Wishes

64 Replies to “Wishes”

1. Maybe a tunnel could run from ID Station to King Street Station under Jackson Street, or at least under that big open area in front of Union Station. That would put you all the way at the end of the platform, but it would be better than nothing.

2. The talk to Union Station makes me wonder: back in the day when Union Station was an active train station, where exactly were the platforms and tracks? My thought had been along where the busway and start of the tunnel are, but it seems like such a grade difference between the station and tunnel level. Anyone know?

   One of my annoyance was relieved recently with the allowance of bike boarding at any tunnel station.

   Another thing that would be nice is if Metro could figure out where exactly the ride-free area starts for outbound buses. Two weeks in a row, I’ve been passed by by a particular 150 driver at 7th and Stewart, who says that stop is in the ride free area. Every other piece of documentation (and every other driver) says it’s not. They need to figure it out for sure and make sure ALL drivers know. It’s kind of weird with buses coming out of the Convention Place Station having a few blocks of “Pay as you Enter”(???) zone, which no one enforces. What’s the deal with that area?

   1. Back when Union Station was still active, it was a terminal. Trains came in from Tacoma, to the south, so the tracks all lay south of the station, in the area where the new leaning glass building and the two brick ones were built. There were metal canopy covered platforms that extended south to Dearborn Street.

      1. The tracks were walled off, and are on the other side of the tracks from King Street Station

3. building a tunnel from King Street Station to the IDistrict Bus Tunnel station would be ungodly expensive as it would have to go under both the BNSF lines AND the Bus Tunnel in order to be of any real use.

   1. Surely not as expensive as drilling a light rail tunnel! (Don’t get me wrong–I’ve done my civic duty and filled in the “Yes” bubble on the last item on my mail-in ballot!)

   2. It wouldn’t have to go under the bus tunnel if it started a the bus tunnel.

      1. And it wouldn’t have to go under the BNSF tunnel as King Street Station is before the BNSF tunnel starts.

      2. It would have to go under the bus tunnel “to be of any real use”. Otherwise, how would you get there from the southbound side? Take an escalator up, walk over, walk down stairs, then go through a tunnel?

      3. You could still mine it pretty easily, and shore from underneath. Sure, maybe you’d have to do some of the work between midnight and 4 am on a Monday morning, but Japanese cities have done plenty of projects like this.

4. Something should be done about pedestrian and bike access to the Ballard Bridge. It is scary trying to cross that thing. In the middle section there is fencing that separates the pedestrian part from the roadway. At that very least, that fencing should be extended the entire length of the bridge.

   1. The bridge needs to be replaced entirely. We don’t really have money to do it – unless Bridging the Gap covers that, I don’t know.

      1. As of the last bike master plan, there was a plan for a ped-bike bridge just east of the Ballard Bridge. I don’t know that it was funded, though — it would presumably be from Bridging the Gap funds, and I don’t think I heard anything about it when Nickels was trying to get Bridging the Gap passed.

5. I don’t get the problem with the ID bus tunnel and rail station. You walk up an escalator, cross a street with a push button crossing signal, then back down stairs. If you built this tunnel, how would people coming from south on the bus and going north on the train walk? They’d have to go up an escalator (to get past the buses), down stairs, through your tunnel, up an escalator (to get past the trains), and back down stairs? Ugh.

   Anyway, my main pet peeve seems to be solved today! The 2X this morning was an articulated bus and everyone fit (well, with some standing). I’ll hope for the same bus on the way home.

   1. Though I’m not sure a tunnel is a solution, I personally don’t think it’s as easy as you make it out to be to get from King Street station to the ID Tunnel Station.

      My experience is based on Amtrak, not Sounder, which I found out to have really convenient access to 2nd Ave S Ext. For Amtrak, as you exit the station, there is no way off accessing the surface street that is actually a part of the station. You have to go to this building nextdoor and walk up its stairs, then you have to cross a couple street to make it to the tunnel.

      If you take the Sounder, though, it’s really simple. You hop on an escalator directly from the platform… escalator spits you out at a crosswalk, and you’re on the same block as the ID station. I guess the simplest fix for Amtrak riders is to allow access to those exits instead of rerouting people towards Pioneer Square.

      Fortunately, the renovation of King Street station is addressing this. They’re adding back the grand staircase that existed at one point. They’re also going to open up that random plaza at surface. It’s going to look great once it’s done, I’m excited.

      1. No escalators at the Sounder platforms. There should be, though.

      2. Is the platform too narrow to fit an escalator and staircase?

      3. That’s my guess. The platforms are fairly standard, but in order for passengers to be able to go around the stairs to other portions of the platform, the stairs have to be narrower. Although, in theory it might be feasible at the north end of the platform. And hey, an escalator could be going up in the morning and down in the evening!

      4. If you’re feeling lazy there is an elevator.

      5. Jesse,

         When you walk out to the parking lot from Amtrak take a left. That’ll lead you to stairs that bring you to the bus tunnel (after crossing 4th, of course). It’s easier than the route you mentioned.

6. I just realized you probably mean a tunnel under the bus tunnel and the rail line. That should work.

   1. Yes, I’d advocate all of them. I think the Sounder platform might be too narrow to accomodate the stairs up, though.

7. Speaking of tunnels, one from the ferries to the bus tunnel (and maybe an in-city train station?) would be nice. Add a few escalators for the elevation gain and maybe some people movers (we’ve discussed this elsewhere here, but I think it’s a great idea).

   1. Maybe even a PRT/GRT system could work here, with little stops in between Pioneer Square and Colman Dock

      1. Oh God No!

      2. Why “Oh god no!”? I think Morgantown-style GRT sounds reasonable for that route. You could have stops at City Hall/Municipal Court, Pioneer Square Station, Pioneer Square itself, and Colman Dock.

8. And how about a button next to the back door that alerts the driver that people want the back door open. I hate how every single time, the entire bus is yelling “back door!” at the driver

   1. Or, what they have on Pierce Transit and TransLink in Vancouver (and probably elsewhere). At a stop where back door use is allowed, a little green light comes on, and the back door opens when a rider touches it.

      1. I don’t think they have stops where back door use isn’t allowed. It’s always pay as you enter. We’d have to eliminate pay as you leave for this.

   2. Yes! That is a great idea.

   3. Those green lights are actually on the new articulated hybrids. I don’t know if they work or not and many people probably don’t even know what they are.

9. I always thought a direct pedestrian tunnel between Sounder and the bus tunnel would make transfers a lot easier. A Boeing Access Road station would make a Link and Sounder transfer easy too.

   I wish Metro continued the 71,72,73 express routes on weekends. I used a 72 Sunday afternoon, it was 10 minutes late, and the bus was packed, yet still stopped every few stops along Eastlake for local access.

   Someone needs to completely revamp the 167 corridor to Bellevue bus service. Right now it’s just the sparse 564/565 routes that go slow with all the local stops. How about separating express and local buses? Using comfier or double decker buses? wifi? Better frequency? It sounds a lot like BRT, so I’m praying they make a 167/405 BRT corridor. It’d be similar to the Sounder south route, except it’d branch off at Kent Station, to Renton, and several more stops along 405 before reaching downtown Bellevue and Redmond.

   1. The 71/72/73 are express on Saturdays between 9 and 6. Sundays would be nice though; it’s too bad University Link doesn’t open for another 8 years.

      1. i agree. although that probably will be solved when the university streetcar extension opens; i think i saw 2012 floating around somewhere…

10. Here’s a little wish. Just paint one lane of every 2+ lane road in Seattle as Bus Only. Remove parking if necessary. Add sensors to all stoplights that give bus lanes priority.

11. My biggest little wish would be for reliable real-time info at major transfer points. There are ways to get it, especially One Bus Away, but it’s a secret to everybody. Something that everyone could use—without a phone or any special knowledge would be great.

    1. I love the idea and the interface of One Bus Away, but I’m not convinced of it’s accuracy. I will check the bus I’m currently riding to see how late it’s going to be late to my destination, and I often see that it said it departed 2 minutes ago, and we’re still 10 blocks from the bus stop.

    2. I use the original MyBus WAP site on my phone. I find it accurate most of the time. In my experience it seems to have trouble estimating arrival times near terminals.

       Metro should at least provide some info to help make myBus or One Bus Away easier to use. Right now there is none.

       They should revive the pilot project they tried out a few years ago on Aurora where they had LED displays hooked up to MyBus.org. Data rates and equipment should be much cheaper than they were years ago. This shouldn’t be limited to RapidRide routes.

    3. One Bus Away has interfaces for iPhone and SMS, but I’ve had good luck with accessing the iPhone version just fine on my cell phone (Opera Mini on Motorola W490).

12. Not having been there, it looks to me like the problem is the presence of 4th Avenue, which seems to be bridged over railroad tracks?!? Or is it just on a viaduct?

13. I wish they sped up the escalators on the tunnel stations. They are slow for escalators used in a transit system. I feel that the escalators in the Columbia Tower move faster than the one in Pioneer Square station. To make it safe, they might have to add more horizontal steps at the ends so people can get used to them.

    And add energy saving features that control the escalators automatically when people use them.

    1. And I wish we developed the east coast transit etiquette of standing on the right side of the escalator and letting people pass you on the left.

       1. O hell yes!

          That is a huge problem here. Why does no one know the rules?

    2. Or this.

       1. Jeeez that would freak me out.

14. I wish that they would make Amtrak Cascades true high speed rail (125+ MPH) or at least between Seattle and Portland. Not this phony 110 MPH high speed rail.

    1. Yeah, when we have transit in our major cities, then you’ll see that become cost effective. Right now it’s not.

       1. All the Major cities: Eugene, Salem, Portland, Olympia, Tacoma, Seattle, Everett, Bellingham and Vancouver BC have transit systems. Even some of the smaller cities i.e. Kelso-Longview have transit system. If I am not mistaken all the major cities have connecting transit service to their Amtrak station. Granted not all of the systems are all that great.

          Maybe if the cascades line were to become 125+ MPH it would give all the major cities a major incentive to create high quality transit systems.

15. Wishes for the transit system?

    I can think of one big one. I’v ementioned it here a few times

    AUTOMATED STOP ANNOUNCEMENTS!

    MAX in Portland has them (and has for years) and the buses are now getting them.

    Heck, even Intercity Transit in Olympia has them set up now. My infrequent trips to Oly were unbelievably simplified. When your vision acuity is about 1/20th that of an average person and the driver doesn’t call out stops and/or forgets your request for a stop in an area in which you are unfamiliar, riding the bus can be HELL!

    I actually own a GPS now, so at least I’m covered in that event, but having a reliable way of getting information about where I actually am would greatly improve my transit experiences and those of others. Not just for the blind, or deaf (as ASAs visually display the stop as well), but for those who are new to the bus, new to a route or neighborhood. I could go on and on about why we need this.

    …and I didn’t even mention the perils of trying to find the right bus when you can hardly read the display, and how much easier it would be if the bus announced itself when the doors open.

    Okay I’m done.

    1. It’s coming, sometime in the future.

       1. Thanks for the link.

          I knew it had been discussed previously, and tested in 2001, but I hadn’t heard anything in several years.

    2. The SLUT has this, though I must admit it’s a bit annoying because besides saying “Next stop, Taylor and Thomas streets” is adds, “Sponsored by Group Health.” Don’t get me wrong, I think it’s good that they’ve found creative ways to help fund the system by having sponsors for the stops, but announcing them at each stop is a bit much.

       1. It does? I gotta check that out. I haven’t ridden the SLUT since the day it opened, and at that time stops were being called out the olde-fashioned way.

          As for the sponsors, annoying probably; but ultimately good for the system ABSOLUTELY. I fully support using advertising to it’s fullest extent to generate revenue for the system. They do a similar thing on the Portland streetcars, and I must admit, yeah it is irritating after awhile though.

16. Large simple map on the outside of the bus. That way you know where it’s going even if it isn’t your regular bus (in case you ever want to use a bus for something other than a commute).

    1. The displays on the outside of most buses are capable of two lines. I’d like to see both a generic and specific destination sign. So, instead of the SB 131 switching between “Georgetown” and “HighlineCC”, they could have Des Moines and/or Burien TC also displayed. Or generic “West Seattle” for those routes on the second line.

       1. I saw 2-line text used on side displays on the Tacoma-Seattle routes. I also saw in older pictures of Metro buses that they used two lines like one here http://transit.metrokc.gov/am/vehicles/gillig.html. Other cities like Toronto also use two lines on their front destination signs.

    2. Unfortunately, the buses get switched between routes all the time.

17. Bring back the dollar coin. It would speed up farebox transactions immensely.

    1. I’m thinking, bring back the dollar coin, stop printing dollar bills, replace Andrew Jackson on the 20 with George Washington, and maybe stop making pennies while you’re at it.

    2. The dollar coin never went anywhere. It’s still in circulation but not many people are using them. The only place you will likely get them is at the post office as change from the stamp machine.

       In fact, the U.S. Mint has been releasing $1 coins featuring the presidents since 2007. They’re now up to the 8th President, Martin Van Buren.

       http://www.usmint.gov/mint_programs/$1coin/

       It’s a shame. The presidential dollar coin hasn’t caught the interest of the public as much as the state quarters did.

       I agree, get rid of the dollar bill, promote dollar coins and issue a $2 coin like Canada and Europe. Coins last much longer and are more reliable for machines to count anyway.

       The bus fare box is probably the few places that accept and count pennies. I haven’t seen someone try to pay their fare with 150 pennies.

       1. Now that I know a way to get rid of all of my damn pennies, I suggest watching the #2.

       2. I’ve done the bus fare with pennies thing, back when I paid 75c, or maybe 50c… :)

       3. Of course the dollar coin did not go away, per se. However, as use of the dollar coin gained in 99 and 00, the conservatives (mainly retail store owners) freaked out at the notion of having to spend money retooling their cash drawers/vending machines/etc to accept the additional coin. So as the new Bush admin took office, they cut the production of the coin in 2001, to appease their conservative donors/supporters.

          Low supply begets low usage begets ‘low demand’. Downward spiral.

          Then take a tiny production run and make it collectible by creating a presidential series? If you want to ‘kill’ the dollar coin, then mission accomplished.

          Hopefully the new admin will breathe new life into this simple subject that most people don’t really understand.

18. I’d like to see improvements in the waiting areas at heavily used bus stops. The Eastbound stop at Montlake, for example, isn’t well shielded from rain and traffic noise, given how much use it gets. Similarly, the Campus Parkway stops are swarming with people. Why aren’t there more and/or bigger shelters, and maybe a pleasant spot for someone to sell food and drink?

    This kind of improvement (and real-time next bus signage, which would be awesome!) would significantly improve the waiting experience, which is reportedly the part of bus riding people most dislike.

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