January 14, 2025 • 19 mins
Exciting changes are on the horizon for Seattle's light rail system, with significant expansions aimed at connecting isolated lines and enhancing commuter experiences. The episode highlights the current state of the light rail network and the promising developments that will redefine urban transit in the region.
• Overview of upcoming light rail expansions in Seattle
• Current state and geography of Seattle's light rail system
• Recent expansions and developments in suburban areas
• Future plans connecting key regions and communities
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
Doors are closing.
Public transit that's my way toroll On the metro.
I'm taking control.
Bus stops, train tracks it's mydaily grind.
Public transit, it's the rhythmof my life.
Speaker 2 (00:18):
This week we're taking a look at the Pacific
Northwest and the upcoming lightrail expansions connecting
Seattle, bellevue and TacomaWashington.
Learn how this mega region issetting the standard for West
Coast urbanism on this episodeof Transit Tangents.
Speaker 1 (00:32):
Hey everybody and welcome to this episode of
Transit Tangents.
My name is Lewis and I'm Chris,and welcome to the new year.
Today we are going to becovering a topic that was
heavily commented on andrequested during our New Year's
Eve episode, which was the top10 new transit projects opening
in 2025.
A lot of upset folks in thePacific Northwest, specifically
(00:55):
in Seattle, for not mentioningthe extensions to the Seattle
White Rail that are currentlygoing on.
Speaker 2 (01:01):
Yeah, I was really impressed by the amount of
viewership we got and also justthe engagement on that
particular episode.
Speaker 1 (01:07):
people love like top 10 yeah, like the day we put top
10 into something people loveto like check it out.
Speaker 2 (01:14):
So I'm very sorry to anybody in seattle if we
disappointed you.
Speaker 1 (01:16):
Yes, um, but because of that disappointment that you
got last week, uh, this week, uh, we're gonna make it up to you
with an episode specificallyabout your light rail network.
So it's pretty exciting.
I haven't looked specificallyat Seattle in a long time it's
been a long time since I've beenthere personally but they're
doing really big things as faras transit goes.
If you were to look at a map ofSeattle's light rail network
(01:39):
right now, it looks a little odd.
If I'm being honest.
It's a couple disjointed linesin Seattle and Bellevue and
Tacoma that aren't currentlyconnected at all.
Speaker 2 (01:49):
Yeah, and all those areas also geographically, are
fairly distant from each other.
I mean, you have Seattle in themiddle, you have Bellevue
across the lake, and I'm alreadymessing up.
Speaker 1 (01:59):
The water, the body of water?
Speaker 2 (02:01):
I don't know the name of the lake in between Seattle
and Bellevue.
Yeah, the body of water, LakeWashington.
Speaker 1 (02:08):
Lake Washington.
Yes, yeah, it just wasn'tcoming to me, I don't know why.
Yeah, there are.
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (02:13):
Well, as I say, but there is a significant
geographic distance.
So you have Seattle in themiddle, you have Lake Washington
, bellevue on the other side andthen you have Tacoma, which
Tacoma is pretty far south ofSeattle.
So when you're looking at a map, these three transit systems,
they all sort of exist in theirown bubble Right.
Speaker 1 (02:31):
And they are connected to via buses and there
are it's not the main point ofthis episode, but there are two
they call them the soundertrains which are the kind of
commuter rails that run throughthe area, so it's not like
they're fully disconnected.
Um, but yeah, I mean these areseparate, distinct areas that
just have a lot of travel goingback and forth between them, uh,
as it's a kind of growing metroarea, um, but yeah, I mean,
(02:54):
it's really interesting to lookat, uh, what is there now and
what's coming.
So let's first just kind oflike dive into the existing
lines that are there, just soyou get an idea of what is
currently existing in Seattle.
So we'll start off with thefirst light rail line that
opened in Seattle, which was thegreen line or the one.
I'm seeing it listed as both.
I'm not from Seattle.
(03:15):
So, folks, seattleites,seattleites, seattleites, let us
, let us know if you is thegreen line, the one, I don't
know.
Speaker 2 (03:23):
Before we go any further with this, we want to
take a second and really thankeveryone who did comment and
participate in our last video,where we did the top 10 transit
projects to pay attention to in2025.
Speaker 1 (03:36):
yeah, we is by far exceeded the number of views and
listens we've gotten in a weekbefore, so a big thanks there.
Apparently, people really likedthe topic.
We gained some new members onPatreon.
We also got a big donation onBuy Me A Coffee.
Yes, yeah.
Speaker 2 (03:53):
Huge Thank you for that.
About $125 on Buy Me A Coffee,which is absolutely huge, thank
you.
Thank you so much.
Speaker 1 (03:59):
Yeah, and it will go directly towards us being on the
ground in more places acrossthe country.
We've already done six, I think, city in a day using only
public transit.
We've got another one comingvery soon.
We're going to be leaving in acouple days.
Speaker 2 (04:13):
Yeah, we're leaving in a couple days.
This video will come out wellbefore this city, but we are
headed to DC in a couple daysand it's going to be quite cold.
So your donations not only getus there, but maybe it buys us a
nice warm coffee to survive thecold.
Speaker 1 (04:34):
Yes, but with all that being said, again, thank
you all so much, and we'll jumpright back into the video about
the Seattle Transit Expansions.
So to start off, we're going tojust overview what the existing
light rail lines in the areaare today.
So we'll start off first withthe green line, which presently
runs from Linwood all the way upin the north, through Seattle,
(04:54):
to Angle Lake in the south ofSeattle.
That line's been extended acouple of times, which we'll
talk about in a second here.
The second line is the blueline.
Second here, the second line isthe blue line which kind of
runs from the Redmond area toSouth Bellevue, that's on the
other side of Lake Washington.
Speaker 2 (05:10):
Other side of Lake Washington?
Speaker 1 (05:11):
Yes, and then, finally, we have a smaller light
rail line, the orange line,that currently runs in Tacoma.
Speaker 2 (05:19):
Which is down the East Passage, which I knew, that
one, the East Passage.
There you go In the sound.
Yes, that's all I got.
Speaker 1 (05:27):
But it's pretty interesting because when you
look and see a lot of theextensions to this network have
opened just in the last fewyears, kind of basically since
2021.
Speaker 2 (05:40):
I've been to Seattle quite a few times and I've seen
this under construction forquite a few years.
We have some friends who livereally far north, in the suburbs
north of Seattle, and they'vebeen building this light rail
for a couple years now and it'spretty awesome to see.
And the Green Line especially,I believe it runs sort of
following the highway throughSeattle.
(06:00):
So there's maybe some pros andcons to that, but this one
really sort of bisects the mainartery of the city and then of
course the other two sort of dothe same for their respective
cities Totally.
Speaker 1 (06:12):
And when we kind of look at the specific extensions
too, the first to the Green Line, took the main Green Line and
went about four miles furthernorth, adding three new stations
to the Northgate area.
What was really impressiveabout this to me especially for
something that just opened in2021, was it took the section of
(06:33):
the Seattle light rail that wasalready underground and added
this section of four milescompletely underground until the
final station on that extension, which I feel like we don't see
that much of anymore.
I I mean, we were just talkingabout in the top 10 list before
that like it's really impressivethat la is building all these
subways.
I feel like it's maybe I wasn'tpaying attention as much as
this stuff in 2021, which istrue, yeah, but that's
(06:55):
impressive to have four miles ofunderground, yeah it really is,
and also with the fact thattunneling in the us is so much
more expensive than othercountries.
Speaker 2 (07:04):
We've talked a little bit about what was the, what
was the or the islands, theFaroe Islands and their
tunneling project, and howthey're spending this crazy
amount to tunnel between theirislands, but you don't see
things like that in the US thatoften, so the fact that we are
looking at not only new railline, but new rail line
underground is incredibly,incredibly impressive, totally
(07:24):
Especially for Seattle.
Speaker 1 (07:25):
Yep, and that extension too.
I mean it covered a little bitmore of the area just north of
the University of Washington, aswell as a bit of
transit-oriented development andsome park and ride.
And then eventually openingjust this past August was the
Linwood extension.
This one's going to soundreally impressive.
Sound, sound, wow, isn't itlike Beep?
(07:50):
No, it's going to sound reallyimpressive.
It added eight miles ofadditional track with four new
stations.
This section to me, though, isa little less impressive because
it literally just now jumpsright into I-5.
It goes above ground here,which is fine, you know.
Once you get out of the reallydense areas, I think it makes
sense to have the line runningabove ground, but it's Scrolling
(08:11):
through Google Maps.
A lot of parking lots,single-family homes.
Maybe it will get somepark-and-ride ridership if you
run some good feeder buses andwhatnot as well, but I don't
know.
Speaker 2 (08:22):
I think it's at a point where the rail line is
expanding in a way that futureTOD can be developed, so more
transit-oriented development canspring up around these lines.
And if any of that's going tohappen, it's probably going to
be near the highway, especiallyfor these suburban areas.
Because, as you're saying, thiswhole extra area, this
extension of the line I've beenin that area plenty of times.
(08:43):
It is very suburban, exactlywhat you would think of as being
very suburban, which also makesit really difficult to not just
follow the highway.
So you need to find a majorcorridor for this rail line to
run through.
They found that with, I thinkit's I-5.
Yep, and now there'sopportunity for more development
, more little town centers andthat kind of thing.
So I think, I think it's okay.
Speaker 1 (09:03):
Yeah, yeah, no, I and I agree, I agree, and it's like
in the areas where you're goingto get the most ridership.
It seems like they were kind offollowing the places where it
makes the most sense and then,as you get further out, it's
never going to be as you know.
Uh, you're not never going tohave as much ridership further
out like that.
Speaker 2 (09:17):
And I do think you see this in other cities too um,
where you start hitting thesesuburban areas Now, the rail
lines do tend to follow, youknow, highways.
We see that in DC.
There's the silver line thatruns from DC out to the Dulles
international airport, and then,I think, one stop beyond that
and it follows a highway for thevast majority of its run,
because you're now in suburbanDC.
(09:38):
It just makes the most sense.
Speaker 1 (09:40):
I know it's similar in Chicago too I don't know
which line, and I mean there'sall sorts of pros and cons with
that.
Obviously, you already have theright-of-way, but when your
station, in a lot of cases, isin the middle of a highway, you
lose a lot of the convenience asfar as walking.
Walking goes, I mean, yourwhole catchment area of people
who could live there goes downquite a bit, although, spoiler.
Speaker 2 (09:58):
we have some stuff that we want to look at in DC,
but there's some good transitoriented development that spans
the highway, so there are modelsthat could work.
It's also maybe a goodmarketing tactic.
You know, you're sitting inyour car and you're stuck in
traffic for an hour and you lookup and the train just keeps
going past you and you're likeman, if I had just parked three
exits back, I could have takenthe train.
Speaker 1 (10:16):
I think that that's actually like a yeah, I think
that that's positive.
I agree, I think that's yes,marketing.
I like it.
Speaker 2 (10:22):
The extensions are actually really good timing
because there's a hugeinterstate project on I-5 that's
actually going to happenrelatively soon.
It's about an eight mile sortof redevelopment of the highway
where they're doing someexpansion and some improvements.
So there's gonna be a lot ofdisruption in the area and as
long as these rail lines areopen and running, then you give
(10:43):
passengers a new way to get intotown.
Speaker 1 (10:45):
Totally.
It's a great reason to trytransit and maybe those highway
lanes will be wasted in the endanyway.
We're gonna jump right backinto this episode in just a
second, but first, if you havenot liked this video or
subscribed, please considerdoing so.
It helps us out quite a bit.
Also, leave a comment.
We love reading them Absolutely.
Speaker 2 (11:03):
And if you don't have time to watch YouTube videos
every time we release, you canalways catch us on your favorite
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podcasts are available.
Speaker 1 (11:12):
And if you want to support the show, we are
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And if you want to support theshow, we now have a Patreon
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You get lots of additionalbenefits for being a member on
Patreon.
All the information for that isin the description.
But without further ado, let'sjump back into the episode.
Yeah, one other thing I justwant to mention on this before
we get into kind of an excitingdevelopment.
They had a new line actuallyopened this year as it was the
(11:32):
one over in Bellevue.
But the fact that we're seeinglike extensions with tunnels
just makes me so sad about wherethings are in Austin at the
moment.
Speaker 2 (11:42):
Oh, I was going to say the tunnels made you sad.
No, the tunnels didn't make mesad.
Speaker 1 (11:45):
It's just like I wish that we could see extensions or
even any light rail being builtwith tunnels in Austin.
We did an episode on ProjectConnect a couple months back
that we'll leave a link that youcan go check out and it at one
point was going to have atunneled section through
downtown and then slowly it kindof got watered down a bit more.
And I mean, I'm still veryexcited about Project Connect
(12:06):
and I think that you knowcurrently there are really big
things happening and it's movingin the right direction, but sad
to see the loss of the tunnelshere.
Speaker 2 (12:17):
I would guess that what's happening in seattle,
bellevue and tacoma is beingheavily supported by the state
of washington.
They just have a more positiveoutlook on public transit.
They're going to put more moneytowards it, way more than texas
, what do you mean, where we areconstitutionally required to
send 90 of of our funding toroads.
Speaker 1 (12:34):
Higher than 90.
I forget the exact.
I think it was like 98% orsomething.
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (12:39):
Which you know.
You dig up the road and thenyou put the rail line in and
then you use those funds torebuild the road.
That's fair.
But yeah, it is disappointingto see sort of the watered down
project connects plan in Austin.
I'm still very excited for usto have light rail, for us to
have light rail.
Let's build it.
Maybe there's a future whereyou can put it below grade
Probably not, but let's just getit built.
Speaker 1 (13:00):
We'll take what we can get when we can get it
Exactly.
Speaker 2 (13:02):
But it is super exciting to see this in the
Seattle area, and so we'lldefinitely have to make a trip
there at some point to actuallyget a chance to ride these
things.
The one thing I'm not seeingconnected no monorail
interconnect.
Speaker 1 (13:13):
Ooh, there might be.
Speaker 2 (13:15):
I didn't actually look, I haven't seen it.
Speaker 1 (13:16):
All right, we'll see.
We'll see.
So in addition to theseextensions, we did have a whole
new line open this year, whichwe previously mentioned here,
but it's the line that openedkind of from the south end of
Redmond to just south ofBellevue.
So currently this is kind of astandalone line in Bellevue.
(13:36):
Just looking around on GoogleMaps, it connects quite a few
different kind of businesscenters.
You've got some definitetransit-oriented development and
housing and whatnot, some parkand ride kind of more.
You know less dense stations,and it also has a tunneled
section.
It's got some above-grade, someat-grade, so it's a real mix.
(13:59):
It covers 6.6 miles with eightnew stations throughout the city
of Bellevue.
Yeah, very impressive it is, andwhat's really Very impressive.
Speaker 2 (14:10):
Very impressive.
I haven't spent any time inBellevue so I'm trying to really
grasp what it would look like,and I haven't seen many images
from this line in Bellevue but Idon't know what a commuter
pattern looks like there, but itdoes sound very impressive.
Speaker 1 (14:23):
Yeah, and so what will be extra interesting?
So I spent the afternoon kindof scrolling around Google Maps,
and you can already see theconnection that it will have
over the lake Lake Washingtoninto Seattle, and that's going
to be really exciting and it'sgoing to be happening really
(14:44):
soon.
One other thing to note aboutthe line over in Bellevue
currently, some of the stops areserved by kind of sprawly strip
malls and things like that, but, to quote myself, where you see
service parking lots, I seepotential A lot of those strip
malls.
In the long run, it's just likea perfect blueprint to make
(15:05):
some transit-orienteddevelopment in those areas
without really causing much of afuss.
No one's going to be upset tosee the back spaces at a Target
disappear and be redevelopedinto a nicer area with housing
and restaurants.
Somebody can find a reason tobe upset.
Yes, it's a historic parkingspot, yeah, so that's one other
thing to note about Bellevue,and yeah, I mean.
(15:28):
The exciting stuff, though, iswhat comes next.
So, as we've mentioned a coupleof times, these lines are
disjointed presently, and thatis about to not be the case.
So we're going to see kind oftwo major extensions in 2025,
one of them much more major thanthe other.
I'll start with a less excitingone.
(15:49):
The line over in Bellevue isgoing to gain a couple stations.
Going to the north, intoRedmond, that'll be two new
stations.
Speaker 2 (15:56):
The more exciting of the two extensions for the Blue
Line, or Line 2, as some peoplein Seattle, some of the
Seattleites, would call it, isthe fact that it's going to
connect Bellevue to Seattle andthat's going to cross Lake
Washington.
It's going to hit Mercer Islandalong the way, and what's
really cool about this is thatit's going to be on a floating
bridge, which Seattle has.
Several of these really longfloating bridges, some of the
(16:19):
longest in the world, and it'sjust really impressive Like the
idea that one the bridge isfloating blows my mind, but also
that the light rail is going tobe able to just be sort of
added to it.
Speaker 1 (16:31):
Yeah, no, it's really impressive and, like you can
currently go and look at this onGoogle Maps right now and kind
of see the tracks are alreadybuilt and kind of running
through this whole section.
So, yeah, I mean it sounds likethere have probably been some
disruptions to service with thisextension, you know, being
under construction, which is tobe expected, as you'd imagine.
(16:51):
I mean, the construction andplanning nightmare of all this
has got to be so hard.
Speaker 2 (16:57):
One of my local folks on the ground in Seattle I was
just texting with before thisepisode and they were saying
asked if some of the delays hadbeen resolved and he said
absolutely not.
Speaker 1 (17:08):
So they're still working out some of the kinks
that come with combining thesetwo lines Right, but I mean the
finished project of this isgoing to make such a huge
difference for folks kind ofcommuting or just like traveling
throughout the region to makesuch a huge difference for folks
kind of commuting or just liketraveling throughout the region.
They've done a good job of likeshowing on a map of you know,
areas that are currently open.
And then the plan for thefuture, and we're not even
(17:29):
covering all of the plan for thefuture in this.
We're really just kind ofcovering the things that folks
were complaining were not in thevideo last week, but there's a
whole lot more coming down theline.
I actually just watched a videoby City Beautiful.
I'm sure you've seen them onYouTube at some point.
They talk about furtherextension to the Green Line and
(17:50):
some of the transit-orienteddevelopment and potential for
transit-oriented developmentthat is coming there.
I'd encourage you to check thatout if you're interested in
seeing more about that.
Speaker 2 (17:58):
Yeah, and that Green Line, I believe, is going to be
the connection to Tacoma.
Speaker 1 (18:03):
No, no, just kidding.
Yes, the green line does go toTacoma.
This video is more so about thenorthern end that goes towards
Ballard Gotcha.
Speaker 2 (18:14):
But the future state of transit in Seattle means the
green line is going to extenddown to Tacoma.
So similarly you have theextension between Bellevue and
Seattle.
Now we'll also have thisconnection from Seattle to
Tacoma to Federal Way.
Is the station yes, when itwill connect?
Speaker 1 (18:31):
Yes, yes, exactly, but yeah, I mean a lot of
exciting stuff coming in Seattlein 2025 and 2026 and beyond.
I'd love to see the vision.
Honestly, it's really funplaying, like I was saying, with
the maps and seeing where it isnow and where it will be and
(18:51):
how stark the changes are.
Speaker 2 (18:53):
So, with all that being said, if you are from the
Seattle, bellevue or Tacoma areaand you have some more insight
on these projects, please,please, please, please, reach
out to us.
Put it in the comments, send usan email, reach out to us on
social media.
However you want to talk to usand let us know what you think
about the projects, how excitedyou are.
(19:13):
Maybe you hate the projects.
If you're listening to thispodcast, you probably don't hate
the projects.
Speaker 1 (19:16):
Yeah, I would guess not.
Speaker 2 (19:18):
Yeah, if you're interested in us coming to
Seattle, which I would love todo.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, let us knowthat you want to meet up.
We'd love to meet up and take aride on the new trains.
Speaker 1 (19:26):
Totally.
If you haven't liked this video.
If you're watching, pleaseconsider doing so.
Also, subscribing both of thosehelp us out quite a bit.
Also, if you're able to supportus directly, patreon is the
best way to do so.
The link is in the description,but it is patreoncom slash
transit tangents.
If you want to do a one-timedonation, we also have options
for that as well on Buy Me aCoffee.
(19:46):
But with all that being said,thank you all so much for
watching and enjoy the rest ofyour Transit.
Speaker 2 (19:52):
Tangents Tuesday.
Doors are closing.
Public transit that's my way toroll On the metro.
I'm taking control.
Bus stops, train tracks it's mydaily grind.
Public transit, it's the rhythmof my life.
Speaker 2 (00:18):
This week we're taking a look at the Pacific
Northwest and the upcoming lightrail expansions connecting
Seattle, bellevue and TacomaWashington.
Learn how this mega region issetting the standard for West
Coast urbanism on this episodeof Transit Tangents.
Speaker 1 (00:32):
Hey everybody and welcome to this episode of
Transit Tangents.
My name is Lewis and I'm Chris,and welcome to the new year.
Today we are going to becovering a topic that was
heavily commented on andrequested during our New Year's
Eve episode, which was the top10 new transit projects opening
in 2025.
A lot of upset folks in thePacific Northwest, specifically
(00:55):
in Seattle, for not mentioningthe extensions to the Seattle
White Rail that are currentlygoing on.
Speaker 2 (01:01):
Yeah, I was really impressed by the amount of
viewership we got and also justthe engagement on that
particular episode.
Speaker 1 (01:07):
people love like top 10 yeah, like the day we put top
10 into something people loveto like check it out.
Speaker 2 (01:14):
So I'm very sorry to anybody in seattle if we
disappointed you.
Speaker 1 (01:16):
Yes, um, but because of that disappointment that you
got last week, uh, this week, uh, we're gonna make it up to you
with an episode specificallyabout your light rail network.
So it's pretty exciting.
I haven't looked specificallyat Seattle in a long time it's
been a long time since I've beenthere personally but they're
doing really big things as faras transit goes.
If you were to look at a map ofSeattle's light rail network
(01:39):
right now, it looks a little odd.
If I'm being honest.
It's a couple disjointed linesin Seattle and Bellevue and
Tacoma that aren't currentlyconnected at all.
Speaker 2 (01:49):
Yeah, and all those areas also geographically, are
fairly distant from each other.
I mean, you have Seattle in themiddle, you have Bellevue
across the lake, and I'm alreadymessing up.
Speaker 1 (01:59):
The water, the body of water?
Speaker 2 (02:01):
I don't know the name of the lake in between Seattle
and Bellevue.
Yeah, the body of water, LakeWashington.
Speaker 1 (02:08):
Lake Washington.
Yes, yeah, it just wasn'tcoming to me, I don't know why.
Yeah, there are.
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (02:13):
Well, as I say, but there is a significant
geographic distance.
So you have Seattle in themiddle, you have Lake Washington
, bellevue on the other side andthen you have Tacoma, which
Tacoma is pretty far south ofSeattle.
So when you're looking at a map, these three transit systems,
they all sort of exist in theirown bubble Right.
Speaker 1 (02:31):
And they are connected to via buses and there
are it's not the main point ofthis episode, but there are two
they call them the soundertrains which are the kind of
commuter rails that run throughthe area, so it's not like
they're fully disconnected.
Um, but yeah, I mean these areseparate, distinct areas that
just have a lot of travel goingback and forth between them, uh,
as it's a kind of growing metroarea, um, but yeah, I mean,
(02:54):
it's really interesting to lookat, uh, what is there now and
what's coming.
So let's first just kind oflike dive into the existing
lines that are there, just soyou get an idea of what is
currently existing in Seattle.
So we'll start off with thefirst light rail line that
opened in Seattle, which was thegreen line or the one.
I'm seeing it listed as both.
I'm not from Seattle.
(03:15):
So, folks, seattleites,seattleites, seattleites, let us
, let us know if you is thegreen line, the one, I don't
know.
Speaker 2 (03:23):
Before we go any further with this, we want to
take a second and really thankeveryone who did comment and
participate in our last video,where we did the top 10 transit
projects to pay attention to in2025.
Speaker 1 (03:36):
yeah, we is by far exceeded the number of views and
listens we've gotten in a weekbefore, so a big thanks there.
Apparently, people really likedthe topic.
We gained some new members onPatreon.
We also got a big donation onBuy Me A Coffee.
Yes, yeah.
Speaker 2 (03:53):
Huge Thank you for that.
About $125 on Buy Me A Coffee,which is absolutely huge, thank
you.
Thank you so much.
Speaker 1 (03:59):
Yeah, and it will go directly towards us being on the
ground in more places acrossthe country.
We've already done six, I think, city in a day using only
public transit.
We've got another one comingvery soon.
We're going to be leaving in acouple days.
Speaker 2 (04:13):
Yeah, we're leaving in a couple days.
This video will come out wellbefore this city, but we are
headed to DC in a couple daysand it's going to be quite cold.
So your donations not only getus there, but maybe it buys us a
nice warm coffee to survive thecold.
Speaker 1 (04:34):
Yes, but with all that being said, again, thank
you all so much, and we'll jumpright back into the video about
the Seattle Transit Expansions.
So to start off, we're going tojust overview what the existing
light rail lines in the areaare today.
So we'll start off first withthe green line, which presently
runs from Linwood all the way upin the north, through Seattle,
(04:54):
to Angle Lake in the south ofSeattle.
That line's been extended acouple of times, which we'll
talk about in a second here.
The second line is the blueline.
Second here, the second line isthe blue line which kind of
runs from the Redmond area toSouth Bellevue, that's on the
other side of Lake Washington.
Speaker 2 (05:10):
Other side of Lake Washington?
Speaker 1 (05:11):
Yes, and then, finally, we have a smaller light
rail line, the orange line,that currently runs in Tacoma.
Speaker 2 (05:19):
Which is down the East Passage, which I knew, that
one, the East Passage.
There you go In the sound.
Yes, that's all I got.
Speaker 1 (05:27):
But it's pretty interesting because when you
look and see a lot of theextensions to this network have
opened just in the last fewyears, kind of basically since
2021.
Speaker 2 (05:40):
I've been to Seattle quite a few times and I've seen
this under construction forquite a few years.
We have some friends who livereally far north, in the suburbs
north of Seattle, and they'vebeen building this light rail
for a couple years now and it'spretty awesome to see.
And the Green Line especially,I believe it runs sort of
following the highway throughSeattle.
(06:00):
So there's maybe some pros andcons to that, but this one
really sort of bisects the mainartery of the city and then of
course the other two sort of dothe same for their respective
cities Totally.
Speaker 1 (06:12):
And when we kind of look at the specific extensions
too, the first to the Green Line, took the main Green Line and
went about four miles furthernorth, adding three new stations
to the Northgate area.
What was really impressiveabout this to me especially for
something that just opened in2021, was it took the section of
(06:33):
the Seattle light rail that wasalready underground and added
this section of four milescompletely underground until the
final station on that extension, which I feel like we don't see
that much of anymore.
I I mean, we were just talkingabout in the top 10 list before
that like it's really impressivethat la is building all these
subways.
I feel like it's maybe I wasn'tpaying attention as much as
this stuff in 2021, which istrue, yeah, but that's
(06:55):
impressive to have four miles ofunderground, yeah it really is,
and also with the fact thattunneling in the us is so much
more expensive than othercountries.
Speaker 2 (07:04):
We've talked a little bit about what was the, what
was the or the islands, theFaroe Islands and their
tunneling project, and howthey're spending this crazy
amount to tunnel between theirislands, but you don't see
things like that in the US thatoften, so the fact that we are
looking at not only new railline, but new rail line
underground is incredibly,incredibly impressive, totally
(07:24):
Especially for Seattle.
Speaker 1 (07:25):
Yep, and that extension too.
I mean it covered a little bitmore of the area just north of
the University of Washington, aswell as a bit of
transit-oriented development andsome park and ride.
And then eventually openingjust this past August was the
Linwood extension.
This one's going to soundreally impressive.
Sound, sound, wow, isn't itlike Beep?
(07:50):
No, it's going to sound reallyimpressive.
It added eight miles ofadditional track with four new
stations.
This section to me, though, isa little less impressive because
it literally just now jumpsright into I-5.
It goes above ground here,which is fine, you know.
Once you get out of the reallydense areas, I think it makes
sense to have the line runningabove ground, but it's Scrolling
(08:11):
through Google Maps.
A lot of parking lots,single-family homes.
Maybe it will get somepark-and-ride ridership if you
run some good feeder buses andwhatnot as well, but I don't
know.
Speaker 2 (08:22):
I think it's at a point where the rail line is
expanding in a way that futureTOD can be developed, so more
transit-oriented development canspring up around these lines.
And if any of that's going tohappen, it's probably going to
be near the highway, especiallyfor these suburban areas.
Because, as you're saying, thiswhole extra area, this
extension of the line I've beenin that area plenty of times.
(08:43):
It is very suburban, exactlywhat you would think of as being
very suburban, which also makesit really difficult to not just
follow the highway.
So you need to find a majorcorridor for this rail line to
run through.
They found that with, I thinkit's I-5.
Yep, and now there'sopportunity for more development
, more little town centers andthat kind of thing.
So I think, I think it's okay.
Speaker 1 (09:03):
Yeah, yeah, no, I and I agree, I agree, and it's like
in the areas where you're goingto get the most ridership.
It seems like they were kind offollowing the places where it
makes the most sense and then,as you get further out, it's
never going to be as you know.
Uh, you're not never going tohave as much ridership further
out like that.
Speaker 2 (09:17):
And I do think you see this in other cities too um,
where you start hitting thesesuburban areas Now, the rail
lines do tend to follow, youknow, highways.
We see that in DC.
There's the silver line thatruns from DC out to the Dulles
international airport, and then,I think, one stop beyond that
and it follows a highway for thevast majority of its run,
because you're now in suburbanDC.
(09:38):
It just makes the most sense.
Speaker 1 (09:40):
I know it's similar in Chicago too I don't know
which line, and I mean there'sall sorts of pros and cons with
that.
Obviously, you already have theright-of-way, but when your
station, in a lot of cases, isin the middle of a highway, you
lose a lot of the convenience asfar as walking.
Walking goes, I mean, yourwhole catchment area of people
who could live there goes downquite a bit, although, spoiler.
Speaker 2 (09:58):
we have some stuff that we want to look at in DC,
but there's some good transitoriented development that spans
the highway, so there are modelsthat could work.
It's also maybe a goodmarketing tactic.
You know, you're sitting inyour car and you're stuck in
traffic for an hour and you lookup and the train just keeps
going past you and you're likeman, if I had just parked three
exits back, I could have takenthe train.
Speaker 1 (10:16):
I think that that's actually like a yeah, I think
that that's positive.
I agree, I think that's yes,marketing.
I like it.
Speaker 2 (10:22):
The extensions are actually really good timing
because there's a hugeinterstate project on I-5 that's
actually going to happenrelatively soon.
It's about an eight mile sortof redevelopment of the highway
where they're doing someexpansion and some improvements.
So there's gonna be a lot ofdisruption in the area and as
long as these rail lines areopen and running, then you give
(10:43):
passengers a new way to get intotown.
Speaker 1 (10:45):
Totally.
It's a great reason to trytransit and maybe those highway
lanes will be wasted in the endanyway.
We're gonna jump right backinto this episode in just a
second, but first, if you havenot liked this video or
subscribed, please considerdoing so.
It helps us out quite a bit.
Also, leave a comment.
We love reading them Absolutely.
Speaker 2 (11:03):
And if you don't have time to watch YouTube videos
every time we release, you canalways catch us on your favorite
podcasting platform, fromSpotify to Apple to anywhere
podcasts are available.
Speaker 1 (11:12):
And if you want to support the show, we are
available.
And if you want to support theshow, we now have a Patreon
launched.
You get lots of additionalbenefits for being a member on
Patreon.
All the information for that isin the description.
But without further ado, let'sjump back into the episode.
Yeah, one other thing I justwant to mention on this before
we get into kind of an excitingdevelopment.
They had a new line actuallyopened this year as it was the
(11:32):
one over in Bellevue.
But the fact that we're seeinglike extensions with tunnels
just makes me so sad about wherethings are in Austin at the
moment.
Speaker 2 (11:42):
Oh, I was going to say the tunnels made you sad.
No, the tunnels didn't make mesad.
Speaker 1 (11:45):
It's just like I wish that we could see extensions or
even any light rail being builtwith tunnels in Austin.
We did an episode on ProjectConnect a couple months back
that we'll leave a link that youcan go check out and it at one
point was going to have atunneled section through
downtown and then slowly it kindof got watered down a bit more.
And I mean, I'm still veryexcited about Project Connect
(12:06):
and I think that you knowcurrently there are really big
things happening and it's movingin the right direction, but sad
to see the loss of the tunnelshere.
Speaker 2 (12:17):
I would guess that what's happening in seattle,
bellevue and tacoma is beingheavily supported by the state
of washington.
They just have a more positiveoutlook on public transit.
They're going to put more moneytowards it, way more than texas
, what do you mean, where we areconstitutionally required to
send 90 of of our funding toroads.
Speaker 1 (12:34):
Higher than 90.
I forget the exact.
I think it was like 98% orsomething.
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (12:39):
Which you know.
You dig up the road and thenyou put the rail line in and
then you use those funds torebuild the road.
That's fair.
But yeah, it is disappointingto see sort of the watered down
project connects plan in Austin.
I'm still very excited for usto have light rail, for us to
have light rail.
Let's build it.
Maybe there's a future whereyou can put it below grade
Probably not, but let's just getit built.
Speaker 1 (13:00):
We'll take what we can get when we can get it
Exactly.
Speaker 2 (13:02):
But it is super exciting to see this in the
Seattle area, and so we'lldefinitely have to make a trip
there at some point to actuallyget a chance to ride these
things.
The one thing I'm not seeingconnected no monorail
interconnect.
Speaker 1 (13:13):
Ooh, there might be.
Speaker 2 (13:15):
I didn't actually look, I haven't seen it.
Speaker 1 (13:16):
All right, we'll see.
We'll see.
So in addition to theseextensions, we did have a whole
new line open this year, whichwe previously mentioned here,
but it's the line that openedkind of from the south end of
Redmond to just south ofBellevue.
So currently this is kind of astandalone line in Bellevue.
(13:36):
Just looking around on GoogleMaps, it connects quite a few
different kind of businesscenters.
You've got some definitetransit-oriented development and
housing and whatnot, some parkand ride kind of more.
You know less dense stations,and it also has a tunneled
section.
It's got some above-grade, someat-grade, so it's a real mix.
(13:59):
It covers 6.6 miles with eightnew stations throughout the city
of Bellevue.
Yeah, very impressive it is, andwhat's really Very impressive.
Speaker 2 (14:10):
Very impressive.
I haven't spent any time inBellevue so I'm trying to really
grasp what it would look like,and I haven't seen many images
from this line in Bellevue but Idon't know what a commuter
pattern looks like there, but itdoes sound very impressive.
Speaker 1 (14:23):
Yeah, and so what will be extra interesting?
So I spent the afternoon kindof scrolling around Google Maps,
and you can already see theconnection that it will have
over the lake Lake Washingtoninto Seattle, and that's going
to be really exciting and it'sgoing to be happening really
(14:44):
soon.
One other thing to note aboutthe line over in Bellevue
currently, some of the stops areserved by kind of sprawly strip
malls and things like that, but, to quote myself, where you see
service parking lots, I seepotential A lot of those strip
malls.
In the long run, it's just likea perfect blueprint to make
(15:05):
some transit-orienteddevelopment in those areas
without really causing much of afuss.
No one's going to be upset tosee the back spaces at a Target
disappear and be redevelopedinto a nicer area with housing
and restaurants.
Somebody can find a reason tobe upset.
Yes, it's a historic parkingspot, yeah, so that's one other
thing to note about Bellevue,and yeah, I mean.
(15:28):
The exciting stuff, though, iswhat comes next.
So, as we've mentioned a coupleof times, these lines are
disjointed presently, and thatis about to not be the case.
So we're going to see kind oftwo major extensions in 2025,
one of them much more major thanthe other.
I'll start with a less excitingone.
(15:49):
The line over in Bellevue isgoing to gain a couple stations.
Going to the north, intoRedmond, that'll be two new
stations.
Speaker 2 (15:56):
The more exciting of the two extensions for the Blue
Line, or Line 2, as some peoplein Seattle, some of the
Seattleites, would call it, isthe fact that it's going to
connect Bellevue to Seattle andthat's going to cross Lake
Washington.
It's going to hit Mercer Islandalong the way, and what's
really cool about this is thatit's going to be on a floating
bridge, which Seattle has.
Several of these really longfloating bridges, some of the
(16:19):
longest in the world, and it'sjust really impressive Like the
idea that one the bridge isfloating blows my mind, but also
that the light rail is going tobe able to just be sort of
added to it.
Speaker 1 (16:31):
Yeah, no, it's really impressive and, like you can
currently go and look at this onGoogle Maps right now and kind
of see the tracks are alreadybuilt and kind of running
through this whole section.
So, yeah, I mean it sounds likethere have probably been some
disruptions to service with thisextension, you know, being
under construction, which is tobe expected, as you'd imagine.
(16:51):
I mean, the construction andplanning nightmare of all this
has got to be so hard.
Speaker 2 (16:57):
One of my local folks on the ground in Seattle I was
just texting with before thisepisode and they were saying
asked if some of the delays hadbeen resolved and he said
absolutely not.
Speaker 1 (17:08):
So they're still working out some of the kinks
that come with combining thesetwo lines Right, but I mean the
finished project of this isgoing to make such a huge
difference for folks kind ofcommuting or just like traveling
throughout the region to makesuch a huge difference for folks
kind of commuting or just liketraveling throughout the region.
They've done a good job of likeshowing on a map of you know,
areas that are currently open.
And then the plan for thefuture, and we're not even
(17:29):
covering all of the plan for thefuture in this.
We're really just kind ofcovering the things that folks
were complaining were not in thevideo last week, but there's a
whole lot more coming down theline.
I actually just watched a videoby City Beautiful.
I'm sure you've seen them onYouTube at some point.
They talk about furtherextension to the Green Line and
(17:50):
some of the transit-orienteddevelopment and potential for
transit-oriented developmentthat is coming there.
I'd encourage you to check thatout if you're interested in
seeing more about that.
Speaker 2 (17:58):
Yeah, and that Green Line, I believe, is going to be
the connection to Tacoma.
Speaker 1 (18:03):
No, no, just kidding.
Yes, the green line does go toTacoma.
This video is more so about thenorthern end that goes towards
Ballard Gotcha.
Speaker 2 (18:14):
But the future state of transit in Seattle means the
green line is going to extenddown to Tacoma.
So similarly you have theextension between Bellevue and
Seattle.
Now we'll also have thisconnection from Seattle to
Tacoma to Federal Way.
Is the station yes, when itwill connect?
Speaker 1 (18:31):
Yes, yes, exactly, but yeah, I mean a lot of
exciting stuff coming in Seattlein 2025 and 2026 and beyond.
I'd love to see the vision.
Honestly, it's really funplaying, like I was saying, with
the maps and seeing where it isnow and where it will be and
(18:51):
how stark the changes are.
Speaker 2 (18:53):
So, with all that being said, if you are from the
Seattle, bellevue or Tacoma areaand you have some more insight
on these projects, please,please, please, please, reach
out to us.
Put it in the comments, send usan email, reach out to us on
social media.
However you want to talk to usand let us know what you think
about the projects, how excitedyou are.
(19:13):
Maybe you hate the projects.
If you're listening to thispodcast, you probably don't hate
the projects.
Speaker 1 (19:16):
Yeah, I would guess not.
Speaker 2 (19:18):
Yeah, if you're interested in us coming to
Seattle, which I would love todo.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, let us knowthat you want to meet up.
We'd love to meet up and take aride on the new trains.
Speaker 1 (19:26):
Totally.
If you haven't liked this video.
If you're watching, pleaseconsider doing so.
Also, subscribing both of thosehelp us out quite a bit.
Also, if you're able to supportus directly, patreon is the
best way to do so.
The link is in the description,but it is patreoncom slash
transit tangents.
If you want to do a one-timedonation, we also have options
for that as well on Buy Me aCoffee.
(19:46):
But with all that being said,thank you all so much for
watching and enjoy the rest ofyour Transit.
Speaker 2 (19:52):
Tangents Tuesday.
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