On May 15, King County Metro staff briefed the County Council’s Regional Transit Committee, (presentation pdf download here) focusing on ridership trends and the agency’s capacity to return to 100% of planned service.

Ridership Trends

First, the good news: Metro ridership continued to grow across almost all modes between 2022 and 2023; Water Taxi service ridership was similar.

Focusing on fixed-route bus service, Metro presented an interesting chart showing how in March 2024, just 20 of the approximately 108 active routes carried half of Metro’s bus ridership. The 20 busiest routes were 2, 7, 8, 14, 36, 40, 44, 45, 60, 62, 70, 160, 372, and the A, B, C, D, E, F, and H RapidRide Lines.

Continue reading “Metro Update on Ridership Recovery and Service Planning” | 7 comments

This is an open thread.

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Ryan Packer has the scoop on Twitter: Yesterday (May 17), Sound Transit staff delivered a letter to the Sound Transit Board of Directors with an innocuous subject line: “Staff recommendation regarding the South Lake Union area alternatives for the Ballard Link Extension“

A brief history: last year, after the Sound Transit Board had selected preferred locations for the Denny Station (Westlake and Denny) and SLU Station (5th and Harrison), the Seattle Chamber of Commerce lobbied Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell to propose a pair of new alternative locations for these stations in an effort to reduce construction impacts on Westlake and Harrison. In December, the Sound Transit Board approved a “feasibility study” to review whether these locations were technically feasible, and to determine how severe the impact would be to the project schedule if these alternatives were formally added for review.

Continue reading “Sound Transit Staff Recommend Against New Alternatives for SLU and Denny Stations” | 25 comments

Link Extension Countdown: Lynnwood Link (August 30). What to expect (Sound Transit).

Transit Updates:

Community Transit boasts 50,355 boardings on Swift Orange Line during its first month of service. Service started on March 30. The World is Orange.

Stride station names survey through May 31.

King County Metro blogs about their hiring and training process. One welcome update: new drivers are moved directly into full-time work, rather than only being allowed part time during their first several months.

WSDOT is finally turning a section of the right lane of southbound SR 305 on Bainbridge into a ferry-only access lane, with upgraded signals at the intersections with Winslow Way and Harborview Drive featuring a phase specifically to move ferry traffic along.

Local News:

The Seattle Times ($) has in-depth looks at first-time Seattle homebuyers moving away, the stubbornness of the Third Avenue homeless issue, mixed-age apartment projects to keep seniors from feeling isolated, and the rising popularity of replacing lawns with climate-friendly vegetation.

SDOT blogs about the opening of Seattle’s first “protected intersection” on May 10, at Dexter and Thomas in SLU. This type of intersection includes extra safety features for cyclists and pedestrians.

In case you missed it: a geo-magnetic of uncommon strength lit up the sky over Washington with the Northern Lights (aurora borealis) this past weekend (Capitol Hill Seattle).

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A post shared by WSDOT (@wsdot)

Continue reading “Midweek Roundup – Open Thread 49” | 115 comments

King County Metro has announced that the 2024 season of Trailhead Direct service starts on May 25, operating weekends and federal holidays (Memorial Day, Independence Day, and Labor Day) through the summer (ending September 15) with routes serving the Issaquah Alps and the Mount Si area. Trailhead Direct is operated by Metro in partnership with King County Parks, the Seattle Department of Transportation, and with promotional support from Amazon.

Trailhead Direct will provide service every 30 minutes from the Sound Transit Capitol Hill Link station to stops at trailheads near Mount Si, Mount Teneriffe, and Little Si. Hourly trips will start at the Mount Baker Transit Center and go to Margaret’s Way, Squak Mountain, Chirico Trail-Poo Poo Point, High School Trail, and East Sunset Way.

Continue reading “Two Trailhead Direct Routes Start May 25” | 14 comments

The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) recently announced grant funding for planning and development of high speed rail (HSR) in several corridors across the USA. Lucid Stew, a YouTube channel dedicated to HSR in the USA, is doing a series of videos on the these corridors. Their most recent video (19:15) was on the Cascade corridor, from Eugene, Oregon, to Vancouver, British Columbia.

Back in 2017, the Blog did a four-part series on the technical challenges of HSR, identifying many of the same issues discussed in this video.

Until the several tens of billions of dollars are identified to build “true” HSR across Cascadia, incremental improvements to Amtrak Cascades could do the trick.

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The Affordable Housing Consortium (HDC), whose membership “encompasses all of the major nonprofit housing developers in King County, as well as local housing authorities, financial institutions, service providers, consultants, architects, building contractors, attorneys, accountants, and government agencies,” is celebrating the 9th Annual Affordable Housing Week, May 13-17.

Founded in 1988 as the Seattle Housing Development Consortium, the HDC serves as an advocate, broker, and convener for affordable housing in King County. Today, the HDC has over 200 member organizations.

Continue reading “9th Annual Affordable Housing Week Starts Today” | 45 comments

The Seattle Times ($) and Capitol Hill Seattle (CHS) blog reported that a man was stabbed multiple times on the platform at the Capitol Hill Station Saturday afternoon, and died after being transported to Harborview Medical Center. Seattle Police closed the station to investigate the crime, forcing Sound Transit to implement a bus bridge between Westlake and University of Washington Stations.

Video report from KING 5.

Continue reading “Man Killed in Stabbing at Capitol Hill Station” | 32 comments

On May 9, Sound Transit’s System Expansion Committee received a progress update (pdf) on the yet-to-be-opened portion of East Link, currently operating as the abbreviated 2 Line between South Bellevue and Redmond Technology Station. Although the opening of the connection between South Bellevue and Seattle is currently scheduled for late November 2025, Ryan Packer at The Urbanist quotes Ron Lewis, Sound Transit’s Executive Director of Design, Engineering and Construction Management, as saying “We don’t have a day to waste, and this summer is critical.”

As the schedule notes, Systems Integration Testing could start sooner in the year if the systems installation contractor is able to complete their work ahead of schedule. With Lynnwood Link’s systems integration testing finishing this month (pdf), and systems integration testing underway early for the Downtown Redmond Link Extension, any early starts for these critical steps would be extremely welcome.

Continue reading “East Link Lake Crossing Update” | 78 comments

Link Extension Countdown: Lynnwood Link (August 30). What to expect (Sound Transit).

Transit Updates:

Sound Transit reports that the 2 Line logged 35,000 boardings on its opening day. The Seattle Times ($), compares it to other opening days. Jon Talton (Seattle Times, $) says the 2 Line is good for the climate and the economy.

WSDOT has an online open house for the planned replacement of the Fauntleroy Ferry Terminal. They are taking feedback until May 24.

Local News:

The Seattle Planning Commission, a independent group of volunteer advisors to the City, says the Draft One Seattle Plan “does not do enough to change existing unaffordable, inequitable, and unsustainable patterns of development.” (PubliCola)

Meanwhile, the Seattle Times ($) reports that the Seattle City Council rejected a bill that would have allowed up to 35 affordable housing projects to be slightly taller.

Seattle Times ($) reports that housing prices are climbing again.

CascadePBS (formerly Crosscut) report that more students are experience homeless than before the pandemic.

The Daily Journal of Commerce ($; passable with a Seattle Library login), reports that Seattle Parks and Recreation is working towards a renovation of Freeway Park, aiming to start next year.

Continue reading “Open Thread 48” | 58 comments

On May 13, King County Metro will restore 79 weekday trips to 6 Dial-A-Ride Transit (DART) service routes. DART routes provide a combination of a fixed scheduled and reservation-based on-demand service along an optional route. There are currently 14 DART routes, which are operated by Hopelink, a non-profit partner of Metro. Services were significantly cut in response to lost ridership and reduced funding during the pandemic, and have slowly been returning. Some services, like Route 630, have been funded by the local municipality to provide supplemental service. When asked, King County Public Relations indicated that increased DART service was made possible by increased availability of drivers.

Continue reading “Metro restoring service to 6 DART routes” | 8 comments

Having grown up in south King County car-free through college and beyond, the Federal Way Link Extension (also known as the South Link extension) will bring a level of mobility I wish I had at the time. But easy rail access to destinations isn’t the only thing lacking here. Frequent bus service isn’t unheard-of, but it is pretty uncommon. And that was before 2020, when much of the commuter service to downtown Seattle and the UW (which was, for many people, the only way they used transit) went away. However, with light rail to Federal Way anticipated to open in 2026, there is a big opportunity to really change the way people get around in South King County.

Continue reading “Federal Way Link Restructure Ideas” | 102 comments

One of our commentators noticed that Sound Transit updated their ridership data for March 2024 sometime yesterday, revising the results downward but still indicating a noticeable uptick in ridership from the winter and associated closures:

This new data indicates that total March boardings averaged 69,318 per day (an increase of 16% from February and up 3% from 2019).

Sunday boardings in March were up 14% from February and 12% from March 2019.

Saturday boardings in March were up 8% from February and 1% from March 2019.

Weekday boardings were up 25% from February and 3% from March 2019.

The previous article based on the originally released data is retained in strikethrough, below.

This is an Open Thread.

Continue reading “Link Ridership: March 2024” | 62 comments

Over the course of about six weeks (May 7 to June 25), Sound Transit will complete five projects in preparation for service expansions and to maintain state-of-good-repair along the 1 Line. These projects will have various impacts on 1 Line service (Sound Transit) more impactful work scheduled for the weekends of June 1-2 and June 21-23. Summarized:

Rail Replacement (May 7 to to June 25): After 11 p.m. on Tuesdays between May 7 and June 25, trains will arrive every 20 minutes until end of service.

Federal Way Link Connection (May 12 to June 22): Multiple reductions of service between SeaTac/Airport Station (SAS) and Angle Lake Station (ALS). On May 12, Link will not operate between SAS and ALS until noon, after which it will run every 16-20 minutes (some trains terminating at SAS; others continuing through) through May 30. There will be no Link service between SAS and ALS on June 1 or before 10am on June 2. After 10am on June 2, trains will run every 16-20 minutes between SAS and ALS through June 21. Link will not operate between SAS and ALS on June 22, but service is expected to return to normal on June 23.

Columbia City Station Tile Repair (June 1-2): Trains will operate every 10 minutes between Northgate and Stadium, with half of the trains continuing through to SeaTac/Airport. The northbound platform of Columbia City will be closed on June 1, and the southbound platform will be closed on June 2.

East Link Tie-In (June 21 to June 23): Downtown Seattle stations will be closed from 10 p.m. on June 21 through the end of service on June 23. Link bus shuttles will run between Capitol Hill–SODO about every 10-15 minutes. On June 21 and 22, trains will run about every 15 minutes between Northgate-Capitol Hill and SODO-SeaTac/Airport stations. On June 23, trains will run between Northgate-Capitol Hill and SODO-Angle Lake stations about every 15 minutes.

Continue reading “Spring 2024 Link Disruption” | 31 comments

For the past 18 years, the Seattle Department of Transportation has relied on a supplemental property tax levy to provide funding for improvements to Seattle’s transportation system, starting with the “Bridging The Gap” 9-year levy (2007-2015), followed by the 9-year “Levy to Move Seattle” (2016-2024). In April, Mayor Harrell released the draft “Transportation Levy” as an 8-year (2025-2032), $1.35 billion package with a big focus on street maintenance and bridge monitoring/repair.

On Friday (May 3), Mayor Harrell updated the proposed 2024 Transportation Levy to $1.45 billion (Office of the Mayor), adding $100 million to the original proposal spread across several categories, with most of the additional funding allocated to transit corridor construction, pedestrian/bicycle safety, neighborhood street improvements, and people streets.

The Seattle Times ($) notes that the levy, if passed, would be the single largest levy in Seattle history. The Urbanist and PubliCola note that while the increased proposal is a small step closer to the desires of a coalition of advocates for transit and safe streets, there is still a push for an even larger levy complete more transportation projects faster. For reference, Ethan Campbell of Seattle Neighborhood Greenways assembled a table comparing the 2024 Transportation Levy to the Move Seattle levy it hopes to replace (Google Sheets).

Continue reading “2024 Transportation Levy” | 40 comments

Link’s 2 Line had a blockbuster opening last weekend, drawing huge crowds and crush-loads that may not be seen again for some time. On Monday morning, I went out to observe the first weekday of regular service after the opening hype had subsided. I started my journey around 9am at South Bellevue Station (SBS), headed north, got off at Spring District, and made a return trip with a stop at Bellevue Downtown Station (BDS).

Continue reading “Observations from the 2 Line’s regular weekday rhythm” | 231 comments

Link Extension Countdown: Lynnwood Link (August 30). What to expect (Sound Transit Blog).

Transit Updates:

In case you missed it, the 2 Line Starter Line started service on April 27, to much fanfare.

The Institute for Sustainable Infrastructure (ISI), an infrastructure sustainability certification nonprofit started in 2010, gave awards to the RapidRide H Line (Metro blog) and the Federal Way Link Extension. The ISI “Envision” awards appear to be similar to the LEED certifications given to buildings for efficiency and sustainability.

Sound Transit is seeking feedback on its study of the feasibility of additional alternative locations for the SLU stations of the Ballard Link Extension. Survey closes May 7.

Local News:

Seattle adopts 20-year transportation plan (Seattle Times [$]). P.S. The CCC streetcar is included.

On the Saturday before Earth Day, a coalition of affordable housing advocates, community organizations, urbanists, and others held a rally at Jimi Hendrix Park calling for changes to the proposed Transportation Levy and draft comprehensive plan update to allow for more public transit and more housing (Komo News).

The Seattle Planning Commission, a 16-member board made of Seattle residents, is looking to fill some vacancies (Seattle.gov). Applications are due May 20. Meanwhile, the Planning Commission says the draft comprehensive plan update “does not do enough to change existing unaffordable, inequitable, and unsustainable patterns of development.” (PubliCola)

King County was awarded $6 million to build over 400 electric-vehicle charging ports throughout the county (Cascade PBS [formerly Crosscut]). Approximately 10% of King County’s vehicle fleet is electric. The charging ports will be publicly available at 55 locations, including nine King County charging sites, 13 apartment buildings, and 16 other locations like Metro bus bases and retail centers.

Continue reading “Open Thread 47” | 115 comments

The Link 2 Line opened yesterday with eight new stations on the Eastside from South Bellevue to Redmond Technology. Mike Lindblom and David Kroman in the Seattle Times have extensive coverage of the ceremony, ride experiences, and community reaction. Lindblom’s pre-launch list of the goods and bads of each station area is still useful as a guide.

Several STB staff attended the opening — or tried to attend but couldn’t get there on time. We found an ambiguity in the plan, as some thought it most important to be on the first train from South Bellevue, while I thought it was most important to see Bellevue Downtown open. (I was also hoping my friend in Lynnwood would make it on one of the hourly 535’s, but she couldn’t.)

Nathan Dickey rode the first departing train (car 215B!) from South Bellevue Station. “There was much cheering when the doors finally opened ~30 minutes later than scheduled (due to the ceremony speeches going long) and more cheering when the train reached Redmond after ~20mins.” Nathan continues, “There were excellent festivities at every station, including free tacos at Redmond Technology and free t-shirts from Overlake. ST was also giving out hats with the “2” for the 2 Line at Bellevue Downtown station but I didn’t find out about those until I was halfway to Seattle and saw a few riders with ‘2’ hats on the returning 550.”

Continue reading “Thoughts on the Starter Line” | 81 comments

After decades of ideation, deliberation, and planning, the Eastside finally gets modern rapid transit tomorrow, when the East Link “2 Line” opens for service. But tomorrow’s opening is really to whet riders’ appetites for the full connection to the Central Link “spine,” which is tentatively slated for late 2025, thanks to construction mishaps on the I-90 bridge.

We’ll be at the opening ceremony at Bellevue Downtown Station at 10 am. Wear a hat, and we can be the Hatted Transit Fans. People from The Urbanist and other groups will be there too. When train service starts at 11 am or soon after, we’ll take the 550 down to South Bellevue Station, and then ride Link end-to-end from South Bellevue to Redmond Tech.

The 241 and 249 also go from Bellevue TC to South Bellevue Station, if both Link and the 550 are too crowded.

If you’re coming from Seattle, the 550 leaves 5th & Union at 8:53am (arrive 9:24), 9:08am (arrive 9:49), and 9:23am (arrive 9:54). On top of regular 550 service, Sound Transit is also providing a shuttle from South Bellevue to Bellevue Transit Center between 8:30 and 11am.

The Seattle Times has a good timeline of East Link history, from 1994 to present.

On Sunday morning (the day after) routes 550, 240, and 249 will bypass stops between NE 2nd Street and SE 16th Street due to the “All in for Autism 5K Run/Walk” on Bellevue Way. Metro’s Service Advisories page has specific details on each route.

Continue reading “Eastside Starter Line Starts Tomorrow” | 84 comments

On Wednesday (April 24) I had a chance to talk to Claudia Balducci, King County Councilmember and Chair of the Sound Transit System Expansion Committee and former Bellevue Mayor, about the opening of the 2 Line on Saturday. As the Eastside representative on the Sound Transit Board, she spearheaded the opening of the Eastlink starter line. I thought it would be good to get her perspective on the line and share some of her thoughts (not verbatim).

Continue reading “Balducci Interview about the 2 Line” | 32 comments