Make Husky Stadium a hub of transportation teamwork

This November, voters in the Puget Sound region will be asked to approve a long-awaited "roads and transit" plan. The Legislature is crafting a single, integrated ballot, but the question is: Will roads and transit be integrated in the real world, or just on the ballot?

The true test of teamwork between transit agencies will be found in the parking lot of Husky Stadium at the University of Washington, where a transit hub for both light rail and buses should be sited — think of it as the rubber meeting the rails.

At present, we know only that the stadium lot will accommodate a future underground light-rail station. If that's the limit, we'll miss a huge opportunity.

The roads and transit plan includes an overdue upgrade to Highway 520 with HOV lanes, making bus service fast and reliable. The plan also calls for a major expansion of Sound Transit's light-rail system — extending north to Lynnwood, east over Interstate 90 to Bellevue and Redmond, and south to Tacoma. With 1.2 million new residents on the way and 45 percent more employment by 2030, both I-90 and Highway 520 will be vital transit routes across Lake Washington. Bus ridership on the new Highway 520 bridge will more than triple to 47,000 passengers per day.

The Washington State Department of Transportation's Pacific Street Interchange plan for Highway 520 is by far the best for transit and a bus/light-rail hub. The proposed interchange near Husky Stadium will be able to deliver buses from the Eastside and within Seattle directly and quickly to the doorstep of the future UW light-rail station, which will be the second-busiest in the entire system.

But the UW, Sound Transit, Metro and WSDOT are not cooperating on the design of a future UW transit hub. Without this comprehensive hub, buses will let people off several football fields away from the train station. For all the billions of dollars taxpayers are spending on these projects, we deserve better than this.

From an integrated UW transit hub, buses and trains will depart frequently. Trains will zip to Northgate in seven minutes, Capitol Hill in three minutes and Westlake in six minutes. With a new and better Highway 520, buses will travel to Overlake/Microsoft in 12 minutes. Other buses will serve booming Bellevue and Kirkland.

This transit hub would enable a hybrid rail/bus journey from Northgate to Overlake in a mere 20 minutes, plus a short time to transfer from rail to bus. Without this type of transit hub, the same trip would be routed via downtown Seattle, Mercer Island and downtown Bellevue, taking 47 minutes. The UW transit hub means faster trips for legions of commuters between North King County and the Eastside.

No one would dream of building light rail on I-90 without connecting it to the system being built in Seattle. Likewise, it would be folly to spend billions of dollars on a north-south rail line and billions more on a new Highway 520 that overlaps it, without providing efficient transfers between the two. The fact that different agencies are doing the planning is no excuse for a lack of integration.

The UW's growing population generates 80,000 vehicle trips per day despite laudable efforts to encourage other forms of transportation. Will the UW be part of the solution? Sound Transit runs buses on Highway 520 that serve the UW. Will its own buses and trains meet? Will WSDOT, the UW, Metro and Sound Transit work together on an integrated plan? So far, we have seen a great deal of institutional resistance, and little progress, on the transit hub. This is a microcosm of dysfunctional governance, and it is not acceptable.

The light-rail station at Husky Stadium can remain exactly where planned. What is needed is a comprehensive plan at the surface level that brings bus stops closer to the rail station while facilitating pedestrians, bicycles and vehicular traffic. This can be done in a way that meets the needs of the UW and enhances the campus, if all parties work together to that end.

Elected officials are rising to this challenge, but they need our support.

Seattle City Councilman Richard Conlin has introduced a long-awaited resolution on Highway 520 that wisely prioritizes transit operations and connectivity. Sen. Mary Margaret Haugen has introduced a well-timed amendment to the single ballot bill for roads and transit that would set the stage for collaboration on an integrated plan for the UW transit hub. Sen. Ed Murray is working hard to create the conditions for consensus and cooperation among the many stakeholders in the Highway 520 corridor.

Will Seattle and the Eastside grow together as a great place to live and work, or will we grow apart? We want to grow together. We need our transportation planners to do the same.

Jonathan Dubman is a software consultant and transportation advocate. Rob Wilkinson has a master's degree in urban planning. They are trustees of the Montlake Community Club and co-founders of BetterBridge.org