Kent teen who died apparently didn't hear sound of oncoming train

Follow up from my earlier post on the same tragedy.

As mentioned by the BNSF spokesman in this article, "...expect movement of a train on any track at any time in any direction." A very sad story about the dangers of inattentive behavior.

Local News | Kent teen who died apparently didn't hear sound of oncoming train | Seattle Times Newspaper

Tacoma Editorial about Light Rail

It took this pointy editorial for me to recall that we as a region hatched this dream of light rail in 1996. Wow. Before Nintendo 64. Before Columbine. Before 9/11. It feels like a lifetime since we voted in the Puget Sound for Light Rail.

http://www.thenewstribune.com/opinion/story/318324.html

Columbia Basin Herald

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In this article Columbia Basin Herald writes about the ongoing Moses Lake project that will link the airport to BNSF. Everyone has been pushing to fund this one, because it involves a very big airport and and region full of opportunity.

New Amtrak Stop in Stanwood

Stanwood will be getting a new Amtrak stop in 2009, thanks to a state-funded project that will allow the trains to stop there for the first time in decades. With the area fast becoming a bedroom community for Everett and even Seattle, it's not surprising and very very welcome on two points. First, the region gets for train service. Second, the high speeds at which Amtrak runs through the town may now be cut out because trains will actually stopping there instead. The corner on which the platform will be located is where some folks have crossed and gotten hit.

Federal Way Weighs In on Light Rail

After Proposition 1 failed with voters last Fall, Sound Transit was forced to go back and redraw their vision for light rail. The proposals they have written up so far have any trains coming south out of Sea-Tac to dip down into the Kent Valley before heading to Tacoma.

This bypasses Federal Way entirely, and they're not too happy about that.

I can see why. As I've mentioned before, Federal Way is highly populated and grossly overloaded with vehicle congestion. If there ever were a suburb that could be considered poster child for mass transit, FW would be a start. The city needs it more than many surrounding it.

Girl, 17, killed by Amtrak train in Kent

Very very tragic. This story should never have been written, but sadly people die on tracks each day. The article described her crossing point as "200 yards north of James St" which would be Cloudy St. There is no road across the mainline there, which means no signs or protection. The tracks are a dangerous place.

My thoughts and prayers go out to her family today.

FP9 on The Palouse

Fellow Coug Mike Bjork has captured yet another great scene in his one-man battle to bring rail notoriety to The Palouse! On April 19th he captured this pair - an FP9 plus bonus GP30 - hauling revenue cars through the region. One might think this was taken in 1968, rather than 2008.

These are quiet, lonely, rolling hills which hold their own kind of beauty. I miss this region very much, and am thankful that Mike - plus my niece Emily - can experience Whitman County as I did two decades ago.

Nice work Mike!

The Secret Power of Light Rail

Redevelopment along Seattle's Martin Luther King Way has begun a full year in advance of the new light rail line that will be running up the valley. This area is in dire need of I would consider the "Secret Power of Light Rail" - the ability to take a tired neighborhood and stimulate it into the 21st Century. Ironically 60 years ago a light rail / interurban system was considered "outdated." Buses were the way. Leapfrog to 2008; you want to ride a Metro bus up MLK? No thanks...

Opponents to this line - and the money spent on light rail through the valley - don't understand this point. Thing is, developers do understand this point and are willing to pour money into the area because of this vision.