B-Town Blog and Randy will give you a free gift!

Aurora Suzuki
7409 Aurora Ave. N
Seattle, WA 98103
(206) 783-2323

Website:

• www.aurora-suzuki.com

Hours:

• Tuesday-Friday, 9 a.m. – 7 p.m.
• Closed Sunday and Monday

[Would you like to have a "Blogvertorial" story and Ad like this for your Business on a popular website seen by 20,000+ interested Local Readers every month? Email us for more info, or check out our Advertise page!]

Sound Transit’s Link Light Rail opens for passenger service between Tukwila and downtown Seattle this Saturday, July 18th, with FREE rides all weekend before moving to regular paid service on Monday.

Here’s what riders can expect during opening weekend:

• Sat. 7/18 at 8:20am: Inaugural ribbon cutting at Mt. Baker Station. Immediately prior to the ceremony, news media will join the mayors of Seattle and Tukwila on the station platform as their trains arrive carrying representatives from their respective cities.
• After the ceremony: ticket-holders for the two inaugural trains (one northbound and one southbound) will move to the platform and board the trains. The majority of inaugural ride ticket holders are members of the public who received tickets through radio giveaways and other promotions.

SCHEDULES & SERVICES:

• The free opening weekend light rail service will operate with special hours:
  • Saturday – 10 a.m. – 8 p.m.
  • Sunday – 10 a.m. – 6 p.m.
• Trains will depart each station about every 7-1/2 minutes throughout the day. Sound Transit has made provisions for a high volume of riders on the opening weekend; lines are expected. The number of riders picked up at each station will be limited to a predetermined number to preserve capacity for passengers to board at other stations. Each launch weekend train will carry about 350 riders, including standees.
• All riders must deboard upon reaching one of the line’s termini (Westlake for northbound trains and Tukwila for southbound trains). Upon reaching a terminus, riders can wait in line again to return via light rail, or choose the potentially quicker option of bypassing the light rail line and returning via free shuttle buses. Special shuttle buses will run along the route opening weekend and stop at every station. All rides are ADA accessible.

WHAT SERVICES WILL BE AT STATIONS:

• Each station will feature a welcome portal staffed by Sound Transit to provide information about wait times and answer questions about opening weekend and regular service.
• Portable restrooms will be provided at each station, along with family-friendly acoustic entertainment at all stations. Food and beverages will be available for purchase from nearby local restaurants and stores. There will be a food vendor at Tukwila International Boulevard Station.

PLEASE NOTE: Free connector buses from Tukwila to Sea-Tac International Airport will be available from July 20 through the opening of direct light rail service to the airport in December 2009. However, the connector buses will not be in service on the opening weekend.

EXPECT CROWDS

• While Sound Transit is not making a specific prediction for the number of riders on the opening weekend, provisions are in place to manage a significant turnout. In addition to the start of Link service on July 18, about 60,000 fans expected to attend a noon Sounders FC soccer match at Qwest Field. The Bite of Seattle at the Seattle Center will also draw about 450,000 people over the weekend.

GETTING TO STATIONS:

• There is no parking at Link stations in Seattle, and parking at Tukwila will be extremely limited. Riders are encouraged to bus, walk or ride their bicycle to a station. Bicyclists are encouraged to leave their bikes at special staffed “bike corrals” that will be available on opening weekend. For a list of transit centers and bus routes that can connect you with downtown Seattle on July 18 and 19, visit http://www.soundtransit.org/Projects-and-Plans/Project-Updates/Traveling-Downtown-July18-19.xml. For more information about all Sound Transit services and help planning your entire trip, visit www.soundtransit.org.

MORE INFORMATION

• For detailed maps and much more information on opening weekend and regular service see: www.soundtransit.org/linklaunch.

SOUND TWEETSIT:

• For up-to-the-second information during opening weekend events follow Sound Transit on Twitter at @ST_TravelLight (link here). We’ll tweet all day about which stations have the shortest lines, what’s happening at the stations and behind-the-scenes updates.
• Twitter updates will also be posted at www.soundtransit.org/linklaunch.

A “Transportation Benefit District” (TBD) is being proposed by the City of Burien, which will be holding a public meeting on Monday, July 20th at 7pm on the first floor of Burien City Hall.

Cityfolk are proposing that the new TBD focuses on funding transportation improvements within the city, like new sidewalks and bike paths. If approved, it would authorize an independent city-wide taxing area to pay for certain sidewalk and road improvements.

According to the city’s website:

What does a Transportation Benefit District do?
According to the Burien Community Survey conducted in 2008, the majority of respondents felt there is a need for more sidewalks and bike paths in their neighborhood.

As of last year, the State of Washington allows cities to designate a Transportation Benefit District (or “TBD”) to fund transportation improvements within a city.

In 2004 the City of Burien adopted a Burien Pedestrian and Bicycle Facilities Plan. This plan was a result of a community planning process that included input and ideas from over 400 participants. Over twenty high-priority pedestrian and bicycle facility projects were identified. Several of those projects have already been completed, however, funding to do more is lacking.

With many pulls on the city budget and future funding uncertain, the City of Burien is placing a “Transportation Benefit District” measure on the general election ballot this November that would fund two high-priority projects from the Burien Pedestrian and Bicycle Facilities Plan. The City Council selected these two projects in order to serve areas of the city that have not benefited from recent improvement projects.  The funding would be generated through a $25 annual vehicle license fee that would be in effect for two years.

PROJECT SPECIFICS:

8th Avenue South (S. 128th Street to S. 136th Street)

• Construct a minimum 8-foot wide multi-purpose facility* on one side of 8th Avenue South
• Provides safer connection to Cedarhurst Elementary School
• Connects to east-west facility on South 136th Street
• Connect with future facilities for the Northeast Redevelopment Area.

*Multi-purpose facility: A concrete paved path intended for use by cyclists as well as pedestrians.

SW and S. 136th Street (from Ambaum Boulevard to 1st Ave South and 1st Ave South to Des Moines Memorial Drive)

• Bicycle lane on both sides
• Repair inadequate and non-ADA portions of existing sidewalk
• Connects major community facilities, including Seahurst Park, Chelsea Park, North SeaTac Park, Senior Center facility and soccer field
• Connects with existing facility on 4th Avenue SW
• Connects east through SeaTac to Green River Trail and light rail station
• Connects east to North SeaTac Park Community Center, Central Washington University Branch Campus, and Tukwila schools.
• Connects to planned facilities on 8th Avenue South and Des Moines Memorial Drive South

How will the City keep the community up to date on progress?
By law, Transportation Benefit Districts are required to provide annual reports to the community. These annual reports would show:

• Project status
• Expenditures and revenues
• Construction schedules

If a TBD is in place, the City must also hold a public hearing to resolve any transportation cost issues, in the event costs exceed the original project estimate by more than 20 percent.

So…what do YOU think of the idea of a TBD? Please Comment or Vote below in our poll:

Thursday, June 18th is National “Dump The Pump” day, an annual event sponsored by the American Public Transportation Association to raise awareness of the benefits of public transit.

Everyone is concerned about saving money and cutting down on expenses these days. And as local gas prices again begin to creep up to $3 a gallon, one of the easiest ways to keep more money in your wallet is to park your car at home and hop on public transportation.

Once again this year, the region’s transportation agencies are urging residents to ride a bus, train, boat, bike, take a walk, or share the ride this Thursday.

National Dump the Pump Day encourages people to ride public transportation to save money, protect the environment, reduce dependence on foreign oil, and improve our quality of life. APTA’s monthly Transit Savings Report consistently ranks the Seattle metropolitan area as one of the top ten regions for potential transit savings.

Community Transit, Everett Transit, Intercity Transit, King County Metro Transit, Kitsap Transit, Pierce Transit, Sound Transit and the WSDOT Ferries Division (Washington State Ferries) are joining agencies across the country to ask those who’ve never tried public transportation to get on board with saving and take a new ride on Thursday. Regular transit users are encouraged to make it a “zero drive” day, and only use transit.

“Puget Sound residents have so many great alternatives to driving—buses, streetcars, vanpools, trains, the iconic ferries, and in less than a month we’ll be adding 16 miles of light rail to that long list,” said Sound Transit CEO Joni Earl.

The agencies in the Puget Sound region share a common goal of offering safe, reliable, and low-cost transportation choices. Yet, each offers a unique array services that interconnect with other agencies to create a very useable transportation network for the region.

Some are hosting special activities for Dump the Pump Day, and others are featuring regular services that can help you save money every day.

King County Metro Transit:
Dump the Pump Day also coincides with the start of summer, and King County Metro Transit wants people who are “staycationing” close to home this year to see how much farther their vacation/holiday dollars stretch when they travel by bus.

In addition to bus routes serving the big-city attractions in Seattle and Bellevue, Metro also has regular service to parks, beaches, malls, movie theaters, ball parks, and hiking trails. There are discounted fares for children and families to help make summertime fun more affordable.

Sound Transit:
Sound Transit, the regional provider of commuter rail and express bus service, has been calculating savings to help its customers “ride out the recession.” Riders have responded by sending in their personal savings stories. Here’s one:

“I live in Queen Anne and work for a non-profit in Redmond, about a 40 mile commute round trip each day. Last year, my employer purchased bus passes for employees and sold them to us for $30. Once I started taking the bus to work, I went from spending about $150 – $200 a month in gas to now about $30. I take the bus more than just to work now; I hardly ever even drive my car at all anymore.”

Sound Transit offers commuters throughout the region several ways to dump the pump to save money and help the environment. Sound Transit operates regional express bus service, Sounder commuter rail service, light rail in Tacoma, and on July 18, Central Link light rail line will launch service between downtown Seattle and Tukwila.

In the Puget Sound region, eight public transportation agencies carry more than 500,000 passengers every weekday and serve a population of more than 3.8 million in the five-county area.?c

The Burien Shuttle is a FREE door-to-door transportation service that drives local senior citizens around to run errands, buy groceries, get to medical appointments and assorted other travel needs, and they’re looking for volunteer drivers.

Here’s the info on how you can help “change the world, one mile at a time”:

Drive the Burien Shuttle and Change the World, One Mile at a Time.
This summer, seniors in the Burien-Highline community need a little extra hope. Help Burien seniors remain independent by becoming a volunteer driver for Senior Services Shuttle Program.  The Shuttle takes seniors to run errands, buy groceries, get to medical appointments and run other local errands.  We are seeking reliable, caring individuals to drive our agency vans—no wear and tear on your own vehicle!  We offer flexible hours and free training in defensive driving and passenger assistance.

You do not need a special driver’s license and do no lifting or bearing of weight.

Interested?  Call Valerie at (206) 727-6262, email valeried@seniorservices.org, or visit www.seniorservices.org for more information.

Or, if you don’t have transportation, perhaps you could utilize the Burien Shuttle’s services:

Need to buy groceries? Run an errand? Go to the doctor?  The Burien Shuttle is a FREE door-to-door van service here in Burien! Seniors and anyone with disabilities or special needs can ride. The van is lift-equipped for people who have difficulty using stairs or use a mobility aid, such as a wheelchair or scooter.

Call (206) 727-6262 to book your ride – no forms to fill out!

Rides are provided on a first-come, first-served basis.  The Shuttle runs Monday – Friday from 9:00am – 4:00pm and serves the Burien-Highline area.

North-South thoroughfare Ambaum Blvd. SW will be closing at SW 120th Street beginning at 7am Monday, June 15th, through 5pm Friday, June 26th, as crews replace a drainage pipe underneath the road.

Motorists can detour via 12th Ave SW to SW 116th Street, then return back to Ambaum.

This is a joint project between the City of Burien and King County.

On Tuesday, June 9th, Sea-Tac Airport will close its Cell Phone Waiting Lot for about a month in order to replace it with a location nearly double in size.

The new location, just north on Air Cargo Road, will create nearly 100 spaces for vehicles, doubling the size of the current lot. It is expected to open in early July.

The closure will allow the modification of the new lot with barriers, striping and signage.

The Cell Phone Waiting Lot is a free service from The Port of Seattle that allows drivers to wait up to 30 minutes in the lot until arriving passengers have deplaned, collected luggage and called to be picked up outside of Baggage Claim. Drivers must stay with their vehicles.

Please be aware there is no parking or waiting allowed on the airport roadway shoulders at any time.

The alternative for drivers who normally use the Cell Phone Lot is to use the Hourly Parking at the Terminal Main Garage, which charges $2 for 30 minutes.

For more information on Sea-Tac Airport’s parking options, visit their website here.

Burien’s new Transit Center will open this coming Saturday, May 30th as part of King County Metro Transit seasonal service change.

Metro’s new Burien Transit Center has six off-street bus bays for more convenient boarding.

The $12.5 million Burien Transit Center features six bus bays for passenger boarding, including one dedicated to paratransit service. All of the boarding areas are now located off-street, enhancing safety for both transit customers and motorists in downtown Burien.

The transit center, located at 209 SW 148th Street (near where Rooty’s used to be), has covered waiting areas with benches and windscreens, as well as etched glass art on its awnings. The adjacent park-and-ride lot has parking for 340 vehicles and includes five charging stations for electric vehicles. The transit center has lighting and 24/7 monitored security. It is served by Metro routes 120, 121, 122, 123, 131, 132, 133, 134, 139, 140, 180, and Sound Transit Express Route 560.

Metro’s project team worked cooperatively with the City of Burien to integrate the transit center into the city’s downtown revitalization plans. The transit center is close to civic amenities, such as Burien Town Square – home of the new city hall, King County Library, and mixed-use retail and residential development.

In addition to the new transit center, Metro is also expanding operating hours in the Downtown Seattle Transit Tunnel (DSTT), consolidating park-and-ride spaces in the Northgate area, and revising some bus routes and schedules to update service.

Burien will be one of ten areas in King County targeted by law enforcement for seatbelt violators starting Thursday night May 21st and continuing through June 7th.

The operation will be a cooperation between Burien Police and the Washington State Patrol, with assistance from the King County Traffic Safety Coalition.

According to the Washington Traffic Safety Commission, though the number of people killed at night is about the same as the number of people killed during the day, the death rate at night is four times higher because traffic volumes are much lower at night. Research shows that at least 80% of Washington traffic occurs during the day and between 12 and 20% of all vehicle travel takes place at night. The traffic death rate is a calculation of deaths per 100 million vehicle-miles traveled.

Research shows that over three-fourths of all traffic deaths involving drinking drivers occur at night. The drinking driver-involved death rate is about 13 times higher at night than during the day.

Drivers who are more likely to not wear seatbelts tend to be male, have less education, have prior traffic violations, and have no health insurance, according to a University of North Carolina study the commission cited.

The fine for a “Click-it or Ticket” violation is $124.

Here’s a video explaining this special patrol: