Slow posting

Once again, I've fallen behind in my updates. I'm back into job hunt mode after my contract ended at the end of July. Lots to write about, and I'll try to get back to updating more frequently.

Bikeshare demo in Seattle

Last week, we walked down to the South Lake Union Discovery Center to check out the Bikeshare demo being put on by Metro.

I'm really very excited about the prospect of a bikeshare in Seattle. I've seen a lot about the City Bike program in Copenhagen and Vélib in Paris. In the past couple of years, we've started to see these programs start up in the US.

At today's demo were three systems (I guess that's what you'd call them): B-Cycle, Bixi, and the Bikeshare Program. Each of the systems has an "open cockpit design" bike which can be checked out for point-to-point, or round-trip travel. Fare structure would be set by the "owner" of the program. In the case of Seattle by Metro and the city.

Looking at the bikes, I was most impressed with the B-Cycle bikes, followed closely by the Bixi bikes (I preferred B-Cycle's closed basket, and liked the handlebars better than Bixi's). The Bike Share Group's system has a more protected storage mechanism than the others. It shows that they are the local guys, knowing how bikes need a little more protection from the elements in our damp Northwest weather. This means that their bikes have more points of adjustment to get the bike ready to ride. This is both a benefit and a drawback. It's a benefit in that you can adjust the bike to better suit your size (by adjusting both seat and handlebar height), whereas the others only allow for the seat adjustment. The drawback lies in that there's more to do to get the bike ready to ride. All bikes are equipped with fenders and lights that are powered by a dynamo hub. Bixi and B-Cycle have spoke guards that allow riders to wear long coats or skirts without worrying about them getting caught up in spokes.

I can see a bike share being a wonderful addition to our growing list of transportation options. It would be great to see bikes stationed near transit stations as well as downtown. Even though I will often bike places, I can see using such a system when I've started out by foot or transit, but decide I'd like to ride somewhere a bit out of the way of the transit line I'm using.

With the hills in Seattle, a key to making this really work will be to ensure that bikes don't end up all at the bottom of the hills. Paris has a crew that is constantly redistributing bikes to ensure that there's sufficient availability. Seattle will have to mimic this sort of arrangement. Another thing that will need to happen is a repeal of the mandatory helmet law in Seattle. The target market for bike shares (tourists, casual riders, and those who wouldn't ordinarily ride) are not likely to have a bike helmet with them, and the idea of sharing a helmet from a communal pool is not too sanitary. Mandatory helmet laws are said to be a barrier to people cycling, and it certainly would be a barrier in the community embracing a bike share in Seattle.

First ride on the Link

**No pictures yet. I'll add some once I've uploaded them from the camera**

Saturday brought a surprise for Maurie and me. Our first ride on the new Central Link light rail line. We'd gone down to Pike Place to look for something, but after being in the crowds for a bit, we didn't really want to go back into a hot apartment with all the noise from the Seafair Torchlight Parade going on that evening.

We ended up going down into the transit tunnel (feels weird not calling the bus tunnel any more!) I was hoping to get a look at a Link train. But none were at the platform. Maurie says I was a bit crestfallen at that. While we were on the mezzanine, one did pull in. We looked down on it, and Maurie suggested taking the train for a ride. So, off to figure out how to do the payment and ride.

One of the Sount Transit folks told us I could just tap my ORCA card to the reader, and Maurie just needed to show her Puget Pass if asked. So, we boarded and headed south to Tukwila station.

The ride was very nice. Quite quick to get down through Seattle. We left Westlake station at about 6, I think, and the southbound train was full. No vacant seats, and a lot of people standing. As we went south, nuturally, it thinned out some. But by the time we reached Tukwila station, there were still plenty of riders.

We de-boarded at Tukwila, thinking we'd have to move over to the other track for the northbound train. There was no indication that the train we just arrived on would just reverse direction from its place in the station. So, after looking for a bathroom (and finding one open porta-potty that badly needed service), we got on what we thought was the next northbound train.

We rode back north to Columbia City where we got off the train to see a movie. The first thing we noticed when we got off the train was that in the small park next to the station was a sign listing what was nearby...restaurants, cinema, shops, a market, etc. Maurie had been commenting on the ride north that something like this would be very helpful for riders.

As we walked through Columbia City, we noticed that the business district was still fairly lively. Several folks walking the street, a few businesses still open, lots of restaurants and bars open. In nearly every window was a poster welcoming Link riders. Most every business had a special for people who show their ride ticket or ORCA card. For example, the Columbia City Cinema offers $2 off adult tickets in the evening (I can't remember what they were for matinee showings).

We dropped into the Columbia City Alehouse for an appetizer and beer and then walked the neighborhood until our 9:40 movie.

After the movie, we caught a 12:30 train back to Westlake. This train had a handful of other riders. The south-bound trains out of Seattle were more full with people leaving the city.

We really enjoyed the ride. It will make it so much easier to get to points south of downtown. A couple of observations:

1. Bathrooms at the stations need to be better maintained (only porta-potties at one? what's with that?)
2. Fare/payment system is confusing. Require every rider to obtain a ticket from the ticket vending machine. And fit them to read Puget Passes!
3. The art work at the stops is awesome! It really makes the stops more inviting.

All in all, I'm glad we had the unplanned evening out on the train, especially since I turn in my ORCA pass on Friday at the end of my current contract.

Successful Link Opening Weekend

Well, I've still not ridden the new Link light rail in Seattle, so I don't have much I can say about it. However, on Sunday as we headed to the coast for day relaxing on the beach, we did see a couple of trains running along I5 (one north-bound, one south-bound) and both looked packed to standing room only. It may have been a weekend of free rides, but it looked promising. Reports are 92,000 riders over the weekend. I've still not seen ridership reports for Monday, but I'm confident that while reports are that they were low, that they'll grow as we get used to having light rail, and development happens around the lines, we'll see those numbers go up.

Seattle Tranit Blog has been all over opening weekend, and is following the latest on it.

Ecotopia

I first read Callenbach's book Ecotopia for my Basic Inquiry class at Lewis & Clark College my freshman year. At the time, I was 18 and fresh out of the suburbs. I was ideallistic, when it was convenient (which wasn't too often). Not much of the book stuck out to me, except that most of us (all freshman from predominantly suburban backgrounds) thought it was a cool idea, but wholly unworkable. I read it again in 2001, only to find myself seeing a little more "hey, that's cool" in it, but it didn't strike me as much.

Now, nearly 20 years after reading it for the first time, I just finished reading it for the third time. Having spent the last year really thinking sustainability, a lot more stood out to me.

The transporation system put forth by Callenbach in Ecotopia really stands out. In the book, the country has virually banned internal combustion engines and private car ownership. Intercity tranportation is facilitated by a widespread Mag-Lev rail network. Small city groupings spring up around major rail hubs, branching out like spokes on a wheel (or so I envision it). Tanporation within cities is predominantly foot, bike, and public tranport via electric minibuses.

I think the first two times I read the book, I was still in a car-centric frame of mind. When I read the chapter on trasportation, I realized that this is close to a reality I'd really love to see. I'm not in favor of outright banning cars. They are useful, and even necessary for some people. However, I'd like to see more options and infrastructure to make not taking a care a whole lot more convenient and accessible.

What can you do on your commute?

Just looking up from the computer as the bus wisks me to work this morning, I noticed the following happening:

• Woman across the aisle from me knitting
• Several people reading books & magazines
• Friends holding conversations
• One or two people taking a nap
• People working on their laptops (doing stuff for work? Blogging? Reading web comics?)
• People reading books & magazines
• Some just staring out the window at the traffic, water, birds, mountians, etc

What do you do on your commute? Today I'm blogging and listening to music.

Opening Weekend for Link

In case you've missed it (and if you live in or around Seattle, I'm not sure how you could have), The Link light rail line from downtown to the airport will open on Saturday. Sound Transit has details on the opening here. The folks over at Seattle Transit Blog have been counting the days to this, and I have to say that Ben and company really seem ready to party as a result of the long-awaited opening.

There will be free rides all weekend. Be prepared for long lines and crowded platforms and trains all weekend. Also, there are no round-trip rides. To give everyone a chance to ride, once you get to one end, you have to get off the train and get back in line. There will also be shuttles running the route if you don't want to wait in line again.

Personally, I think I'll be waiting to take my ride on Link until after the festivities