iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Justin G @jgottula.bsky.social · 07/10/2026

That's funny, I had just been wondering where LRV 355 currently is. And then, surprise, the article photo reveals that at least two-thirds of it is currently in Chicago, apparently. Quite a detour!

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Justin G @jgottula.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

Yeah, the traffic noise at that station plaza area was *loud*. Even standing out over toward the 5th Ave NE side, without direct line-of-sight to I-5, the sound still just kinda bounces off the ceiling and so it's still loud.

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Justin G @jgottula.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

Unclear. It's the first time I've seen a weather-related 2 Line floating bridge closure. Lasted roughly 10 minutes. Nothing about the weather seems excessive. Have been listening back to the LCC radio, but there wasn't really anything about what the specific bridge circumstance actually was.

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Justin G @jgottula.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

Those two things are pretty modest for the overall eastside picture (sure would've been nice to actually get that county transit measure), but it's at least a meaningfully better-looking picture than was there even just a month and a half ago.

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Justin G @jgottula.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

I'm curious whether some recent developments would've made a difference for that situation at all. Now with the 547, there's finally *some* night service (albeit only along the Link corridor itself). And then Lime also finally launched in Bellevue (so it's not just in Redmond anymore).

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Justin G @jgottula.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

Technically, some bits of the ST2 system we have today (e.g. DT Redmond, most of Fed Way) were back-funded by ST3. But obviously your broader point stands, nitpickery aside. (And I have to imagine those pieces would've eventually been built out anyway without ST3, just not as soon as we got them.)

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Justin G @jgottula.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

Are there also fewer protectionism-based barriers in Europe? (I'm ill-informed on the topic.) I know that here, we overwhelmingly tend to arbitrarily limit ourselves to an artificially narrow selection of manufacturers due to Buy America requirements, among other reasons.

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Justin G @jgottula.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

The "10nm is almost ready! we swear! for real this time! we promise! any day now! and we definitely aren't just re-releasing stuff on basically the same process node with basically the same microarchitecture as if it's a whole new generation of CPU over and over again" era What a mess that was

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Justin G @jgottula.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

So like… I dunno… maybe we could put some of those down? Or something? But hey, we could also do nothing. That's a cool idea too. Maybe just one more sign that says "NO, YOU CANNOT STOP HERE" will finally make drivers stop blatantly ignoring signs that are right in front of them. Who can say?

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Justin G @jgottula.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

Hey guys… guys… this is gonna blow your mind, but they make these "flex post" things, which are a lot like cones, except attached to the pavement! Unlike bollards, they even bend over, so actual stalled vehicles can still easily reach the shoulder! (Or maim cyclists, when used as a PBL "barrier".)

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Justin G @jgottula.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

I love that the solution to the problem was literally "just put some cones down", and that it worked. And then, even though that did work, it's subsequently been deemed "not viable" as a thing that we could continue to do, for reasons that seem a bit silly. (Cones are too "temporary"?)

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Justin G @jgottula.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

"We are all for progress, but only if it pops into existence instantaneously somehow"

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Justin G @jgottula.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

And the train is moving again (straight back to the yard)

Same SDOT camera as before, showing the collision train slowly moving NB

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Justin G @jgottula.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

Looks like it took quite a bit of effort to get it pulled out from under the front of the train, but they finally succeeded in pulling it free a couple minutes ago

SDOT camera at MLK & Alaska north/south, showing a bunch of ST supervisors and VM guys pulling the Lime vehicle out from under the front left side of train 15 (the one involved in the collision)

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Justin G @jgottula.bsky.social · 29/08/2026

Me, 15 minutes ago: "Well, at least the ongoing bent-signal-pole-blocking-trackway issue on the south segment won't affect my trip to the eastside this evening" Link light rail:

2 Line trains are sharing one track from Redmond Technology Station to Marymoor Village Station until further notice due to a mechanical issue near Marymoor Village. Please board all trains on the platform to Lynnwood City Center.

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Justin G @jgottula.bsky.social · 25/08/2026

Pretty similar to unprotected lefts (left turn but on a normal green, or a flashing yellow arrow) that run simultaneous with a ped signal. I think the lefts are even worse, since drivers are mainly looking for a gap in opposing traffic, while the rights only yield to peds. Neither is good, though.

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Justin G @jgottula.bsky.social · 25/08/2026

Oh, okay. So situations where there's a right-turn-only lane, but it shares a unified phase with the straight-thru green and the crosswalk signal (there isn't a right-arrow phase to make the turn movements mutually exclusive with the crosswalk phase), and so drivers are meant to yield to peds.

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Justin G @jgottula.bsky.social · 25/08/2026

Thanks, I appreciate all the extra details! 😛

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Justin G @jgottula.bsky.social · 25/08/2026

In any case, it seems undeniable that stop-and-go will always be worse than more consistent speeds, hybrid or not, regen braking or not. Plus, quicker trips means less time spent powering the HVAC and other systems per trip. HVAC costs energy regardless of whether the bus is actually moving.

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Justin G @jgottula.bsky.social · 25/08/2026

I know the 8000-series coaches used on the 8 (and most non-older KCM hybrids, really) are series hybrids, so the engine is decoupled from the drivetrain and is free to run at whatever RPM is most efficient. But I believe the degree of load still impacts what that ideal RPM will be. (Not an expert.)

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Justin G @jgottula.bsky.social · 25/08/2026

Wait, wait, wait, is this actually a thing? Right (or left) green arrow phases that run concurrent with conflicting crosswalk phases? Would be very interested to hear examples of intersections where that's the case. It's the sort of thing that seems like it shouldn't possibly be allowed to happen.

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Justin G @jgottula.bsky.social · 25/08/2026

Probably a sternly worded mailer to voters begging for donations to the party on the promise that they will very definitely totally do something about anything at some nebulous point in the future (which they won't)

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Justin G @jgottula.bsky.social · 23/08/2026

But hey, Metro has those STM-funded night owl routes, so you can still technically get to or from e.g. the airport late at night. Except… you have to backtrack all the way to downtown on the 7 or 36 or maybe 107. None of the routes go far enough S or W to make a good connection feasible. It sucks.

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Justin G @jgottula.bsky.social · 23/08/2026

I'm reminded of when ST unveiled the south night bus (the 570 pilot / now the 597), which in theory follows the 1 Line route, but then it just entirely bypasses all of RV, skipping directly from TIBS to SODO. (I guess ST has operational reasons for keeping it on the freeway as much as possible.)

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Justin G @jgottula.bsky.social · 22/08/2026

That pedestrian path to/from Stadium station there, via RB Way, feels needlessly circuitous too. Like, I suppose it's gotta have a big giant dumb spiral because cars need to do big curves to get to the freeway. But was it really infeasible to put in a direct set of stairs anywhere near 4th Ave S?

Pedestrian path along Royal Brougham Way, between T-Mobile Park vicinity and Stadium station, featuring stairs on the west end of the rail overpass but then a big dumb circuitous loop ramp on the east end, because cars

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Justin G @jgottula.bsky.social · 19/08/2026

That's wild. Flex is a tool; but ideally you don't try to use a hammer as a pair of pliers. Currently trying to imagine a posted rider alert notice to the effect of, like, "Attention riders: we are replacing your frequent-service bus stop, located on a major urban arterial, with basically an Uber"

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Justin G @jgottula.bsky.social · 19/08/2026

It was nice having some independence at that age; but it's a shame that it effectively required a car. You couldn't even get to Little Caesars (or anyplace else) and back in 30 minutes without driving. (It could be biked just fine—in theory. But 40mph stroads with no bike lanes? No one did that.)

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Justin G @jgottula.bsky.social · 19/08/2026

I grew up in OC, and yeah… for the first couple years of high school I did the ~25-minute walk home along a 40mph road; but the moment I turned 16, it was drive-self-to-school time. And I distinctly remember juniors/seniors being allowed to head out during lunch to go pick up a pizza or whatever.

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Justin G @jgottula.bsky.social · 19/08/2026

I was so tickled back when I first realized that LRVs 201 and 203—some of the very first series 2 units to be delivered—still use the series 1 style of floor (plain gray with textured walkway areas) rather than the usual series 2 style (speckled paint and smooth surfaces).

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Justin G @jgottula.bsky.social · 19/08/2026

It's the year 205x ST has finally built up enough funds to start construction on the segment to Ballard And then they announce another delay and the need for a couple billion more dollars to do some weird geometry around giant bridge support piles that ended up right where the tunnel was gonna go

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Justin G @jgottula.bsky.social · 19/08/2026

It's been a little while since I last encountered it. (Been riding the 2 Line mostly since April, so mainly KI trains.) I assume that ST has to program in their own non-default door-close sound after LRV delivery, and they probably managed to miss one or more of the doors... something like that.

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Justin G @jgottula.bsky.social · 19/08/2026

I've noticed something like this as well a few times, on at least one of the Siemens LRVs toward the newer end of things (~340+). I'm the kind of person who'd ordinarily go "ooh" and take a video, or write down the LRV number in a note or something, but I don't think I ever actually did for this.

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Justin G @jgottula.bsky.social · 14/08/2026

(All local road impacts aside: From a freeway traffic perspective, it's pretty hilarious to redirect a ton of cars to merge onto I-90 at Rainier instead of the normal way. The late merges there just self-perpetuate the backed-up segment that the detour is ostensibly bypassing in the first place.)

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Justin G @jgottula.bsky.social · 14/08/2026

Looks like there was a crash on the floating bridge a little before 4:30pm, which caused I-90 E to back up solid all the way to I-5 until a bit past 6:00pm. And then the map apps presumably told all of the I-5 to I-90 E drivers to exit at Dearborn and use the Rainier onramp for a "faster route".

Collision on Lacey V Murrow Bridge, with fire trucks already on scene by 4:33pm

"Collision on floating bridge in right lane"

I-90 E all backed up at Rainier, 4:32pm (no doubt made even worse by tons of extra cars trying to merge in at Rainier)

I-90 E backed up all the way past I-5 by 4:43pm

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Justin G @jgottula.bsky.social · 11/08/2026

Here in Seattle, King County Metro just decided to not bother seeking an FTA grant for the RapidRide R Line, which likely means we'll have more than 0-ish suppliers for 5-door trolleybuses, which is neat But I feel really bad for the agencies out there that can't afford not to rely on federal funds

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Justin G @jgottula.bsky.social · 11/08/2026

The refusal of the second Trump admin to approve literally *any* FTA grants is obviously very bad But in a curious twist, it means that some transit agencies that can afford to forego federal funds are potentially unshackled from Buy America requirements, which is sort of a silver lining, I suppose

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Justin G @jgottula.bsky.social · 11/08/2026

The Buy America restrictions are super frustrating when it comes to transit You end up with like 2-ish options for buses And if those suck, then your choices are basically (a) somehow convince a foreign maker to build a plant in the USA, or (b) forego a bunch of federal funding you probably needed

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Justin G @jgottula.bsky.social · 09/08/2026

Ideally, both of those segments would have been grade-separated and certain things would have been better thought out. But getting the initial system built at all was pretty damn hard, and there were many compromises that had to be made to get to that point at all. So I think it's understandable.

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Justin G @jgottula.bsky.social · 09/08/2026

You could argue that they should have built the at-grade stations differently, to accommodate gates. But IIRC, part of why the Rainier Valley segment was built at-grade in the street was to keep costs down; and the two stations in SODO were initially going to be deferred rather than actually built.

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Justin G @jgottula.bsky.social · 09/08/2026

The system, as it initially existed from 2009–2015, had 13 stations: - 4 in the downtown tunnel, shared with bus service (at the time) - 3 completely open in the street median - 2 at-grade and relatively open So really only the other 4 stations would have been readily amenable to gates back then.

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Justin G @jgottula.bsky.social · 06/08/2026

I remember that in CA, you had to file papers with the DMV for PNO. Here in WA, it's just "don't renew your tabs". So actually I'm not sure WA DOL even *can* conclusively distinguish between multi-year registration delinquency, and legit multi-year non-use followed by <1-year non-renewal, this way.

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Justin G @jgottula.bsky.social · 06/08/2026

This is my understanding of how it works, yes. (I'm edging toward total car-freedom, now permanently-ish parking it in a family member's driveway, so I had to look up how planned non-operation works. Ended up renewing, as I'd have to pay the same amount anyway if I were to need it 11 months later.)

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Justin G @jgottula.bsky.social · 05/08/2026

That's really neat! I like it. (I have an old wimpy iPad 9 with an A13 SoC from 2019, so unfortunately it gets brought to its knees pretty quickly. Not surprising, though, since it regularly struggles with a number of things that are quite a bit milder than "15 video streams all at the same time".)

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Justin G @jgottula.bsky.social · 04/08/2026

At first I figured this was just a mistake; but then I found this document, and on page 19 it lists route 517 (the north night bus) separately, under changes planned for 2027. I'd been under the impression that all three night routes were coming this fall, but I guess not.

soundtransit.org

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Justin G @jgottula.bsky.social · 04/08/2026

Interesting... on that page, they do list the new 597 (south/Lakewood) and 547 (east/Redmond) night buses, but they don't mention the north/Everett night bus anywhere.

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Justin G @jgottula.bsky.social · 03/08/2026

I don't know whether the bus lane was *supposed* to be open for cars in any real sense (it's not as if the "BUSES ONLY" signs were covered up); but for Seafair, the traffic management people were very intentionally directing drivers straight into the bus lane and telling them to remain in it.

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Justin G @jgottula.bsky.social · 03/08/2026

So, in summary: yep, this was very much intentionally encouraged. (Not sure if this setup was SDOT's idea, or if SPD came up with it on their own.)

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Justin G @jgottula.bsky.social · 03/08/2026

Occasionally, a car that had turned right into the bus lane wouldn't go all the way down to the end, presumably trying to merge over due to the red paint and large "RIGHT LANE BUSES ONLY" signs. Those drivers got the most yelling. That SPD officer really wanted them to keep going in the bus lane.

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Justin G @jgottula.bsky.social · 03/08/2026

One officer was by the slip lane, allowing/stopping right-turners. But there was another officer (pictured here), positioned just after the intersection, directly in front of the bus stop, standing between the NB lanes, whose job was to yell at drivers to continue all the way down in the bus lane.

Rainier Ave S, as seen from the NB bus stop just north of the intersection with S Genesee St this afternoon (Sun Aug 2).

An SPD officer is standing between the left (general-purpose) lane and the right (bus) lane, motioning and yelling at drivers and specifically instructing them to continue all the way down the bus lane.

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