The big restructure continues in its fourth day. We still want to hear how Link ridership is doing in the morning and afternoon peaks, how much crowding there is. How are the dozens of restructured bus routes in Snohomish and King Counties doing? How is Lynnwood City Center station holding up re crowding? Is Northgate station emptier? And any updates on RapidRide G.
Don’t miss the highway 520 article just before this one.
This is an open thread.
WSDOT opened the SR 520 direct-access ramps to Montlake on Monday, allowing buses between UW and the Eastside to jump the queue at the Montlake Blvd exit.
I dropped by to watch them work in the afternoon and, though traffic was relatively light on a Monday, buses and HOV 3+ vehicles were staying on the HOV all the way to Montlake Blvd.
The bus stops on the lid itself are currently not in use, but Metro says they’ll start using them “at a later date.” There’s still quite a bit of fencing on the lid so it may be some time before it’s fully open.
Before lid construction began, the popular Montlake flyer stop allowed riders to catch an Eastside bus directly from 520 by walking down a flight of stairs. The ADA-inaccessible stop was closed in 2019 for lid construction. Now that connection is restored and improved.
Transit access in Montlake has come a long way from some of the early renders we were seeing in 2009. Prior to Monday, buses were often spending a good 10-15 minutes idling on the exit ramp. It often took longer to exit the ramp than the entire ride from Bellevue to Montlake. The reliability improvements should save service hours and improve ridership.
It’s the first weekday commute after the big restructure. How is service today? Is ridership any different?
Is the G reliable? How crowded is Link? Is anyone using the 515? The express routes to SLU? How are the Link feeders doing? And new routes like the 61? Do you have a better experience going to your destinations now? Or worse?
The highway 520 ramps at Montlake open today. Are buses using them? Is it an improvement?
This is an open thread.
Community Transit partnered with famed travel writer Rick Steves to create a series of four neat videos highlighting travel destinations in Snohomish County made more accessible with yesterday’s major restructure. Check them out!
Widespread bus restructures begin today (September 14) on King County Metro, Sound Transit, and Community Transit around the new Lynnwood Link extension and RapidRide G line. On Monday the long-awaited bus ramps on highway 520 open in Montlake. Pierce Transit and Everett Transit had minor changes earlier this month.
September 14, 11am – 3pm: King County Metro is hosting a RapidRide G opening day celebration on 19th Avenue between Madison & Pine. “Enjoy refreshments & entertainment, grab swag, & sign up for an ORCA card.”
September 14, 5pm – 7:30pm: The Urbanist is hosting an opening day celebration for the RapidRide G Line.
More below the fold.
Continue reading “Big Bus Restructures Begin”Metro and Sound Transit will restructure bus routes in the north end on September 14, 2024 (two weeks after the opening of Lynnwood Link). The changes will occur at the same time as the changes surrounding RapidRide G which is why Metro is listing them on the same service change page. Here is a list of some of the main changes:
New Routes:
Modified Routes:
Deleted Routes:
Details after the break.
Continue reading “Metro and ST Restructure for Lynnwood Link”
With the opening of Lynnwood Link Extension, Community Transit will restructure many of its bus routes to focus more on all-day semi-frequent service across western Snohomish County. Other peak-only express buses will be truncated to allow for some all-day express buses as well. In additional to reallocation of bus hours, Community Transit will run more bus service in general with 480,000 annual bus service hours, totaling 32% more service by 2026. The major restructure will go into effect tomorrow morning, September 14, with others to follow in coming years.
Note: due to the large number of route changes, the descriptions below may be slightly simplified for conciseness and will also prioritize listing moderate to major changes with some minor route schedule changes skipped.
Continue reading “Community Transit Restructure – 2024 and Beyond”Countdowns: RapidRide G & restructures (Saturday! Sept. 14)
September 14, 11am – 3pm: King County Metro is hosting a RapidRide G opening day celebration on 19th Avenue between Madison & Pine. “Enjoy refreshments & entertainment, grab SWAG, & sign up for an ORCA card”.
September 14, 5pm – 7:30pm: The Urbanist is hosting an opening day celebration for the RapidRide G Line.
2 Line Beats Ridership Expectations, 1 Line Has Second-Best Month Ever
Sound Transit, Seattle Symphony celebrate Link’s new Symphony Station
Community Transit: Major changes to bus service starting September 14
Traffic and pedestrian improvements continue on Ballard Ave
SDOT Starts Planning for Multimodal Access to West Seattle’s Link Stations
Seattle’s Growth Plan Keeps Most of the City Unaffordable, County Committee Says
Downtown Design Review Moratorium Gets Mixed Reception from Seattle Council
Spot Fixes to Improve Safety on Lake Washington Boulevard Move Forward
Councilmember Zahilay proposes $1B for middle-income public housing; meanwhile the Seattle City Council punted the initiative to fund social housing to next year, possibly violating the City Charter in the process.
SDOT proposing a Restricted Parking Zone around the Judkins Park Station
Continue reading “Midweek Roundup – Open Thread 65”
King County Metro’s RapidRide G, Seattle’s first center-running bus rapid transit (BRT) line, will start running this Saturday, September 14. The route features 24/7 service with all-door buses enabling boarding on both sides allowing transit riders to access the new center stations, bus only lanes, transit signal priority, and off-board payment with ORCA card readers at stations. The route will also be the only route with a stop on 1st Avenue in Downtown since service there was cut in 2020.
Here’s a summary of the route’s planned service frequencies:
| Period | Peak & Midday 5 am to 7pm | Evenings 7 pm to 10 pm | Night 10 pm to 5 am |
| Weekday & Saturday | 6 min | 15 min | 15-40 min |
| Sunday | 15 min | 15 min | 15-40 min |
This is an Open Thread.