Mercer Island Transit Interchange

One year ago I said

"We shouldn't be letting citizen-lawyers drive us into poor decisions"

and now here we are....

losers.

$5 million poorer.

It's time for the Council to grow a spine and make decisions that aren't designed to placate the Nextdoor bloodlust. Start doing what's right and not what's politically popular with the noisy few.

Focus on how to capitalize the transit center with connectivity to our community and Town Center.

If you go by the current 216 and 554 bus schedules, there are 3 buses which arrive on Mercer Island an hour during the rush hour (2 x 216 and 1 x 554), so I would like to know what are the bus drivers going to be doing for the time between runs? It is just that in the 2017 Settlement Agreement, it specifically stated:
"(b) Other than in an emergency or due to equipment malfunction, bus layovers are limited to no more than fifteen (15) minutes and then only during the afternoon peak period (3:30pm - 7:00pm). Except as to buses running entirely on electrical (battery) power, there will be no idling of buses other than during actual pick-up and drop-off of passengers or while waiting in traffic."

So, this new Settlement Agreement is so vague and does not address this layover business. So how was this addressed? It says nothing in the new Settlement Agreement. Why didn't both parties just drop the lawsuit? And it doesn't say what we are paying for exactly? How did they arrive at the $2.1 Million figure? For that amount of money, you could have had a shuttle bus taking passengers from the light rail station to the JCC/Civic Center and to the south end Town Center.

Did the City lose the court case over the bus bays on the north side of North Mercer Way? It is just that if you walk past, Sound Transit's contractors have already built it, but I thought the lawsuit was still ongoing. What is going on with the lawsuit? Did Mercer Island lose and when? Thank you.

It doesn't make sense why the City would issue permits to Sound Transit in order to build the bus layover/bus bay on the north side of North Mercer Way when it specifically stated in the Settlement Agreement that there would be no bus drop-off/pick-up or layover on the north side of North Mercer Way. So, what exactly is the City fighting lawsuit over? Sound Transit have gone and dug up the sidewalk along the north side of North Mercer Way. It seems like that lawsuit was a waste of taxpayers' money. You can't be issuing permits on one hand, but then, fighting Sound Transit. As it turns out, Sound Transit are winning.

Why didn't anyone from the City inform us that Sound Transit were going to remove all the mature trees along 80th Ave SE? Where is the Construction Alert showing the construction along 80th Ave SE? I am sorry, but you let us down terribly. We were supposed to have pre-construction meetings with Sound Transit. And where is the Environmental Impact Statement for the bus/light rail integration? Where can one find the Environmental Impact with regard to the removal of the trees, and the visual impacts? I am not talking about the East Link Project, I am talking about the Bus/Light Rail Integration Project. Please go and take a look at the sites to see the destruction. And you might want to stand by the Transit Centers. The noise is so loud that it is going to be too loud for patrons waiting for the light rail trains.

Sound Transit's Destruction. Did the City give Sound Transit permits to remove all the mature trees along 80th Ave SE? If not, you might want to go and see what they have done on 3/11/2022. Why did the City allow them to remove mature trees which had survived the extreme heat we had this summer and were in bud? Those trees added character to the Transit Center and Sound Transit contractors have single-handedly managed to ruin the area. And what about community engagement? We told them to not remove all the trees, but they did not listen. There is zero community engagement. There is no respect either.

What are the measuements of the current bus areas along the north and south sides of North Mercer Way? I just did not get an explanation as to why they need the additional bays on both sides of North Mercer Way. And why did the lawyers not explain that North Mercer Way is our main arterial and that with all these buses pulling in, pulling out, laying over, that is going to impede our main arterial? And the lawyers did not mention how we already lost their access to the Island Crest Way HOV ramp as an SOV driver and how drivers on the south end of the island have to go out of their way in order to access either the East Mercer Way ramp or the North Mercer Way ramp which adds additional time to the commute and increases car emissions. And the 2017 SEPA Addendum did not address the environmental impact to neighbors. Whe do they plan on coming out with an EIS for the MITI (Bus/Light Rail Integration? What are the next steps?

Let's get beyond the political posturing that has cost us millions and left us embarrassed in both the HOV and MITI litigation. We shouldn't be letting citizen-lawyers drive us into poor decisions.
Let's instead focus on embracing the transit center to capture the dollars of commuters, to ease access for residents through smart planning; and utilize our Tully property as a Gateway with housing/restaurants/shopping

I once rode the light rail with someone that not only was muttering words to themselves, they ALSO smelled very heavily of body odor. They seemed like they hadn't showered in at least 2 days. We cannot let people like this infiltrate our community. We must take a stand against Sound Transit and preserve our community values. Is there any way we can have our own dedicated Light Rail car that only Mercer Island residents can use. Maybe the doors can be opened by scanning a QR code / App on our phones that only CONFIRMED MI residents have access to? Could also have a paid full time police officer in the car at all times? This seems like it could be a good compromise yes?

As a 25 year resident of Mercer Island I strongly support Sound Transit’s preferred bus turnaround and street design to ensure efficient, safe transfers between trains and busses. The plan is well thought through and the City should stop hampering Sound Transit’s efforts to best serve our island.

If you look at page 26 of the Metro Connects 2040, you can see that they are forecasting that it will take 51 minutes to go from Issaquah to Seattle which is not fast:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B44RYEx3kgpoZUJqbXVScnR4cjg/view?resourcekey=0-QNnuWXJScAoaecJWdhSRsg
But if you look at the I-90 WSDOT Capacity Report, if you take the HOV time (30 minutes from Issaquah to Seattle) and replace that with Rapid Bus Transit, it would take the 30 minutes and with a transfer at the International Station to light rail, which would take 10 minutes from Seattle to Mercer Island, it would take about 40 minutes to 45 minutes which is quicker than if people took regular bus to Mercer Island, then transfer at Mercer Island and then the trip via light rail into Seattle. I mean, who do you know who would want to be forced off the bus at Mercer Island, schlep down to the light rail station, wait for the next train and in all weathers? And when you think of how much money this roundabout is costing, it is crazy. Why they won't let buses just continue on as they do today is beyond my comprehension.

This FAQ is not correct. Each articulated bus is 60ft long, yet Sound Transit are making out that the layover space is designed for only one bus. That can't be right. Considering they weren't supposed to have any buses dropping off, picking up or laying over on the north side of North Mercer Way, they certainly are taking liberties and lying about how many buses will be able to lay over. It is more like two.
Q: What is the layover space requirement for the proposed layover on the north side of North Mercer Way?
In response to Mercer Island City Council concerns and the amount of space available, the length of the flexible curb space/layover on the north side of North Mercer Way was designed to be only 145 feet for one bus. This is the smallest it can be and still meet Metro’s operational needs to pull in and out of the space safely.

In the Hearing Examiner's Decision, does anyone know if Sound Transit's bus drivers also have a Union Contract with regard to layovers? And I am sorry, if they need a layover, they can put it on the south side in that a layover area on the north side would impact traffic flow. Does anyone know if Sound Transit's bus drivers have a Union contract and does it have the same requirements? "Since the MITI will be a bus route terminus, provisions for “layovers” must be provided. A layover occurs between the end of a bus’s trip and the beginning of its next trip. Metro bus drivers’ labor contracts include minimum requirements for layover time. Layovers generally range between 10 and 20 minutes, with a 15 minute average. Without adequate provisions for layover bays, the adopted East Link service plan could not be implemented. (Exhibit 1002, PDF 15 & 16; Katie Chalmers (“Chalmers”) {Metro}, Steve Crosley (“Crosley”) {Metro} testimony"
And the City Council voted against the Optimal Configuration which had buses stopping on both sides of North Mercer Way and on 80th Ave SE. Did they not notify Sound Transit of this fact> And I hope the city will not permit an "Emergency Zone." If there is an emergency, there is no reason why they can't just close the whole roadway. Why do they need a specific zone for it? It is quite obvious that they are going to use it for their buses to pick passengers up. I mean, why wouldn't they want that area for buses?

Mercer Island city council concerns about the interchange could be minimized by limiting buses terminating on island to the 3 or 4 ST554 routes an hour currently stopping on Island. King County Metro wasn't part of the Settlement agreement, negating any claim they can terminate routes on island. Don't allow KCM buses stop on island on I-90 routes into and out of Seattle.

Could you please post the Right-of-Way Permit Sound Transit requested, as well as the legal documents which got filed in the lawsuit? Thanks.

Thank you for holding the line in the October 2 letter to Sound Transit, and offering ST yet another opportunity to avoid litigation by simply sticking to what they originally agreed to! The potential litigation has nothing to do with stopping buses, or people, from coming to Mercer Island or impeding regional transit, as some have suggested...quite the opposite. Anyone who thinks this, should catch up on the facts which are that Sound Transit signed an Agreement in 2017 and now they want to breach that agreement. They expect the City to acquiesce to these changes (to the detriment of riders, pedestrians and residents). Let's all hope that Metro/Sound Transit can manage to stick to the Agreement in order to avoid litigation and in order to have a safe and workable outcome for all, especially the riders. Thank You to the City Manager and City Council for continuing to uphold our end of the deal, despite the fact that Metro/Sound Transit doesn't think it necessary to do the same.

As a resident of mercer island, I am constantly upset and surprised by the actions of the city council. Why are we so afraid of people coming to the island and the increased bus traffic? I have read the SoundTransit plans and they are sound and will connect us with our region. It's time to stop thinking so individually when we need to think regionally. Stop impeding SoundTransit from connecting us to our neighbors. The link and the bus intercept are good for the city and the region. I am completely opposed to the new tax increase as we should not be actively pursuing litigation.

The Mercer Island light rail station and bus interchange are set to bring people and business to the island it would have never had otherwise, amounting to increased revenues I have to believe our city's staff have already begun examining. Coupled with the environmental and quality of life benefits that a short ride to Seattle, Bellevue, Redmond, and so on in the near future brings and it makes absolutely no sense to me why our City Council would choose to try to prevent it. 

Add onto that us being in the middle of one of the worst job markets and recessions our country has ever seen and the optics get even worse. Our city is willing to tax us in the millions to try to fight a very likely/obviously losing battle against Sound Transit that shouldn't be fought in the first place?

Take the light rail and bus interchange for what it is, good for the entire Puget Sound region (Which we are a part of and benefit from as well) to get to where the live, work, and play that much easier time-wise, environmentally, and so on. All of you in favor of this tax and litigation need to be willing to accept the ridiculously bad optics it puts on our city when we look like we want to throw around lawyers anytime we feel like it.

I strongly oppose this superfluous tax and the superfluous litigation it is meant to support.

Please do not let Sound Transit bully us into an unacceptable situation. I fully support going forward with litigation and using the utility tax increase to pay for the litigation. The bus intercept is not necessary and should be placed in South Bellevue where they have the space if built. This is totally a safety, congestion, & pollution issue!

I have communicated to Salim Nice on the council that there are solutions that can be adopted that do not impact MI. Most notably a bus exchange can be constructed on columns above the light rail station and freeway and which can be planned and designed to ensure buses come off and go back on the freeway without even using a MI road. It could easily incorporate extra "Park and Ride " bays. While this would be a significant construction, I think that it is entirely reasonable that the region as a whole pay for a dedicated facility on Mercer Island that benefits the whole region - particularly as it provides zero benefit to Mercer Island residents.

Personally I believe there are better places to construct such a facility (such as at the South Bellevue station with dedicated feeder off ramps from I90 for buses). But if it has to be Mercer Island, let's not cobble together a street modification, let's do the job properly. I am happy to share my concept with the council or Sound Transit.