Route 194, by Oran
Starting in September, Route 36 will connect Othello, Beacon Hill, and the tunnel stations. It will be entirely electrified, which means it’ll serve neither the extreme southern end of Beacon Hill nor the front entrance to the VA hospital.
The guaranteed time from Westlake Station to the airport will be 36 minutes, which makes this a good a time as any to discuss what I like to call “194 love.”
The first complaint about Link is that the 194 is scheduled to take 31 to 33 minutes, depending on the time of day. And to that I’d say:
- 3 to 5 minutes is not a big deal for an airport trip.
- Bus schedules are hardly precise, especially when they involve the freeway.
- The 194’s headways are worse, especially in the evening, meaning overall travel time is usually longer.
- Comfort of ride and boarding matters. I’ve ridden both, and I have to say Link is much more pleasant, especially when carrying large bags.
The second complaint is that the Link station is too far from the airport. Let’s leave aside the discussion of why that is, since blame is irrelevant to the experience of travelers.
Below is an image of the airport. It’s true that there are certain gates closer to the bus stop than the rail station, just as the reverse is also true. Moreover, as someone that has fairly broad experience of major world airports, I can testify that Link, at about 250m, is not particularly far from the terminal by those standards.
The third complaint is that, by going through the relatively violent Rainier Valley, it’s just not a desirable way to get to the airport. However, to what extent should Metro dedicate redundant resources to make sure that the region at large doesn’t have to mix with people from the South End? Personally, I’d rather see those service hours in areas that are under-resourced.
And that brings us to the larger point. There are some reasons that someone might mildly prefer taking the 194 to Link, under very specific circumstances. Given infinite resources, it might not hurt to maintain the 194. In the real world, however, an airport express that largely duplicates Link should be a very low priority.
Snaking through SoDo is hardly pleasurable, even on a bus-heavy day like a monday. It runs up your travel time. And when you can’t take the 194, you have to take the 174, which is infinitely more unsavory than Link’s jaunt through the Rainier VAlley.
SoDo is 100x sketchier than the Rainier Valley is.
Plus Link won’t take the wrong exit off of I-5, which believe it or not, has happened to me on the 194. Almost missed my flight as a result.
I don’t have any crime statistics in front of me, but is the Rainier Valley really more violent than, say, the city of SeaTac and its unincorporated environs? Because my guess is that for a few residents of SeaTac the 194 would have made a reasonably good normal commuter bus. Anyway, one additional point to add is that Link stopping in the Rainier Valley is a good thing because it’s a residential neighborhood where people who want to ride it to flights actually live. Now more people can ride to the airport – sorry if my ride from Columbia City to Sea Tac adds 4 minutes to your trip!
And then think of what happens when U-Link and North Link get built!
I’m cheap and like to pick my seat, so I almost always fly southwest. And you have to walk from the bus stop all the way down past the other airlines to check in at Southwest, so I think Link would be closer for me.
What the airport needs to do is make sure the signage is clear. The terminal is designed on an auto model–it assumes that you’re getting dropped off in a car or parking and entering the terminal on the upper level for departures. Bus and Link users both enter the terminal on the baggage claim level and it’s not immediately obvious where to find an up escalator to get bags up to ticketing to be checked.
O and getting a few of those golf-cart type little shuttles to help elderly/disabled people get from the station to the terminal would be a good idea.
wait, isn’t southwest the airline that DOESNT let you pick your seat and just gives you a card for which boarding group you are in?
And it’s the best! I fly SW whenever I head to Virginia.
Of course, given my use of Old Trusty (my wheelchair), I get to preboard, so I’m not sure how the groups thing work
And yes, the Link station is closer to Southwest than the bus stop
no, you pick your seat when you get on the plane.
Correct, but once you physically walk onto the plane you pick out whichever open seat you would like. Your boarding group is based on when you checked in for your flight, not when you booked it, therefore you can book a flight late and still score a nice window/aisle seat =)
You get a letter and number and that is the order that you board the plane. Once you are on the plane its a free for all. Love Southwest!
Southwest is not always the cheapest. On the west coast, Alaska equals or beats their fares on most routes. Plus you support a large population of local employees. Make sure you do your research before buying a ticket. Plus in the latest DOT rankings, Alaska was the #1 on-time mainland major carrier.
Of course, I’m a little biased.
And, Southwest has been rabidly anti-rail in Texas where their HQs are.
I think it would be totally cool if they built a little outside of security extension of the STS to Link, and maybe even with a couple stations along Int’l Blvd near the hotels and the Rental Car Center.
If people are really concerned about safety though the “violent” Rainier Valley, they should fly to Chicago-Midway and take the Orange Line into the city. It makes Rainier Valley look like a safe paradise.
Certainly agree with you there. I’ve taken the Orange Line from Midway very late at night, through city environs much worse than around Seattle.
Or people with concerns about the Rainier Valley’s violence could actually try something like walking around the Rainier Valley and seeing the place firsthand.
Seriously. People have ridiculous stereotypes about Southeast Seattle, and most of them have never set foot in the place.
Not to mention the only slightly hidden racism present in most comments I’ve seen about crime and violence in Rainier Valley.
Which isn’t to say there isn’t crime and violence in Rainier Valley like any other part of the city. Furthermore Sound Transit needs to make sure both Link and the Station areas are safe over the entire length of the line.
So true – it is an interesting and vibrant neighborhood both on Rainier and MLK. Get our of your cars, get off the train or bus and walk around – great restaurnats all over.
Try taking the Green Line from LAX to downtown LA. It’s amazing. You go through South Central (not as bad as it was, but still) then have a transfer to the blue line in the middle of Watts, a station away from Compton.
From there the blue line goes through skid row, which is worse than you could imagine if you haven’t been there.
All at about 1.5 hours total travel time.
I just hope they’ll keep service from the eastside as a direct bus route (560?) and not force a transfer to Link in the ID (550?). IF you make direct connections the transfer wouldn’t be that much longer but the hassle of transferring with bags would be a pain.
I also would hope no changes will be made to the 194 until the airport station is actually open. A bus transfer from International Blvd would be a royal pain.
The 194 is going to stop running in Feb ‘10
Bernie,
All your wishes will come true. There are no plans to mess with the 560. The 194 is sticking around till February.
Getting rid of the 560 would abandon everyone south of Bellevue.
A couple of comments:
1) The long range plan of the Port is to extend the main terminal northward and/or to add an additional north terminal. These plans are in a bit of flux after 9-11 and the current economic situation, but one can see by looking at the photo that if the main terminal was extended to the NE along the parking garage, then the Link station will be almost as well located as the current bus stop.
2) The Link Airport station is a multi-modal station. As such, it’s location near International Blvd is actually a better location then being located inside the airport perimeter. I.e., it serves bus transfers much better and quicker.
3) The Link Airport station also has a kiss-and-go for drop off passengers. You wouldn’t want to build such a facility inside the airport perimeter because it would add to traffic on the airport departure/arrival access roads.
So I have no problems with the current location near Int Blvd – I just wish the passenger walkway went directly to the terminal instead of proceeding along the parking garage, but I suspect that has a lot to do with the Port and not ST……
I agree the location of the Link station makes a lot of sense. I expect that once the airport figures out it’s expansion plans (on hold right now because of the inability to finance anything) there will be a sky bridge with people mover connecting directly to the terminal. The other main reason the Link station is located where it is is because this is not the end of the line. The tracks are going to extend to Federal Way and eventually perhaps to Tacoma. Also, there are a lot of people that are headed to the hotels on International Blvd. Both employees and people that spend the night at the airport because they don’t want to risk travel delays the day of the flight or an airport location is the host hotel for a conference.
Very true. The airport station is serving the entire neighborhood not just people who want to go to the airport.
I took the 194 to the airport yesterday evening. Typical headways are down to half an hour but there’s still a huge ridership to Federal Way. So it was crush loaded by the second tunnel stop, and skipped stops after. The driver wanted to let on more people while a not-so-sober mass of riders banded together to harass the driver until he moved on. We got to the airport ten minutes late.
I used to be skeptical about light rail to the airport, but now I think it’s going to mean a big improvement in things other than scheduled travel time: shorter headways, longer hours mean less taking the 174, avoiding the rare times the 194 gets stuck in traffic, higher capacity, more room for luggage, level boarding and not waiting 5 minutes to unload at the airport as people pay.
My cousin just relocated from college to the Seattle area about a year ago. He grew up and went to college in conservative areas. He called me up two days ago to ask me if I had seen the map of Link and where it stopped. Well yes, and? He repeatedly asks me if I saw where the stops were. I said, well the airport yeah that’s good. He then says, RAINIER VALLEY… it actually stops there… I never thought they’d actually stop the light rail there I figured it’d just cruise right through with the doors closed and the shades pulled. Don’t you think that the first international student shot on their way to UW from the airport before they even start class is going to be the end of that thing? He says, he’s never going to go near it so he isn’t shot.
I thought the whole thing to be a bit grandiose. I could care less. I get giddy when I see the train come by in the tunnel and I hear it’s bell ringing. It reminds me of being in Germany. But hearing him and seeing similar mention in this article makes me wonder how many people will avoid link because of it’s “seedy” route? I believe it’s the sort of thing that would improve a neighborhood over time.
Or it might just provide transit service to people who don’t look like your cousin, who knows.
I’m sorry, but what a snob
And yes, I’ve been through the valley at strange hours – alone mind you – and never had any problems
Same here. In fact, when I first moved here about two years ago, I didn’t really understand peak hour service, and took the 48 to Columbia city and transferred to the 39 to get to a Professor’s house for dinner with a bunch of other grad students. Of course, by the time we were done the bus wasn’t running, and by the time I realized this, everyone else had left and I was way too embarrassed to go back to the Prof’s house and ask for a ride. So I walked back west to the 48 stop, which by that time was only going as far south as Walden, and got picked up by a wonderful 42 driver who let me off where I could wait for the 48. I felt pretty safe (if quite lost) and everyone was really nice, despite the fact that I was a vulnerable, soaking wet, 20-something woman all alone in the ‘not so nice’ part of town.
I don’t get down to the Valley that often (I don’t get out of the chem lab that often, period) but in the spirit of openness, anybody recommend some good places to stop and get lunch when I want to ride Link later this summer for the fun of it?
geekgirl,
Fear not. Before Link opens, we’ll have a big piece on exactly what there is to do down here.
The Columbia City Ale House. Nice atmosphere, English decor, food a bit on the fancy/expensive/skimpy side. I sometimes go Fridays after work. Not sure if it’s open mid-day. It’s on the east side of Rainier within a block or two of Edmunds. There are several other restaurants around it too.
Columbia City Ale House is on the fancy/expensive side? Almost every entree is under $12?!
Yes, but they’re still using slightly unusual ingredients to justify jacking up the price 2 or 3 dollars. Not to pick on CCAH; many pubs do the same. There’s a gap between greasy spoons that fry everything in trans fat, and pseudo-chef places that use fancy-sounding ingredients in order to maintain a high price. I don’t want the extras but I don’t want unhealthful food either, yet plain old honest comfort food has almost disappeared. (Of course, Seattle is lucky to have so many pho restaurants that somewhat fill the gap.)
There are still some diners around with good honest comfort food at a reasonable price. The two best examples I can think of are the 5-Point and Mecca cafes (both owned by the same people). Same thing with pubs, many still have decent food without going the “gastropub” route.
The Woodinville Cafe next door to the Park & Ride. Great food, easy on the wallet. And, they have a whole collection of train memorabilia!!!
Lottie’s in Columbia City!
Taco Bus! AKA Tacos El Asadero 3517 Rainer Ave S. Best tacos in the city!
Tacos El Asadero does indeed have the best tacos in the city. There’s another good Mexican place, I forget what it’s called, but it’s a small little place SE of either Othello or Columbia City station.
Is that Tacos Los Tri-Met Bus?
Oh wait, that’s at Rainier and Henderson where the 7 turns around.
Awesome suggestions everyone! I can’t wait!
Hopefully as your cousin spends more time in Seattle and the local environs he will learn to overcome his conservative fears and phobias. And maybe Link will play a positive role in that process.
Ignorance is not welcome on link any way. If he chooses to not take advantage of this great new resource so be it. I think a region wide field trip to Watts is in order. Coming from California and seeing what people consider to be the ghetto out here is such a laugh. It is quite honestly ridiculous. People really need to get out more. I bet the “bad area of town” was much worse in whatever conservative hole he went to school in anyway. Down with ignorance!!!
“Ignorance is not welcome on link” Well that does’t seem very inclusive. Will there be a sign in each station? Will they keep the 194 going to serve the ignorant?
Seriously, this whole Rainer Valley “problem” is ridiculous. Although Rainer valley does have some rundown and low-income blocks, there are vast swaths of it that are very well off. In fact, the Rainer Valley was originally the first rich “suburb” of seattle, then the seperate city of South Seattle. Many of the old mansions still exist throughout the Mt. Baker and Seward Park neighborhoods. Columbia City is one of the city’s few historic neighborhoods with as much gentrification as Wallingford or Ballard. True there are many immigrant communities and people of color and the average income is lower than in North Seattle but most of them are families with deep connections to schools, churchs, community arts programs, and the like. Plus, its still Seattle, vastly more expensive then many of the suburbs. Please go walk around or take a bike ride around there before you make these judgments because as an ex-Rainer Valley employee I am very offended by many of these comments.
Would people be complaining if there was a stop in Belltown? Why not the stop in Pioneer Square?
If you read the comments on either the Seattle Times or the PI’s website you will see that the same folks complain mightily about Belltown and Pioneer Square as well.
@JoshMahar: ‘Seriously, this whole Rainer Valley “problem” is ridiculous.’
Yes. South Seattle had a lot of Boeing people until the white flight in the 60s. But some of the old families still live there, and they’ll tell you it was never as bad as people imagine, and in any case it has become much safer since the early 90s. But people who have been there only a few times if ever perpetuate this idea that you’ll get shot if you go down there. Shootings happen a few times a year as in the U-district, but 99% of residents are not affected.
It reminds me of a story a salesman friend told me. This was in the 80s but it’s still more or less accurate. He was an appliance salesman at the Bellevue K-Mart and somebody came in asking for something that wasn’t in stock. He called the Renton store but they were out. He offered to call the North Seattle and West Seattle stores but the customer didn’t want to go to Seattle (because, you know, those people live there), so he ended up calling the Lynnwood store, 15 miles away.
Of course, there’s an opposite bias by people who can’t stand to be in automobile-oriented neighborhoods, and don’t really trust the New Urbanism in downtown Bellevue or Burien yet.
“The second complaint is that the Link station is too far from the airport. Let’s leave aside the discussion of why that is, since blame is irrelevant to the experience of travelers.”
Depends, of course, which airline you are flying.
Also – the Port has plans to expand the terminal…TOWARDS the light rail station.
One thing I’ve been puzzling over as I watch the Link station go up at Seatac is exactly how a passenger will get from Link to the terminal? It’s not terribly obvious as you drive by. Am I reading the comments above correctly that you will walk through the parking garage? Isn’t that sort of … lame?
When you fly into SFO you realize you are in a city with mass transit – a few steps to the Airtrain, transfer to BART, you are downtown in 30 minutes for ~$5. I was hoping Link would be as smooth but I guess not.
They will have a very well marked passageway that goes along the edge of the parking garage.
They assume that if you’re going to the airport you wanted to fly :=
Yes, I will say that the location of SeaTac/Airport Station is very bad. Are domestic or international travelers carry more luggage? The answer is obvious.
Unfortunately, international departures and arrivals are at sound end of the airport terminal. It is completely opposite with SeaTac/Airport Station. It will be difficult for people with many large and heavy luggage to reach SeaTac/Airport Station from airport terminal.
I think Port of Seattle should consider installing a horizontal escalator to help travelers moving between airport terminal and SeaTac/Airport Station.
We all need exercise, we all need to travel with less stuff.
That’s a tad condescending. There are folks of all ages with mobility issues that would be well-served with a moving walkway.
Condescending perhaps (mea culpa), but 1) the airlines are far more condescending to their “customers” in the air than ST and the Port will ever be on the ground, and 2) I know of nobody who is forced to fly except perhaps on a medevac flight.
The bus stop location isn’t so great if you are flying Alaska or Horizon which by far have the most passengers at Seatac. So wherever the station was it would be a compromise.
If you are doing a rental car return you can end up pretty far from your gate and check in counter as well.
People with a lot of heavy luggage quite likely will not be taking public transit to the airport anyway.
While all international arrivals are in the South Satellite not all international departures are. For example Alaska and Horizon flights to Canada and Mexico depart from the normal Alaska and Horizon gates.
Besides, lets keep this in perspective, for an airport with as much traffic as it had Seatac is remarkably compact.
Like Martin’s post said, just about every airport I’ve visited with rail connections requires a long walk between the station and the terminal. Paris CDG is probably a good 8 – 10 mins between exiting the RER B and getting to the first terminal, let alone the ones further down the line. And that’s on a good day with few people and if like me, you know exactly where you’re going. Luckily the majority of the walk is aided with people moving platforms.
All Link would need is a simple skybridge to the NE terminal and it would be one of the simplest rail-to-airport connections I’ve seen. I’m confident that will happen in the future.
The more complaints I hear about Link, (the route, station design, whatever), the more I think Seattle residents just haven’t traveled and seen how it’s actually done in the rest of the world. I hope Link turns out to be a big slap in the face to people in this region.
I concur with your comments about Seattle residents not having traveled, although I sometimes wonder if it’s more that they do travel but travel in a way that prevents them from really experiencing the world they are traveling through.
Specifically in regards to transportation, there are a lot of good transportation systems world-wide, but Seattleites just don’t seem to know much about them. Is this because they don’t travel? Or is it because that when they do travel they simply don’t attempt to use these transportation systems? You know, since they come from a city like Seattle that has a lousy public transportation system, then maybe they just assume that “all” public transportation is lousy so they just never give it a try. It is possible to travel in a bubble of misconceptions after all.
But I do agree with your last comment. When Link is up and operating a lot of the complainers will be silenced. I have no doubt that the system will be a success, and that the public reaction will be “more”, or more likely still, “more now!”
No doubt. Take the tube out to Heathrow, then come back and tell me how bad the Link station and SeaTac are. I guess there’s plans to bring the train all the way into the airport; but then you’re at Heathrow. Horizon could run commuter flights to get people around that damn place! Just hope you don’t end up with a long layover in the (non airconditioned) hamster tube :-(
Grab a cart, or suck it up and get a little exercise. The location is not bad at all, and I’d bet most travelers at Seatac aren’t International traverlers at all, so why design the station around the minority?
There are many very good reasons for the station to be located where it is — read some of the previous posts on the subject to understand why.
Great replies from everyone.
As a person going international terminals frequently, I completely forgot that transportation is designed for all. I am sure that Port of Seattle will find a way to help people moving between terminal and SeaTac/Airport Station easily if there is a demand.
That said it would be nice if the port put in some sort of moving sidewalk or skybridge to the Link Station.
Supposedly they plan on doing this when they expand the terminal, but I wonder the likelihood of that happening. Fuel prices most likely are going to continue to go up which will force higher ticket prices and less air travel thus less need for airport expansion.
I assume that if the crime moves onto LINK, that ST will just hire some off duty cops to keep things in order. They have too much money into it to let a few punks ruin their reputation and kill any further local voter funding.
Don’t you DARE mess with Link!
Those of you who are afraid of any LOOOTERs you might meet aboard Link are welcome to support this private enterprise:
http://www.graylineseattle.com/airportexpress1.cfm
You’ve got more than 36 days to love the 194– from what I hear it will be around until at least February 2010 shakeup, a couple of months after the Link Tukwila-SeaTac portion has been completed.
Let’s tell the truth. The reason the 194 is going away is so Sound Transit can inflate the numbers on Link Light Rail. I keep getting told that there will be other bus routes that will run pretty much the same as the 194 until they(the members of the King County Council and the State Legeslative) hear I work nights. Then they avoid me.