I’ve been informed that I neglected to link to the survey for Sound Transit’s proposed 2009-10 service changes. I’d guess that since it’s basically a South King and Pierce show, with some impacts in West Seattle, the great transit heartland up by the ship canal isn’t all that interested.
Nevertheless, if you’re at all affected please let them know your opinion.
How charming that West Seattle will lose its only Sound Transit service as a reward for voting 60+% for ST2. Perhaps West Seattlite/ST Board Chair Greg Nickels could object.
He should. Although Metro’s proposed Route 50 will connect West Seattle with LINK Light Rail at least at Lander St, it would be good if the 560 would still connect with that route, maybe even go to Lander Street itself. The bus extends the reach of rail, but the modes have to connect first.
Keep in mind that the 560 will connect with Link at the airport. It also goes right by the Tukwila Link station (on 518), so a small routing change could make a connection there as well.
ST does have a good point that the 54 follows the 560 exactly between White Center and West Seattle, although people from along the 54 route will now need to transfer to get to light rail or the airport. If Metro reschedules the 54 so that it makes an easy transfer with the 560 and/or 50, it shouldn’t be too much of a problem.
The 54 is due to be replaced with RapidRide Line C, which is planned to end at Westwood Village–more than half a mile west of the White Center Transfer Point at 15th & Roxbury.
How is the quality of mass transit from West Seattle? It looks like Sound Transit’s long range plans has NOTHING planned for the West Seattle – Seattle corridor.
Actually, ST2 included a planning study on the downtown-West Seattle-Burien corridor. That doesn’t mean anything will get built, but it’s a start.
One would think that central Seattle was built urban and West Seattle was built as a streetcar suburb with a personal transportation slant.
I hope that whatever the planning study comes up with, it won’t duplicate the Rapid Ride route. If it does, I think the Rapid Ride would probably disappear when it does get built.
Kaleci,
Don’t hold your breath. Metro views RapidRide as a complement to LINK because it stops more often. In fact, the A Line is going to overlap pretty precisely with South Link.
That almost makes sense, but not quite. The LINK stations aren’t nearly far enough apart to be considered ‘express.’ The local/rapid/express train system in Japan is fantastic, but this is obviously an attempt to cover up planning mistakes and fight turf wars rather than the carefully planned system they have in Japan.