The Urbanist Talk with Sound Transit CEO Julie Timm

CEO Julie Timm talks everything Sound Transit, from managing service disruptions to planning light rail expansions.

[@shealupkes]

I was commuting from south auburn to downtown seattle on a sunday morning which if any of you have tried it it's a horrible experience without a car and weirdly enough a sounder train was heading up that I didn't even know was coming so I missed it, instead I hopped on one of the intercity busses and it was packed with people who were also going to seattle and in turn would likely have taken the train instead, so there is weekend demand people just need to be informed

[@alexanderkvenvolden4067]

So now also with the possibility of Kent-Des Moines, the way starter lines would actually work is: 1. Construction delays in part of the line, delay opening by a year. 2. Rest of the line going well? Yes. 3. Can we open the part going well earlier? Yes, we'll open it at a year delay, instead of 2 years. It seems like starter lines function as ways of dressing up even more delays as good news. I hope for future projects, there can be automatic contingency plans to allow starter lines to open *on time* when delays on parts of the line occur.

[@sunnyhunter1693]

Federal Way Link Starter Line - (Highline College & Pictogram) by 2024 or 2025? Full Federal Way Link Line (2025-2026)

[@realquadmoo]

They want to get stuff open. East Link Starter Line makes plenty of sense because the tracks over the bridge that connect it to the current system *are not completed and can not run trains over them yet*. The ties that connect the tracks to the bridge (plinths) were screwed up by Kiewit (construction contractor company). Since the line is a decent size, and there is a new Operations & Maintenance Facility for the trains over there, they will be opening up a Starter Line that only runs on that side of the bridge for a while. When the bridge is fixed and the tracks are completed, they'll open up 2 Line as it was originally planned to be. There is not going to be a Federal Way Link Starter Line because it is already connected to the system, so they are not going to operate it separately. The extensions are either going to open on time, early, or late, but they will not be operating separately as a Starter Line.

[@williamcondon7729]

They need to make the 4th Ave shallow work, King Street needs to be the Hub going forward.

[@realquadmoo]

Yes 😭😭I promise you that the Pacific Northwest Transit Community is doing as much as we possibly can, using all the limited power we have, to make it happen. We are going to really have to fight for this.