jordanp2

[jordanp2]

Jordan Priest ENVIR491 Capstone Blog

Greetings fellow ENVIR491 internship folks! My name is Jordan and I am excited to be joining your cohort this quarter and in the fall! I got off cycle with my capstone project, so I will be finishing up my capstone with ya'll. I made this blog post in winter quarter, but I want to get to know you folks and so I am going to treat this as an introduction. I have just made a couple of updates to the post for relevancy.

Hi! My name is Jordan Priest, my pronouns are he/they, and I am a senior. I am interested in environmental education, public transportation planning/urban design, and water pollution. I love wetlands as well, I think they are so cool!

I had the pleasure of working with the Seattle Subway Foundation (SSF).  They are a Seattle-based nonprofit organization that advocates for the best possible public transportation plans for the city of Seattle. SSF works with local community groups, politicians, and the public to spread awareness about light rail and propose ballot measures.  More specifically, their objective is to help build an accessible and reliable light rail system that serves the people of Seattle well. SSF have created a "Vision Map", which outlines their ideal light rail arrangement in the city. 

The bulk of my work with SSF has been to research one of the prospective lines on that map.  In particular, am looking at how a light rail line might run from the Olympic Sculpture Park area across to Madison Valley, and then South to the Mount Baker Transit Station, which I have nicknamed "The Gold Line" due to the golden color with which is depicted on SSF's vision map.  To do this work, I've been doing research remotely, interviewing experts, and making site visits.  The photo below is of me at the under construction station of Judkins Park, which will likely intersect with the Metro 8 corridor line I am investigating.   Everyone who I've met at SSF have been knowledgeable and enthusiastic, and I am thoroughly enjoying this chance to work with them.

One interesting thing about working at SSF is that everyone is working on a volunteer basis.  I have found that this changes the dynamic of the internship, because everyone feels just as motivated and excited about public transit as I am.  It is so inspiring to me to see all of the fantastic labor that SSF folks put into advocating for the accessibility of Seattle.  It also means that I have the privilege of working with people from different backgrounds and diverse day jobs.  In fact, I have been able to speak to several people who work at some of the places that I aspire to work for.

One challenge that I confronted during the project so far was the process I went through letting go of the concept of at-grade light rail for my line.  For context, I spent last summer studying light rail systems in Europe, including Amsterdam's efficient street-level tram.  I love the idea of a cheaper light rail that can be installed on existing streets, transforming the city into a rider-friendly place.  What I did not account for was that all the case studies I was looking at (Portland, Amsterdam, etc) were relatively flat.  It wasn't until my site supervisor took me on a trip to look at Capital Hill through the lens of building light rail tracks that I fully visualized the problem it would be to run light rail on the surface of such steep streets.  Now I realize the benefits of building rail underground or elevated. 

The question I pose to you is an approximation of one that I've been asking at the end of my interviews as well: imagine two streets run parallel to each other and you need to decide which one to put light rail on.  Would you rather have the rail run along a street full of houses or businesses?

#capstonesu2023 #ENVIR491 #Environmental studies