Sept. meeting Transportation Action Group notes

Thanks to all who were at Camp Long Monday night (Sept. 17) for the SWS meeting. Attending were Bingram Lai, Laura Kennedy Gould, Lucia Robinson, Jackie Brolsma, Andy Silber and Chris Arkills from Dow Constantine's office.

We were asked to come up with three achievable Transportation goals for the coming year which SWS would highlight along with similar goals from the other Action groups. After some discussion, all members agreed that the following were both achievable and represented useful positions for both the Transportation group and SWS to advocate:

1. Reduce car trips - initially we wanted to have West Seattle residents work to reduce car trips by as little as one trip a month, but nearly everyone felt a more aggressive reduction of one trip a week would be better. We will focus on trying to encourage WS residents to reduce trips by any amount. This could be done by any means residents choose - use the bus, walk or bike, telecommute, car or van pool. Car trips could also be reduced by combining various impromptu trips into one better-planned trip (not always possible for the after-school activities but still desirable). We probably need to settle on a good carbon footprint calculator, but my Google research suggests that an average vehicle (4-door, 1.8 to 3 liter engine, 20 mpg) puts about a ton of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere per 1000 miles - or two pounds a mile (which seems high to me so I'd like some help with the equations and calculators). Point being, saving a mile here and there or dozens by not using the car for a day is a small but effective reduction.

2. Partner with King County Metro to work to improve both the efficiency and reach of the bus system for West Seattle. Presently, there is no easy way to navigate the peninsula by bus and that has the effect of causing WS residents to use their car for really short trips here and there. This partnership could entail working with Metro to either help develop a survey or help in its distribution or both. Chris Arkills identified Victor Obeso, King County Transit Service Manager, as a good contact within the bus system. Arkills also identified a survey as being a useful tool. One discussion was on getting Metro transit ridership data and then using less-used routes as a focus for a survey asking why riders did not use that route more. The group was willing to work on a survey but only if it would be a tool which Metro KC would actually use for service or efficiency improvements. Arkills did point out that with the advent of the Bus Rapid Ride service to West Seattle, now scheduled for no sooner than 2011, that existing Metro KC bus hours in WS could be redirected and that routes such as peninsula-wide shuttles could be created and which would feed into the Bus Rapid Ride service. Arkills also mentioned that Metro KC would soon seek membership in a citizen advisory panel to help plan for the rapid ride service, which will follow roughly the existing route of the 54 bus along California and Fauntleroy.

3. Host a West Seattle wide Transportation Symposium this coming Spring (March/April 2008). Arkills said that Dow Constantine was very interested in being a host and sponsor of this event. We discussed briefly what the symposium might be like and indicated that King County Metro, Seattle Department of Transportation, Sound Transit, and other associated organizations and entities (WSDOT Washington State Ferries?) would be good participants. The symposium would be held at some large venue (WS High School auditorium, Sealth auditorium, Youngstown Cultural Arts Center, Hall at Fauntleroy) and would be planned and publicized to enable as large a number of West Seattle residents as possible to attend. Arkills suggested this would be a very good chance for WS residents to indicate to King County Metro what improvements are desired and what route structures might be modified.