Seattle Rallies to Save Ballard Rail

Posted on by Michael Smith
People walk past the planned site for the Ballard Link station.

On Sunday, hundreds of Seattleites and transit advocates walked from Ballard to Interbay and Smith Cove, roughly following the planned Ballard Link route. The walk was organized in response to Sound Transit’s recent suggestion to defer part of the Ballard Link Extension. “We are here today because close enough is not good enough,” Seattle City Councilmember Alexis Mercedes Rinck said to a cheering crowd. Along with Rinck, King County Councilmember Jorge L. Barón and Washington State Senator Noel Frame spoke in support of completing the Ballard Link extension. Seattle City Councilmember Dan Strauss and Mayor of Seattle Katie Wilson did not attend the rally, but shared their support with the organizers.

At a Board retreat in March, Sound Transit revealed three approaches it is considering for how to build parts of ST3, given the agency’s severe budget shortfalls. None of the approaches included Link reaching Ballard in the near future.

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Friday Roundtable: Incorrect Signs, Part 2

Posted on by Michael Smith

In December, we took a look at a few incorrect signs in the Puget Sound transit network. Many of these signs have since been fixed, but the region’s quickly growing transit system has resulted in a few more incorrect signs. Mistakes in wayfinding signs are bound to happen with any complex system. The four agencies responsible for travel in Seattle (Sound Transit, King County Metro, SDOT, WSDOT) work closely together, but gaps in communication are inevitable. We are also not blaming the talented designers at these organizations. In calling out these mistakes, all we ask is for the responsible agency correct the issue as soon as possible. Seattle Transit Blog wants transit to be as easy and user-friendly as possible, and factual inaccuracies on official signage go against that goal. While everyday transit riders deserve correct information, the expected surge in visitors to Seattle this summer is all the more reason to ensure all maps and signs are accurate and up-to-date.

Sound Transit

Last month’s much anticipated Crosslake Connection opening introduced two new stations, Judkins Park and Mercer Island. At Judkins Park station, the Area Map and Bike Map are both missing a few key details. On the Area Map, the new bus stops next to the station entrances on Rainier Ave for the 7, 9, and 106 are not labeled. Instead, the now-closed bus stops south of I-90 are labeled. Likewise, the new bus stops on 23rd Ave for routes 8 and 48 are missing.

On the Bike Map, parts of a few new infrastructure projects are not labeled. SDOT completed the Beacon Hill Safety Project in 2025. Among other improvements, protected bike lanes were added to sections of 15th ave S and Beacon Ave S. The Bike Map has the Beacon Ave section labeled, but is missing the 15th Ave section. The Bike Map is also missing the bike lanes on Dearborn St and on MLK Way between McClellan St and Rainier Ave. Both maps have also excluded the new bike path under I-90 along Rainier, near the station entrance.

Area Map at Judkins Park station.
Bike Map at Judkins Park station.
Continue reading “Friday Roundtable: Incorrect Signs, Part 2” | 81 comments

Midweek Roundup: Retro Metro

Posted on by Nathan Dickey
Looking south on Railroad Avenue with Seattle Municipal Railway streetcar turning east on Washington Street ramp, July 20, 1929 (Pacific Northwest Railroad Archive). This ramp was removed in the 1930s prior to the end of municipal streetcar service in 1941. A similar view in September 2025 (Google Street View).

Local News:

More headlines below.

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Metro Flex Service Boundary Updates

Posted on by Michael Smith

King County Metro’s fixed route bus network provides extensive coverage in King County. To complement fixed route service in some neighborhoods, Metro operates Metro Flex, an on-demand transit service. Metro began operating on-demand service 2019 and has used the Metro Flex branding since 2023. The neighborhoods currently served by Metro Flex include: Delridge/South Park, Issaquah/Sammamish, Juanita/Totem Lake, Kent, Northshore, Othello, Overlake, Renton Highlands, and Tukwila. Passengers can use Metro Flex within the same neighborhood, not to travel between Metro Flex neighborhoods.

Map of Metro Flex neighborhoods. (Metro)

On April 20, Metro will be updating the Metro Flex service boundaries for two neighborhoods: Northshore and Juanita/Totem Lake.

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1 & 2 Line Experiences

Posted on by Mike Orr
Lynnwood-bound 2 Line train entering the Mount Baker Tunnel.

Now that the full 2 Line has been running for two weeks, what has been your experience on the 1 and 2 Lines since the first regular weekday (March 30)?

Here’s what we’ve heard so far:

Most people seem to say there’s lots of 2 Line trains, ridership is higher than they expected, trains are slow in several places, some of the slowness was resolved after the first few days, there’s side-shaking (“hunting”) in some places.

I’ve seen 2 Line midday and afternoon trains almost full or standing room only at Westlake, Capitol Hill, and north Seattle. Others have reported the same in the Eastside. Before simulated service, the 1 Line was like that in central and north Seattle. We assumed a lot of people would disappear from the 1 Line when the 2 Line and simulated service started. Instead the 1 Line is as busy as ever, and there are a lot of people on the 2 Line. However, 2 Line trains are 2 or 3 cars now, so people aren’t spread out across 4 cars. Still, off-peak ridership in the Eastside seems higher to me than in Shoreline, Lynnwood, and Federal Way.

I haven’t heard any complaints about long waits. In Seattle “5-minute combined service” sometimes stretches to 9 minutes.In the Eastside I’m guessing 10-minute service might stretch to 15 minutes sometimes, but I haven’t heard any reports of it.

How have you been using the 2 Line, or combined 1/2 Line service north of Chinatown/International District? Have your experiences been similar or different?

82 comments

Friday Roundtable: Intercity Bus Routes

Posted on by Michael Smith
Map of intercity routes in the United States (University of Illinois)

The Urban Traffic & Economics Lab at University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign has created GFTS (General Transit Feed Specification) data and a map of routes from 72 intercity bus operators in North America. An interactive version of the map is available here. The United States is often criticized for its lack of a fast, frequent, and direct passenger rail network. This map of intercity bus routes shows a more extensive system, though one’s experience on these routes may vary. The Northeast, Midwest, and central Florida stand out with denser networks than the rest of the country.

The full methodology for this work is outlined in the study, but it is worth highlighting how the authors defined “intercity bus”. Their criteria included:

  1. Connects distinct metropolitan areas (excludes suburban/urban commuter services).
  2. Tickets can be purchased independently (excludes Amtrak Thruway services that connect between rail trips).
  3. Uses over-the-road buses (excludes many rural and tribal services operated with vans or transit buses).
  4. Operates regularly most of the year (excludes seasonal/charter services).
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Midweek Roundup: Bus McBusBus

Posted on by Nathan Dickey

ST’s monthly extended overnight maintenance program heads to the Eastside next week: Link 2 Line service between Bel-Red and Downtown Redmond will be replaced by shuttles after 10pm each evening on April 14-17.

Local Transit:

More headlines below.

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Sound Transit Express Night Bus service

Posted on by Wesley Lin
ST Express Overnight Proposal Map by Sound Transit Overnight proposal map pdf

Previously we talked about the pilot route of Sound Transit’s overnight bus service which launched last weekend from SeaTac to downtown Seattle. This article will go over Sound Transit’s full overnight bus service proposal extended south through Tacoma to Lakewood, north to Everett, and east through Bellevue to Redmond.

Overview

Sound Transit plans to run new overnight bus service when Link is not running between about 1 a.m. to 5 a.m., which is slightly shifted from the pilot service which currently runs from midnight to 4 a.m. There will be 3 lines heading north, south, and east of Seattle. All three routes will run about every 30 minutes.

The exact service name, as well as specific routing, stops and schedules are still under consideration, but we’ll go over the existing proposal. For discussion purposes, much of the routing will be assumed based on the high-level map and existing ST Express routes. Sound Transit has been informally calling the routes “Night Bus” which we use. (King County Metro calls their overnight service “Night Owl”).

  • South Express Night Bus: Seattle via SeaTac to Tacoma (and Lakewood)
    • Will replace the initial pilot service
  • North Express Night Bus: Seattle via Lynnwood to Everett
  • East Express Night Bus: Seattle via Bellevue to Redmond
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