The Sound Transit Lightrail opened this year sporting its brand new trains and stations, but is everyone as enthusiastic as it appears?
Nearly 100 noise complaints were filed since the opening along the route from Rainier Valley to Tukwila. Residents have complained about loud thumping, bells and alarms clanging, and screeching breaks. Most of the complaints seemed to have been generated from neighborhoods where the tracks are elevated, according to Seattle P-I.
Sound Transit has been scrambling to address the problem and a vote will be cast by the agency's officials for $1 million emergency aid money to try and fix the problem, a Sound Transit spokesman told Seattle P-I and King 5.
The plan is to apply a lubricant mechanism that applies biodegradable oils to the tracks along Rainier Valley to stop the screeching breaks and even applying sound barriers to block the bells and any other noise that may be generated.
In Tukwila, according to King 5, investigations are underway to find out the extent of the distrubances that residents have stated penetrated their walls and are well over what Sound Transit had promised at the outset of the project.
A Sound Transit spokesman told the Seattle P-I that the agency has recognized the situation as an emergency and hopes to resolve the issue in a swift manner.
2 comments:
Definitely an interesting subject--especially the bit about biodegradable oils.
The only real issue is that the actual subject of the blog is buried too far in the story. In an article/blog this short, there's no room for a buried lead. Readers might be turned off by what they think is yet another blog about the lightrail controversy, and miss out on the actual meat of the story, which is new and engaging :]
I'm from Colorado and we've had our lightrail system up and working for quite some time. Most of the areas where the lightrail stops have sound barriers in place already, so there haven't been many complaints. It's a great service and I look forward to when it's fully operational here in Seattle.
Post a Comment