Month: February 2018

In the last few months, Community Transit has been hard at work on the Swift Green Line, the new bus rapid transit line linking Everett’s Paine Field area to the future Mariner Link station, Mill Creek, and Canyon Park. Last week, they celebrated the opening of a new bus-only lane on 128th Street SW near its interchange with Interstate 5, which will form part of a queue jump for eastbound buses, complete with a merge pocket on the bridge itself.

A queue jump and merge pocket on the westbound lanes approaching the interchange, which will instead have a shared bus-and-turning traffic lane, is planned to be completed by the end of the year. While Swift buses won’t be in service until early 2019, the queue jump will be used by a few of the buses that cross the 128th Street interchange, which previously took up to 17 minutes during heavy congestion.

Continue reading “New Swift Green Line Stations and Queue Jumps Going Up in Everett”

In an effort to improve the speed and reliability of southbound buses along Interstate 5, late last year the Sound Transit Capital Committee approved funding for a bus-only shoulder lane between the Lynnwood Transit Center and the Mountlake Terrace Transit Center.

The Committee also approved funding for a feasibility study that would identify other potential opportunities to expand the program.  

The I-5 bus-on-shoulder project is part of ST3’s Early Deliverables Program, a “series of improvements designed to improve existing transit services, reduce travel time through bus-on-shoulder operations and other related transit priority elements, and construct new park-and-ride facilities.”

ST says the 1.4-mile project is basically shovel ready, requiring minimal modifications including the addition of signage and lane striping, and improvements to pavement and drainage. For this project, ST is partnering with WSDOT, who has already completed the design and environmental review.

Construction on the project is anticipated to begin in the third quarter of 2018, with the operation of the lanes starting before the end of the year.

Continue reading “Sound Transit Launches ‘Bus-on-Shoulder” Program”

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• Utah legislators propose radical changes for transportation, transit — including a tax hike.
• Instead of a wall, why not a binational border bikeshare?
• In Colorado, a glimpse of renewable energy’s insanely cheap future.
• After 5 years, walk-bike bridge design for Northgate light-rail station still unfinished ($).
• Seattle’s former head of transportation says Denver would be lucky to get Amazon.
• New study looks at what transit agencies can learn from TNCs’ late-night popularity.
• Readers tell the Times how they would fix Fauntleroy ferry crunch ($); What does state Ferries think about ideas?
• Downtown Seattle is full of private-public spaces.
• Sierra Club now opposes one of the most important climate bills in California.
• Open gangway cars heading to NYC as MTA approves R211 contract.
• Even the Chamber of Commerce is calling out Democrats for caving on Sound Transit funding cuts.
• Hearing examiner recommends UW Campus Master Plan amid community concerns.
• TriMet’s Division transit project likely delayed due to budget shortfall.
• Get a sneak peek at the Texas Central bullet train’s Dallas Station.
• In a show of support, streetcar advocates dine out on Toronto’s King St.

This is an open thread.