TRANSIT EXPANSION STUDY BALLARD TO DOWNTOWN SEATTLE 05/16/2014 Final Report This page intentionally left blank Ballard to Downtown Seattle Transit Expansion Study Table of Contents Executive Summary ................................................................................................... S-1 1 Introduction......................................................................................................... 1 2 Previous Studies and Findings ......................................................................... 2 2.1 Planning Documents .................................................................................. 2 2.2 Previous Studies ........................................................................................ 6 3 Market Analysis .................................................................................................. 7 3.1 Daily Transit Trips ...................................................................................... 8 3.2 Existing Zoning ........................................................................................ 11 3.3 Population and Employment .................................................................... 13 3.4 Vehicle Ownership ................................................................................... 16 3.5 Peak Period Traffic Congestion ............................................................... 18 3.6 Existing Transit Travel Times ................................................................... 20 3.7 Conclusions ............................................................................................. 22 4 Project Goals and Objectives .......................................................................... 23 5 Evaluation Criteria and Methodologies .......................................................... 24 6 Definition and Review of Initial Concepts ...................................................... 24 6.1 Initial Options Definition ........................................................................... 24 6.2 Initial Screening ....................................................................................... 27 7 Definition and Evaluation of Level 1 Corridors .............................................. 32 7.1 Level 1 Corridors Definition ...................................................................... 32 7.2 Level 1 Analysis and Evaluation .............................................................. 44 8 Definition and Evaluation of Level 2 Corridors .............................................. 48 8.1 Level 2 Corridors Definition ...................................................................... 48 8.2 Level 2 Analysis and Evaluation .............................................................. 56 9 Public Engagement .......................................................................................... 64 9.1 Public Meeting #1 .................................................................................... 64 9.1.1 Purpose ..................................................................................................64 9.1.2 Participation Results and Comment Themes ...........................................65 Final Report i May 2014 Ballard to Downtown Seattle Transit Expansion Study 9.2 Public Meeting #2 .................................................................................... 65 9.2.1 Purpose ..................................................................................................66 9.2.2 Participation Results and Comment Themes ...........................................66 9.3 Public Meeting #3 .................................................................................... 67 9.3.1 Purpose ..................................................................................................67 9.3.2 Participation Results and Comment Themes ...........................................68 Bibliography ................................................................................................................ 70 ii Final Report May 2014 Ballard to Downtown Seattle Transit Expansion Study List of Tables Table 3-1. Daily Transit Trips................................................................................ 8 Table 3-2. Growth in Daily Transit Trips: 2011 to 2035 ........................................ 8 Table 3-3. Transit Share of Commute Trips.......................................................... 9 Table 3-4. Population and Employment .............................................................. 14 Table 4-1. Project Goals and Objectives ............................................................ 23 Table 6-1. Initial Concept Development Screening Criteria and Measures ........ 28 Table 6-2. Alignment Link Options Screened Out............................................... 30 Table 7-1. Corridors for Level 1 Evaluation ........................................................ 33 Table 7-2. Level 1 Evaluation Criteria and Measures ......................................... 45 Table 7-3. Level 1 Evaluation Results ................................................................ 47 Table 8-1. Corridors for Level 2 Evaluation ........................................................ 49 Table 8-2. Level 2 Evaluation Criteria ................................................................. 57 Table 8-3. Level 2 Evaluation Results ................................................................ 59 Table 8-4. Summary Level 2 Evaluation Results ................................................ 60 Table 9-1. Public Input Results: Favorite Corridor .............................................. 69 List of Figures Figure 2-1. Sound Transit 2005 Long-Range Plan Map ....................................... 3 Figure 2-2. Transit Master Plan – High Priority Corridors ..................................... 5 Figure 2-3. Transit Master Plan – Corridor 11 ...................................................... 6 Figure 3-1. Daily Transit Trips ............................................................................ 10 Figure 3-2. City of Seattle Generalized Zoning ................................................... 12 Figure 3-3. Population and Employment ............................................................ 15 Figure 3-4. Vehicle Ownership by Household..................................................... 17 Figure 3-5. PM Peak Period Congestion ............................................................ 19 Figure 3-6. Existing Transit Travel Times ........................................................... 21 Figure 6-1. Initial Options ................................................................................... 26 Figure 6-2. Alignment Link Options Screened Out ............................................. 29 Figure 7-1. Corridor 1 ......................................................................................... 36 Figure 7-2. Corridor 2 ......................................................................................... 37 Figure 7-3. Corridor 3 ........................................................................................ 38 Final Report iii May 2014 Ballard to Downtown Seattle Transit Expansion Study Figure 7-4. Corridor 4 ........................................................................................ 39 Figure 7-5. Corridor 5 ......................................................................................... 40 Figure 7-6. Corridor 6 ........................................................................................ 41 Figure 7-7. Corridor 7 ........................................................................................ 42 Figure 7-8. Corridor 8 ........................................................................................ 43 Figure 8-1. Corridor A ........................................................................................ 51 Figure 8-2. Corridor B ......................................................................................... 52 Figure 8-3. Corridor C ......................................................................................... 53 Figure 8-4. Corridor D ......................................................................................... 54 Figure 8-5. Corridor E ......................................................................................... 55 iv Final Report May 2014 Ballard to Downtown Seattle Transit Expansion Study Acronyms and Abbreviations ACS American Community Survey BAT Business and Transit BMP Bicycle Master Plan BRT Bus Rapid Transit CBD Central Business District CTR Commute Trip Reduction EIS Environmental Impact Statement ETC Elevated Transportation Company FTA Federal Transit Administration HCT High Capacity Transit ICT Intermediate Capacity Transit LRT Light Rail Transit MSF Maintenance and Storage Facility O&M Operations and Maintenance OCS Overhead Catenary System PSRC Puget Sound Regional Council ROW Right-of-Way SDOT Seattle Department of Transportation SR State Route ST Sound Transit ST2 Sound Transit 2008 TMP Transit Master Plan VMT Vehicle Miles Traveled WSDOT Washington State Department of Transportation Final Report v May 2014 This page intentionally left blank Ballard to Downtown Seattle Transit Expansion Study EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Sound Transit and the City of Seattle partnered on a conceptual-level study exploring opportunities for improving transit connections between Ballard and Downtown Seattle. By partnering and increasing efficiencies, Sound Transit and the City of Seattle saved planning dollars during