To accommodate growing passenger and cargo levels, the Port of Seattle plans to build new terminal for SeaTac Airport with their Sustainable Airport Master Plan. In addition, Concourse C will be expanded with 4 additional levels. There’s a slew of other projects but this article will focus on the transportation aspects for passengers and travelers. While earlier plans had called for a new people mover, the latest plan will only build an elevated busway.
Continue reading “Busway for SeaTac Airport”Thanksgiving: Holiday Hours & Movies
Agency holiday announcements: King County Metro, Sound Transit, Community Transit, Pierce Transit, Everett Transit, Kitsap Transit, Intercity Transit, Skagit Transit, Washington State Ferries (in Monday’s entry), Seattle Monorail.
Thursday: Most bus and train services operate on their Sunday schedule: Link light rail, the T Line, ST Express, Community Transit, and Pierce Transit. There’s no service on Sounder, Everett Transit, Kitsap Transit, Intercity Transit, Skagit Transit, or the Seattle Monorail. Washington State Ferries has special schedules on four routes and warns about busy demand and long lines.
Friday: Many bus services (not rail) are on their regular weekday schedule: Metro, ST Express, Community Transit, Pierce Transit, Intercity Transit, Skagit Transit, Washington State Ferries. Link is on Saturday schedule. The T Line is on “reduced Saturday”. Sounder has no service. Everett Transit is on Sunday schedule. Kitsap Transit is on “holiday service” (see each route’s page). The monorail runs 7:30am-11pm.
Pierce Transit buses are free on Friday!
Designing a better commuter rail or metro train. (Wall Street Journal)
Street capacity in The Netherlands. (Not Just Bikes)
This is an open thread.
Midweek Roundup
Transit & Streets:
- A First Look at Seattle Center Monorail Station’s Planned Access Upgrades (The Urbanist)
- Voters across America show support for more transportation options (Transportation for America)
- The lie that broke American transportation is breaking intercity bus service (The High Speed Rail Alliance).
- Greyhound bus stations are being replaced by curbside pickup in several cities, possibly including the Chicago hub. (Governing)
- Amtrak notches ridership and revenue record for fiscal 2024 (Trains Magazine)
Land Use & Housing:
- State Senate Taps Bateman for Housing Chair in Major Committee Shakeup (The Urbanist)
- The Case for Converting Vacant Offices to Congregate Housing (The Urbanist)
Commentary & Miscellaneous:
- Will La Niña help produce snow in Seattle this winter? (The Seattle Times, $). Although last winter produced no snow days, this winter is looking more promising for fans of flurries. Prepare by reviewing Metro’s Emergency Snow Network, here.
- Editorial: King County Metro on right route to better transit fare enforcement (The Seattle Times, $); also free at Mass Transit Magazine.
This is an Open Thread.
Sunday Double Feature: Kemper & Shinjuku
Kemper Freeman’s war on transit. (Yet Another Urbanist)
Shinjuku Station — the world’s busiest. (Not Just Bikes)
This is an open thread.
Bomb Cyclone
Earlier this week a hurricane-like storm system hit the Pacific Northwest, bringing severe winds and precipitation across the region. The first and strongest round of the windstorm hit on Tuesday evening and a second, weaker bout is expected tonight.
With fallen trees comes downed wires and blocked roads, and the storm this week has left hundreds of thousands of households without power for days. In addition to damaging overhead wires, falling trees pose a risk to anything in their path, including people, homes, buses, trains, and cars.
Headlines:
- 2 killed, hundreds of thousands without power in Western Washington amid pacific bomb cyclone winds (KUOW)
- What the Western WA windstorm means for buses, light rail and ferries (Seattle Times; $)
- Tree falls on a King County Metro bus in North Seattle (Seattle Times; $)
- Amtrak engineer nearly impaled by tree hitting train (Seattle Times; $)
- Powerless EV drivers storm Seattle-area grocery store to recharge during outages (KUOW)
- Photos: Seattle area continues to recover from widespread power outages and property damage (Seattle Times; $)
Ridership Patterns for RapidRide E Line
King County Metro’s RapidRide E Line travels inbound along Aurora Avenue from the Aurora Village Transit Center through Shoreline and north Seattle to South Lake Union, Belltown, downtown Seattle, and Pioneer Square. Outbound trips travel in the reverse direction, except for a small deviation to Linden Ave N between N 65th St and N 76th St. In October 2024, the E Line was the busiest bus route in King County with 13,568 average weekday boardings.
Average Ridership Per Trip
The plots below show the average weekday ridership by stop in each direction, color-coded by time of day. For a more detailed breakdown of how the plots are set up, please refer to the How to Read the Plots section of the article discussing Route 70.
Seattle Transportation Levy Passes
On November 5th, Seattle voters passed the $1.55 billion 2024 Seattle Transportation Levy.
Transportation Levy Overview
The transportation levy spends money in the following 10 categories (with some subcategories highlighted):
- Street Maintenance & Modernization $403M
- Arterial Roadway Maintenance $330M
- Paving Spots $67M
- Markings $6M
- Bridges & Structures $221M
- Pedestrian Safety $193M
- Vision Zero, School & Neighborhood Safety $160.5M
- Transit Corridors & Connections $151M
- Transit Improvements and Access to Light Rail $115M
- Transit Spot Improvements $27M
- Transit Passenger Safety $9M
- Bicycle Safety $133.5M
- Signals & Operations $100M
- Climate & Resiliency $69M
- People Streets & Public Spaces $66.5
- Freight & Goods Movement $45M
- Good Governance and Oversight $7.5M
Midweek Roundup: Metro Superhero
Transit & Streets:
- Council Affirms Support for SLU Streetcar, but Opposes Center City Extension (The Urbanist)
- Why the future of Seattle’s Lake Washington Boulevard has sparked a heated debate (KUOW)
- Sound Transit Study Bolsters Case Against CID Station at Fourth Avenue (The Urbanist); also summarized on the Sound Transit blog.
- Riders to test low-cost, on-demand travel option Arlington, Darrington, and Lake Stevens (Community Transit News)
- Sound Transit launched their annual passenger experience survey (The Platform)
- King County Extends Metro Public Restroom Pilot, Considers Longer-Term Plan (The Urbanist)
- Sara Nelson Warns She Can Kill Any Transit Project She Wants (The Urbanist)
Ridership Patterns for King County Metro Route 8
King County Metro’s Route 8 travels inbound from Uptown to Mount Baker, primarily east and south through South Lake Union, Capitol Hill, Madison Valley, and the Central District. Outbound trips travel north and west from Mount Baker to Uptown. In August 2024, Route 8 had 6,177 average weekday boardings.
Unlike most of the high ridership routes in King County, Route 8 does not travel to downtown Seattle nor is it the fastest transit option to travel end-to-end. Instead, it has an east-west segment from Uptown to Madison Valley and a north-south segment from Madison Valley to Mount Baker. The two segments are distinct from both a geographic and ridership perspective.
Average Ridership Per Trip
The plots below show the average weekday ridership by stop in each direction, color-coded by time of day. For a more detailed breakdown of how the plots are set up, please refer to the How to Read the Plots section of the article discussing Route 70.
West Seattle Link Route Selection
During their meeting on October 24th, the Sound Transit Board selected the preferred alignment for the West Seattle Link Extension (WSLE). They also authorized staff to have their partners develop the final design for the stations and stub line between SODO and West Seattle. It will also include the connection to the existing SODO operations and maintenance facility. They also asked staff to look for ways to reduce cost. I reviewed the recording and staff presentation and thought I would share some observations.
Continue reading “West Seattle Link Route Selection”