Atlas of Maine

Article Title

Using Viewshed Analysis to Determine the Impact of the Proposed Sound Transit Transportation Plan on the Cross Kirkland Corridor

Authors

Gavin C. Blake, Colby CollegeFollow

Abstract or Description

In this project, I used Viewshed analysis in ArcGIS to determine where Sound Transit’s proposed rapid transit would be visible assuming that rapid transit apparatus, like overhead wires, would reach a height of 20 feet. I used a Digital Elevation Model (DEM) and Land Cover and Roads Data to make the model more accurate. While the model could be perfected, it clearly shows that the rapid transit would affect the views of many homes in the Greater Kirkland Area, and as a result, cause the property values of those homes to fall. I concluded that this fall in property value is enough to outweigh the positive effects of rapid transit in Kirkland.

About the Author

Gavin Blake is a student at Colby College currently pursuing a major in Environmental Science and a minor in Economics. At Colby, he is a member of Colby Swimming and Diving and the Student Government Association Finance Committee. He hails from Kirkland, Washington.

Source Data Note

DEM - UW Geomorphological Research Group

Land Cover - Washington State Department of Ecology

Cross Kirkland Corridor, Lake Washington, City of Kirkland Parks - City of Kirkland's Information Technology GIS Database

Streets - King County GIS Center

Rights

In Copyright

Recommended Citation

Blake, Gavin C. "Using Viewshed Analysis to Determine the Impact of the Proposed Sound Transit Transportation Plan on the Cross Kirkland Corridor," Atlas of Maine: Vol. 2016: No. 2, Article 1.
Available at: https://digitalcommons.colby.edu/atlas_docs/vol2016/iss2/1