Posted on 02/21/2017 7:54:58 PM PST by Tolerance Sucks Rocks
MERCER ISLAND, Wash. - The city of Mercer Island plans to sue Sound Transit and the State Department of Transportation over I-90 access, which could freeze the East Light construction project set to begin in June.
The City Council unanimously approved the legal action Monday during a packed council meeting. They plan to sue both agencies and seek a moratorium on the construction as they search for short-term solutions to their traffic concerns.
In response to the authorized legal action, Sound Transit CEO Peter Rogoff released a statement calling the decision “highly regrettable.”
“While Sound Transit remains ready to reach solutions through negotiations, the agency will take all legal actions necessary to avoid delays or increased costs to taxpayers in fulfilling our promise to voters to complete East Link,” Rogoff said. “Delays to the East Link project pose significant risks of increased costs to regional taxpayers and significant delays to opening the project in 2023.”
The concerns boil down to the future of a single I-90 West on-ramp from Island Crest Way, a major 4-lane arterial on Mercer Island. Many commuters use that ramp each day, but light rail construction will change their access.
As part of the light rail construction, I-90’s center express lanes between Mercer Island and Seattle will close so that the rails can occupy that space. As a replacement, WSDOT plans to turn the left lane in each direction into an HOV lane.
The issue for Mercer Island commuters is that the on-ramp from Island Crest Way sends cars directly into that left lane. By federal law, once those lanes are converted in June, solo drivers will no longer be allowed to utilize that on-ramp because solo drivers are not allowed to drive in an HOV lane. Carpools would still have access to the on-ramp.
The City of Mercer Island fears that commuter traffic (much of which is single-occupant vehicles) will divert onto small city streets and into school zones, creating congestion and dangerous situations.
“It’s a big mess for our citizens because it’s going to jam up our town center with a lot more traffic,” Mercer Island Mayor Bruce Bassett said. “It creates safety problems and economic problems that come along with the additional jam ups.”
The City says they had a longstanding deal with WSDOT that their drivers would be an exception to the HOV rule, but last summer the Federal Highway Administration sent a letter stressing that drivers could not violate that federal law, and in early February WSDOT sent another letter to Mercer Island saying WSDOT is “obligated to comply” with that federal law.
In that letter, WSDOT offered several potential long term solutions, including building a new ramp, transforming the HOV lane into a High Occupancy Toll (HOT) lane, or converting it into a General Purpose lane between Mercer Island and Seattle.
WSDOT says they continue to speak with Mercer Island representatives on a daily basis, and they will continue to search for a viable solution that satisfies both sides.
MORE VIDEO Mercer Island Sound Transit Lawsuit Update
MERCER ISLAND, Wash. - The city of Mercer Island plans to sue Sound Transit and the State Department of Transportation over I-90 access, which could freeze the East Light construction project set to begin in June.
The City Council unanimously approved the legal action Monday during a packed council meeting. They plan to sue both agencies and seek a moratorium on the construction as they search for short-term solutions to their traffic concerns.
In response to the authorized legal action, Sound Transit CEO Peter Rogoff released a statement calling the decision “highly regrettable.”
“While Sound Transit remains ready to reach solutions through negotiations, the agency will take all legal actions necessary to avoid delays or increased costs to taxpayers in fulfilling our promise to voters to complete East Link,” Rogoff said. “Delays to the East Link project pose significant risks of increased costs to regional taxpayers and significant delays to opening the project in 2023.”
The concerns boil down to the future of a single I-90 West on-ramp from Island Crest Way, a major 4-lane arterial on Mercer Island. Many commuters use that ramp each day, but light rail construction will change their access.
As part of the light rail construction, I-90’s center express lanes between Mercer Island and Seattle will close so that the rails can occupy that space. As a replacement, WSDOT plans to turn the left lane in each direction into an HOV lane.
The issue for Mercer Island commuters is that the on-ramp from Island Crest Way sends cars directly into that left lane. By federal law, once those lanes are converted in June, solo drivers will no longer be allowed to utilize that on-ramp because solo drivers are not allowed to drive in an HOV lane. Carpools would still have access to the on-ramp.
The City of Mercer Island fears that commuter traffic (much of which is single-occupant vehicles) will divert onto small city streets and into school zones, creating congestion and dangerous situations.
“It’s a big mess for our citizens because it’s going to jam up our town center with a lot more traffic,” Mercer Island Mayor Bruce Bassett said. “It creates safety problems and economic problems that come along with the additional jam ups.”
The City says they had a longstanding deal with WSDOT that their drivers would be an exception to the HOV rule, but last summer the Federal Highway Administration sent a letter stressing that drivers could not violate that federal law, and in early February WSDOT sent another letter to Mercer Island saying WSDOT is “obligated to comply” with that federal law.
In that letter, WSDOT offered several potential long term solutions, including building a new ramp, transforming the HOV lane into a High Occupancy Toll (HOT) lane, or converting it into a General Purpose lane between Mercer Island and Seattle.
WSDOT says they continue to speak with Mercer Island representatives on a daily basis, and they will continue to search for a viable solution that satisfies both sides.
But the City says they haven’t been offered any short term solutions that would solve the problem before that June construction date.
Mayor Bassett says they plan to file their lawsuit in Superior Court. They expect legal fees could run upwards of $1 million, which will be scraped from the city’s budget.
Is this local news? I was hoping for more.
By the time this boondoggle is done everyone will have self driven cars and we won’t need 19th century transportation systems.
If they put the light rail down the middle of the expressway, how are the folks going to get on and off the trains?
The stations would be elevated.
see Chicago - Eisenhower expressway - train down its middle
I'm with the City on this. If commuters are frustrated with traffic, they should move closer to their jobs rather than propose fixes that trash other people's neighborhoods.
The City says they had a longstanding deal with WSDOT that their drivers would be an exception to the HOV rule, but last summer the Federal Highway Administration sent a letter stressing that drivers could not violate that federal law, and in early February WSDOT sent another letter to Mercer Island saying WSDOT is “obligated to comply” with that federal law.
This sounds like a sensible solution. Just suspend the HOV lane enforcement for a mile or so to allow entering drivers to merge and then exit the HOV lane in a timely way. The locals can figure out appropriate wording and signage; call it a "merge zone" or "mixed traffic merge zone." A few tourists may be confused, but regulars will know what's going on.
So the question is, why did the feds nix this solution? Is the law really so inflexible that a local peculiarity couldn't be accommodated? (Sounds like something Congress would easily fix on a bipartisan basis.) Or did some carpooling zealot decide to get on his high horse?
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