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The estimated cost now is as high as $4.4 billion to replace the dangerously earthquake-prone Evergreen Point Floating Bridge on State Route 520, which crosses Lake Washington to connect the populous and job-rich Eastside with Seattle. But only $560 million is in hand; and the rest is decidedly iffy, as the Seattle Post-Intelligencer reports. (UPDATE: The state DOT’s 520 page lists $1.25 billion in identified funding, including $700 million in tolls). The P-I editorializes we need to get the full funding package pulled together ASAP. …we’re told that the Evergreen Point Bridge will be rebuilt, pronto, even though we’re $3.5 billion short on the project’s budget. We currently have just under 20 percent of the bridge’s $4.4 billion secured….This “build Read More ›

In a summary of its updated “Commuting In America” study, the Transportation Research Board reports that what might be called “commuting with benefits” is growing, as more drivers make more stops for other purposes on the way to and from work. Commutes are getting more complex, and the trend could lead to still more cars on the road rather than fewer. Planners, many politicians, and environmental advocates would like to see more transit use, but especially where key suburban commuters are targeted, that will depend on speed, frequency and convenience of service. How does “trip chaining” play out presently here in Central Puget Sound? Driving back from your job in Bellevue to your affordable home in Maple Valley, you stop Read More ›

The replacement of Seattle’s slowly sinking, aged and earthquake-prone Alaskan Way Viaduct has lately been at the center of an unresolved political and planning controversy now entering a much needed cool-down phase. Yet the concern remains: what are the effects of large, elevated roadways over busy urban neighborhoods? The Puget Sound Business Journal reports that in the booming Belltown neighborhood just north of downtown Seattle, the nearby elevated Viaduct helps encourage street drug sales and drug use which has demanded increased police presence and continues apace. Under the shadow of the Alaskan Way Viaduct, Seattle police officers Katrina Stuckey and Andrew West seize a crack pipe and a rock of cocaine from a woman in Belltown who is about to Read More ›

In an editorial yesterday titled, “Don’t Bury Streamlined Transportation Planning,” the Everett Herald states it plainly: If November’s joint (roads and transit) vote in Snohomish, King and Pierce counties is to succeed, voters will have to be convinced that they’ll get their money’s worth. Merging the planning and funding of regional transit and highways – functions currently under the separate wings of Sound Transit, the Puget Sound Regional Council, the Regional Transportation Invesment District and the state Department of Transportion (whew!) – under a single, accountable commission would be a step toward winning voter trust. One version of such a commission is contained in ESSB 5803, which passed the Senate earlier this month. The House Transportation Committee is considering its Read More ›

Technorati Profile This is a tech-only post, to register this blog with the blog search engine Technorati.

Welcome to Cascadia Prospectus, the group blog of the Cascadia Center. Here, our group of contributors – Cascadia staff and fellows – will aim for the sweet spot between vision, accountability and investment; providing news, commentary and insight on transportation, trade and technology. Our scope will be worldwide, but with a particular focus on the future of the vital and unique Cascadia region; the states of Washington and Oregon, and the Canadian province of British Columbia. We’ll seek to examine and illuminate best practices and the necessary long-term perspective on transportation planning, funding and governance. We’ll also report and comment on regional economic development; energy and environment; the intersections of technology with trade and transportation; and urban planning. A related Read More ›

We welcome your comments on posts at Cascadia Prospectus. In fact, we’d really like to see more reader comments here, so let ’em rip! The only constraints are: no personal attacks and no profanity. We welcome civil dissent and a robust exchange of views. To add your voice to the conversation, click on “comment” from the bottom of any blog article here. Then simply scroll to the bottom of the page, where you will see the comment box and several lines above, to be filled in. (If you have arrived at one of our blog posts via a link, you will already be on a “permalink” page, and the comment box at bottom plain to see.) Please follow these simple Read More ›

On May 7, 2007, Cascadia Center presents a special day long symposium at the Microsoft Conference Center in Redmond, Washington, titled, “Jump Start To A Secure, Clean Energy Future.” An array of special guests will give presentations and participate in panel discussions on Plug-in hybrid electric vehicles and renewable fuels. Cascadia’s Web page on the event provides a draft agenda, online registration, directions, and six sections of informational resource links.

Chronological news and opinion links from Cascadia Center’s web site, updated regularly.

(Last updated 4/18/07) “Cascadia: More Than A Dream” “Saving The Earth Sensibly With A Carbon Tax” “State Treasurer Urges More Tolling For SR 520 Bridge Rebuild Tab” “The Impact Of ‘Commuting With Benefits’”