Columbia City station on Seattle's Link light rail from rutlo on Flickr
Sound Transit is launching it’s starter light-rail line from Westlake Center to Tukwila tomorrow.
Today’s Seattle Times reports that some would-be light rail riders are upset by the lack of parking around the light rail stations. According to Rick Sheridan, SDOT spokesman, this was done on purpose.
“Light rail was meant to be fed by people taking the bus, walking or biking,” said Rick Sheridan, spokesman for the Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT). “It was not meant to be fed by cars.”
Sounds like a great opportunity to promote cycling. One mile is a doable bike ride for most people. Let’s hope people get inspired to give cycling a try since they won’t have any place to park their cars. Go ahead, buy a beater bike and ride it to the light rail station.
Does anyone know if they put in adequate bike parking?
I’d love to hear from some South end readers about what you think of this topic. The Times has 329 comments at this time, so it looks like a hot one.
– Anne
9 responses so far ↓
inkandpen // July 17, 2009 at 1:52 pm |
I think this is lovely, though it would be unfortunate if the lack of parking kept people from switching from cars to light-rail for the majority of their daily commute. It seems like a small parking lot with at least some parking for light-rail passengers with disabilities would be appropriate.
Johnny // July 21, 2009 at 5:09 pm |
In Los Angeles, our Metro line have several light rail stations that don’t have dedicated parking lots so this isn’t a new concept.
David // July 22, 2009 at 8:44 pm |
Hi Anne…
The kids & I took a fun ride on the train yesterday. I noticed 2 bike hooks on each car…4 per train. Pretty cool.
Car Parking Free Light Rail Stations — Carectomy - Removing Cars from People // July 24, 2009 at 4:22 am |
[...] and take the train. This is a good example of complementing your commute with a bike (I agree with Car Free Days). An unattractive beater bike bought for under $50 from Craigslist is plenty for the one mile [...]
Andy in Germany // July 28, 2009 at 11:06 pm |
Hopefully that will have an effect, although it can be difficult for people who live out on the sprawl to get to the transit. Making it hard to drive the same route will also make a difference.
The case study in the Times seems to be a bit cherry picked to make it seem a bad idea: if it really is the fluid situation described than I don’t see why they can’t have permits issued. And don’t you have disabled stickers for people who can’t walk far?
No // July 30, 2009 at 12:22 am |
Wouldn’t disabled parking be allowed anyway? On the streets I mean.
Surely a mile is walkable, let alone cyclable.
Andy_in_Germany // July 30, 2009 at 10:13 am |
I was thinking of the situation here where disabled badge holders can park in ‘restricted parking’ areas. Isn’t there an equivalent?
No // August 13, 2009 at 1:17 am |
@Andy, yes agreed, that’s what I was thinking. My comment was really a response to the first comment, but don’t know how the US does disabled parking/badges.
Vancouver, BC: Canada Line, the system (I) « Lingua Urbana // September 8, 2009 at 1:01 pm |
[...] unlike the City of Seattle’s restricted parking zones and lack of station parking around Link stations, most stations along the Canada Line were not conceived with dedicated parking lots. The sole [...]