I like trains...

As I sit here on my couch watching ‘doomsday central’ aka The History Channel lament the eminent downfall of humanity due to societies’ overreliance on fossil fuel, I was reminded of a ray of hope.

Link Light Rail is opening here in Seattle this weekend!

Being a long-time proponent but only recent user of mass transit, I am excited to see Seattle move in the right direction.

Do I think this initial 13.9 mile stretch of light rail is going to be the cure-all for the region’s traffic woes?

Nope.

But they say the first step is always the hardest one. And Seattle has finally taken the first-step towards a real mass transit solution.

As you can see in the hyperlink above, Light Rail’s tentacles are already beginning to sprout.

And I find the growth or should I say potential growth as exciting as the start of service this weekend.

This initial line is a backbone off of which many lines will grow. The fact that expansion has begun even before the first passenger has boarded a train only proves that theory.

Now that we have a fleet of trains and a base of operations, growing the service is much easier.

I was a fan of the monorail. I even voted for and paid taxes for it. Mostly because I liked the planned service routes. The monorail plan proposed an X-pattern, spreading from Ballard and the U-District on the Northside to West Seattle and Rainier Beach on the Southend, with all lines running through downtown.

I see the same idea coming together with Light Rail, the foundation has been laid with a downtown HUB and a (future) line from the U-District that extends to the Airport.

The prospect of being able to take a train from Ballard to Kent doesn’t seem at-all far-fetched when you see what is already under way.

And this is all West-of-the-lake-centric.

Just think of the possibilities when you add a Seattle-Redmond Line via Bellevue.

I already bus it to the Eastside and have loved the nearly traffic-free ninja-route that buses are allowed to take during the I-90 construction as the solo-commuting masses sweat-it-out.

But my bus, the 550, seems rather underutilized outside of peak traffic hours so rushing to get an east-west line doesn’t seem necessary, yet. Though it would be nice to see some proactive as opposed to reactive planning for once.

So needless to say, I plan on hopping-on the train this weekend like many other folks.

I just hope they plan on coming back, like me.

Baby Steps to Getting Green- Sep 08

It’s looking like the end of an era…

No, I am not talking about the once high and mighty Seahawks coming back down to earth, I am talking about myself, getting a bus pass.

Yes I, the bastion of: “I have a car and I’m gonna use it,” Seattleite sentiment, am breaking-down and giving mass transit a try.

Starting in October, I’ll be a bus commuter.

I am entering this as a “Baby step to getting Green” post, but this is no small step for me.

To be honest, this is not totally my doing. Though I have been toying with the idea for months, it was my employer who stepped-up and offered a bus pass instead of a parking permit.

I simply took them up on the offer.

The mass transit debate had been raging in my mind for the past couple months…It didn’t help that I saw the same bus route multiple times a day as I commute to and from work. Begging the question in my mind; “Why the hell am I not taking this bus to work?”

After a bit of research, I found that bus passes were $90 a month. Which given my love of my car, was not enough of a financial savings to justify leaving the ride at home. But when the office offered to pick-up the tab, I figured I only had one choice.

We’ll see how it works-out…I did make sure I could trade back should bussing not work-out. But I hope that once I get on the schedule, I’ll be hooked.

I am looking forward to relaxing on the commute home instead of getting flustered. Yet another win-win (I seem to be finding a lot of those lately) as I am lowering my carbon footprint as well as my personal stress level.

Check back in November to see if I renewed my pass…

Note:
I saw this story on MSN that was pretty interesting:
http://www.slate.com/id/2200158/?GT1=38001
I am still firmly in the re-useable mug camp, but the story does get you to thinking about your actions. For the record, I just rinse my coffee cup in the morning with cold water and wash it on Friday before I head home.