City of Issaquah
The city fully supports implementing tolls on SR 520 in 2010. The city is particularly concerned about diversion onto north-south routes (e.g. I-405) as alternatives during peak hours and believes those routes should receive improvements before any charges are considered on I-90.
The city strongly supports maintaining a free or low-cost method for minimum-wage workers and local business to cross Lake Washington on the I-90 bridge.

City of Kirkland
The city supports early tolling of 520, tolling of I-90 when SR 520 is tolled and implementation of HOT lane systems on I-405.
Revenue need not be confined to paying the capital costs for construction of the facility where it was collected. In order to minimize negative impacts of pricing, choices such as high quality transit must be provided on priced corridors. Low-income users may benefit most from viable alternatives to pricing such as high quality transit.

City of Mercer Island
If tolls are placed on SR 520 and I-90, as a congestion management device or as mitigation for anticipated traffic diversion from 520, the revenues derived from tolling these roadways must be retained for transportation construction, maintenance, improvement and mitigation within the cross-Lake Washington corridor.
Early 520 tolling to generate a revenue stream for bridge replacement (with the smallest possible toll, so as to avoid massive diversion onto I-90).

City of Kenmore
Recommends further analysis of the impacts on 522 that local residents use as a cross-lake connection when 520 is unavailable or experiencing difficult delays.
The city recommends a Bus Rapid Transit service on the 522 corridor that will provide service at least every five minutes during the peak periods and every 15 minutes during off-peak periods.
Prior to any tolling, complete the scheduled improvements on the 522 corridor, especially those in Kenmore and Bothell.

City of Redmond
Toll revenue should only be used for capital and maintenance expenses in the cross-lake corridor and help fund the capital cost of the new 520 bridge.

City of Renton
The city is concerned about how diversion could affect I-405. Improvements to I-405 funded with the Nickel and TPA gas taxes must continue on its present schedule in order to avoid major problems when tolling starts.

The 520 bridge touches Medina and Points communities. Toll booths were used originally to pay for construction, but this time drivers will have money deducted from a pre-paid account when a transponder in their vehicle is electronically scanned. Photo by Chad Coleman.

By Maks Goldenshteyn
Reporter Newspapers
There’s a certain irony to the story former Kirkland mayor and current state Rep. Larry Springer likes to share about the 520 bridge, a corridor he and friends would drag race across as juniors at Bellevue High School.
Back in 1964 starting at 11 o’clock at night, a year after the bridge was first opened to drivers, they’d head west until reaching the middle of the bridge deck, make a U-turn and race back to Bellevue.
“There was just nobody on it,” he said.
Thirty years later as a member of the Kirkland City Council, Springer was appointed to the first 520 Study Committee. It was understood that as the aging structure became more vulnerable to earthquakes and windstorms, and as congestion worsened with regional growth, something needed to be done. But in 18 months on the job, the 47-person committee “decided absolutely nothing,” he said.
Another 13 years after that, Springer finally got to vote on a 520 bridge, which only resulted in him being placed in yet another study committee.
“It’s like this bridge is imprinted in my brain,” he said.
Now on the SR 520 Legislative Workgroup, charged by Gov. Chris Gregoire with recommending financing and design options to her and the state Legislature by Jan. 1, 2010, Springer and other area lawmakers and community members could finally polish off plans in the coming months for a new bridge.
That means tolls.
Expected to open in 2014, the cost for the new and expanded six-lane corridor should be at around $4.65 billion. Drivers will likely pay a variable toll fee on the existing bridge starting sometime next year. It would cost around $3.60 to cross the bridge during peak hours, Springer said.
Interstate 90 will not be tolled to begin with, assuming that it and other corridors in the region aren’t significantly impacted by what happens on 520, according to state legislation.
Should tolling on 520 lead to gridlock elsewhere, lawmakers may revisit their options.
“If I-90 turns into a parking lot, we’re probably going to have to toll it,” said Springer, adding that many of his peers believe I-90 will have to be tolled at some point anyway.
Officials say 520 will be adopting the same electronic tolling system — called “Good to Go!” — that was recently implemented on the Tacoma Narrows Bridge and on SR 167.
Drivers won’t be forced to stop at booths, but will need to install a small transponder inside their car, which would link up with an overhead antenna to deduct money from a prepaid account.
Drivers without transponders or those visiting from out of town would have their license plates photographed and would be invoiced for the cost of the toll later on. A surcharge would also be deducted for the cost of processing the video, according to WSDOT.
While stakeholders on the Eastside agreed on an interchange design over a year ago, one of the biggest hurdles left to clear is what to do with the Montlake interchange on the west end of the corridor, where construction will carry a much larger price tag.
The committee will look to mitigate impacts like building on wetlands and in historic areas, the effects on wildlife and appeasing neighborhood groups.
One potential conflict has also arisen over building on Foster Island, which was at one point a Native American tribal burial area, Springer said.
“What the goal is, is to see to see if we can bring those different community factions into one design that is within the funding target,” said Barbara Gilliland, who administrates the SR 520 Legislative Workgroup that held its first meeting July 29.
Gilliland said that of three proposed plans, two options appear to be the front-runners.
Under the first option, a second drawbridge would be added over the Montlake Cut. The other option calls for constructing a tunnel under the Montlake Cut in addition to an interchange under the 520 roadway.
Springer, who’ll be sitting in on the Westside interchange discussion, says he has no personal preference on the matter, so long as the bridge performs, has the required throughput capability and is within the budget.
“Other than that, they can string a rope bridge if they want to, and that’s OK with me,” he said.
Maks Goldenshteyn is a writer for the Kirkland Reporter. He can be contacted at mgoldenshteyn@kirklandreporter.com.

When using an ORCA card to ride Link, tap your card at a card reader on a yellow pole before boarding the train. When you get off the train, tap your card again at the ORCA reader. The correct fare will be deducted. Photo by Chad Coleman.

“In the Puget Sound, there has always been a high degree of commuters using multiple systems to get around. In the past, transportation has depended on flash projects – getting from Point A to Point B by visually showing a pass to the driver,” Carlson explained. “We have come up with a more convenient way to connect Puget Sound commuters and to distribute revenue regionally.”
The all-in-one ORCA card uses smart card technology to automatically account for different fares and transfers on Community Transit, Everett Transit, King County Metro Transit, Kitsap Transit, Pierce Transit, Sound Transit and Washington State Ferries. The ORCA program offers users the advantage of reloading funds, known as the card’s E-purse value. Users can reload an ORCA card online, by phone, mail or at transit or light rail stations around the Puget Sound.
An ORCA card also can be loaded with a transit pass that can be used for unlimited trips during the period the pass is valid.
The card is free if requested before February 1, 2010. It will be available for purchase online, at any of Sound Transit’s customer service offices, at transit and light rail station link TVM (kiosks), or local grocery stores including some Safeway and QFC locations.
While researching a new pass program, Carlson and her team looked elsewhere for implementation ideas. Large cities such as San Francisco, Chicago, Washington, D.C ., and Houston all use some form of all-in-one transportation.
“Most major cities have some type of program similar to ORCA but we wanted to take it one step further,” she said. “We have seven separate agencies who have agreed to come together and collaborate on this one program. That is huge.”
The ORCA system will be able to track data in a more efficient way, Carlson said, from the number of morning commuters to the most populated modes of transportation.
“This will allow us to make adjustments and improvement in the most accurate way possible,” she noted.
As the ORCA card program continues to roll out, more options of transportation will be available including Van Pool.
If a card is lost or stolen, the it can be canceled and funds can be transfered to a new card. E-purse funds can be added according to travel needs or can be automatically programmed to upload funds from a direct account on a monthly basis.
“OCRA card users can go online and reload the card’s fare on the Web site and the great thing is that the electronic purse (E-purse) doesn’t expire,” Carlson explained. “With the ORCA program, we are making things better for the customer and it provides us with data from a business standpoint.”
The ORCA card program also offers a number of advantages to business owners and large corporations. ORCA enables businesses to pick the transit products that best fit their business needs while providing them with tools to make it easier to manage their transportation programs. Businesses have the choice of two programs – the Business Passport and Business Choice.
“From a business standpoint, the ORCA card programs just make sense,” Carlson said. “We have already issued 25,000 cards to Microsoft employees. Companies such as Boeing can use the ORCA business Web site to track how much ridership they have to save on cost. For large businesses, this could result in huge savings.”
The Business Passport includes a comprehensive, annual transportation pass program that offers employees options for their commutes. With the Passport option, employees can choose to ride by bus, transit, rail, vanpool and guaranteed ride home service.
The Business Choice option gives employers the discretion to provide ORCA cards to as few or as many commuters as they choose and can load each card with a variety of product options including a monthly pass, E-purse or E-voucher. The advantage of the E-Voucher is that it allows the employer to provide a set value that their employees can convert to an e-purse or monthly pass. If the voucher goes unused for 30 days, the value is refunded to the company.

How to get your ORCA card
Ten customer service offices and three retail outlets are located throughout the four-county ORCA region Visit www.orcacard.com for more information on these locations. ORCA cards purchased from customer service offices and retail outlets are fully functional and immediately ready for use.
You also can order a new ORCA card online at www.orcacard.com or by phone at 1-888-988-6722 or TTY Relay at 711:1-888-889-6368. ORCA cards ordered online or by phone are typically processed and delivered by mail in five to seven business days. Once a new card arrives, it must be tapped on a card reader before it is fully functional and ready for use.

How to use your ORCA card
When using an ORCA card to ride Link, tap your card at a card reader on a yellow pole before boarding the train. Present your valid ORCA card to the fare inspector upon request. When exiting, tap your card again at the card reader at the station to complete your transaction and ensure that the correct fare is deducted.

How to reload an ORCA card
Users can reload an ORCA card at any Link TVM with either a pass or more E-purse value. Simply insert your card in the ORCA card holder and select the product you would like to load onto your existing card. Card reload transactions done on a TVM are immediately processed and ready for use.
You also can reload an ORCA card at an ORCA Customer Service Office or a participating retail outlet or online at www.orcacard.com, 1-888-988-6722.

Lindsay Larin is a writer for the Bellevue Reporter. You can contact her at llarin@bellevuereporter.com.