Tag: Metro

Several buses have been rerouted because of last night’s storm. This is causing delays as well as skipped stops. Check the Metro service advisory page to see if your bus is effected. This is a developing story, but here are the reroutes I am aware of:

10 — rerouted off of 15th Avenue E between E Galer Street and E Aloha Street due to downed power lines.

322, 372, 982, 986, 987, 988 and ST 522 — fallen tree near NE 92nd Street & Lake City Way NE

73 — rerouted off of 15th Avenue NE between Pinehurst Way NE and NE Northgate Way due to downed power lines.

75 — fallen tree near 20th Avenue NE & NE 125th Street.

118 — fallen tree near SW 250th Way & Vashon Hwy SW.

162 — canceled today (this may be related to the storm or coincidental).

Metro has released an updated bus restructure plan for Lynnwood Link. We wrote about the previous plan here, while also making various suggestions. Some of the proposal incorporates those suggestions, while there are other significant differences to the previous proposal.

Dealing with the 130th Station

The 130th Street Station is a major station from a restructure standpoint. From the very beginning, the argument for building it rested on serving areas along the corridor (Lake City, Pinehurst and Bitter Lake). There is currently no bus service along the full corridor, but it was a given once the station is complete. The problem is that the station won’t be complete until well after the other stations.

I’ve reached out to Metro and they’ve explained that the map represents the system after 130th Station is operating. The 77 (the only route serving the station) will be phased in, and may not exist at all when Lynnwood Link opens.

522

Another timing-related change is that the 522 will continue on its current route until East Link is complete. Previously the plan was to send the 522 to 145th once Lynnwood Link opened (to eventually be replaced by the S3, following much the same route). This again effects the timing of the proposal. It is likely that the 77 won’t exist when Lynnwood Link opens, and will then be implemented in two phases. The first phase (service along Lake City Way) would occur when East Link opens. The second phase (service connected to the 130th Station) would occur when that station opens. Since the map as well as the routes are based on life after the 130th Station, this write-up is as well.

77

Filling what was a fairly obvious coverage gap in the last restructure plan, Metro has decided to run a new bus along Lake City Way. As it turns out, this is the same 77 that runs along the 125th/130th corridor. This makes for an awkward connection between the two sections. Southbound (from Pinehurst to Roosevelt) it follows the standard automotive path (right on 30th). Northbound, the bus keeps going to 127th, then takes a left, then another left on 30th, followed by a right on 125th (like so). This will limit the options for trips from Lake City to 130th (the nearest station). The bus probably won’t be able to serve Lake City Way north of 125th, which means people will use the stop on 30th or the stop on 125th. It will also delay through-riders and add to the time it takes to complete the route. This (along with other choices) contributes to the overall low frequency of various routes. The 77 — primed to be the fastest connection to Link for a lot of people — is supposed to run 15 every minutes at best, and every 30 minutes evenings and weekends. There are other concerns I have with the route, but I’ll leave that for another article.

Infrequent Tails

Both the 65 and 348 have sections that will run less frequently. Based on feedback from Metro, the plan is to run them less frequently during peak. Service to Richmond Beach, for example, would likely occur every half hour, all the time. Speaking of which, when the 348 doesn’t go to Richmond Beach, it will layover somewhere on the loop shown on the map (labeled Richmond Highlands) then complete the loop as it heads towards the UW.

333

North of Northgate Way, there are three main transit streets: 130th, 155th and 185th. These streets avoid the worst of the traffic, and connect very well to the stations and the density on both sides. In contrast, 145th and 175th are used by a lot of cars that are simply trying to access the freeway. Thus it is puzzling that Metro has sent the frequent 333 on both. Between Shoreline Community College and Mountlake Terrace the pathway runs by very few people, no Link station, but a lot of cars. It provides a one-seat ride to the college (although for not that many people) and that is about it. Unless you are very close to the Mountlake Terrace Station, it doesn’t work for getting to Link.

Another odd aspect with the 333 is the apparent redundancy with the 77. The 77 does not go to Shoreline Community College, but loops around, serving the Linden area, east of Aurora, where there is a lot of density. But now the 333 also serves this area. The combination is rather awkward, as you have two frequent routes that go to Link, but they go different directions and to different Link stations. The routing would make some sense if there was significant density on 145th between Linden and the station, but there isn’t.

Another odd choice is to eliminate one of the better aspects of the previous 333. The old proposal for the 333 followed the 330 path from Shoreline Community College to the station. This involves making a dogleg on Aurora, extending coverage in one of the more densely populated parts of Shoreline while also avoiding the traffic of 145th. Service along 160th is gone, while an infrequent bus (the 345) connects 155th to Link.

More Frequent Service to Haller Lake

Metro has restored the current 345/346 pattern to Haller Lake (and the nearby hospital) where two infrequent buses combine for 15 minute headways from there to Northgate. This is an awkward route (as it loops around quite a bit, making for a very slow connection to Link) but just about any combination is bound to have issues. The new 345 restores service to Four Freedoms House, while the 365 turns on 145th to get over to 5th NE (passing by the 145th Station in the process).

Express Service to Downtown

The 322 from the last proposal is still around, while the current 303 is retained. This reduces the number of Metro buses over the Ship Canal Bridge from the current five (64, 302, 303, 320, 322) to two.

Through Routing

There is slightly different pairing in the U-District. The 45 is no longer through-routes with the 75, but terminates at the UW triangle (next to UW Station). The 75 & 77 would be paired instead.  Routes 65 & 67 would still be paired like today.

Other changes

The 75 retains its current routing connecting Lake City and Pinehurst to Northgate, with better weekday midday frequency than the previous proposal. The 331 restores coverage service to Hillwood (west of Aurora Village) while the current proposal (like the last one) leaves a big coverage hole in much of Meridian. The bus that runs from Aurora Village to Mountlake Terrace will run less often, while the bus going up 15th to Mountlake Terrace will run more often. The proposed 324 (Bothell to Lake City) is now gone, as is the current 342.

This is another in a series of posts about the Lynnwood Link bus restructure. This covers the area north of Seattle. I have two maps, but neither should be considered a full-fledged proposal. They are a set of ideas, and I doubt either would be adopted in its entirety. The first one is austere — a bare-bones system that is intended to provide coverage where it is needed most. The second covers more of the region, while providing an important corridor with very good frequency. It is unlikely we can afford the latter, or have to settle for the former. We would likely get something in between.

Common Themes

Despite the differences, there are some common themes:

1. Straighter routes. Turning takes extra time, especially at major intersections. Traffic signals favor cars going straight, which means a turn may take several light cycles.
2. Avoids roads that are congested, but have few riders. 145th and 175th, for example, don’t have many apartments, but lots of traffic.
3. Infrequent routes should exist for coverage, not connectivity. An infrequent bus that runs along the same pathway as a frequent bus will not get many riders, even if it saves some people a transfer.
4. Coverage routes should save riders a considerable amount of walking. The routes should be spread out whenever possible.

Austere Proposal

It is easier to read the map if you expand it to full size (it will open in its own window), providing a legend on the left side, listing each route. Selecting a route brings it to the foreground. The 333, 334 and 336 on this map would be infrequent (30 minute headways in the middle of the day). This proposal saves service hours by following the general guidelines mentioned above as well as cutting back coverage, frequency and direct connections, such as:

1. No service along the county line between Aurora Village and Mountlake Terrace. Very few riders use those stops.
2. No service along 145th, west of the Link Station. This is more than made up for with service along all of Meridian. The service hole that the proposed 46 creates along Meridian between 130th and 145th has a fair number of riders.
3. No service along 175th. There won’t be many riders either way, but at least going north-south is very fast.
4. No coverage for parts of the proposed 336 (NE 150th, 30th Avenue NE). These areas are close enough to more frequent buses.
5. The 334 (replacing the 331) is extended east to Bothell, to cover a service hole mentioned in this post. If Sound Transit added a bus stop for the S3 at 83rd Place NE (where there is a crossing and existing bus stops) you wouldn’t need this extension. That would save Metro a considerable amount of money, while giving riders in the area better bus service.
6. No 324, which means no direct connection between Lake City and Kenmore/Bothell. I don’t believe this is necessary, nor do I think the 324 would perform well. Relatively few people are taking this trip. Those that are going this way will likely take a more frequent bus simply because it will arrive first.
7. No direct connection between Aurora Village and Mountlake Terrace. Riders can take the 130 or a Link/Swift Blue combination. Some of the riders who make this trip right now are transferring to Swift, in which case it would be the same number of transfers, while also saving them wait and travel time (Link is fast and frequent).
8. No direct connection from Aurora Village or the northern part of Aurora to Shoreline Community College. The RapidRide E is very frequent, running every 7.5 minutes in the middle of the day. Riders can easily hop on the E, then take the bus directly across 160th, instead of waiting for a bus that winds back and forth to get to the college.
9. No direct connection between parts of Aurora and Link. The proposed 46 and 334 run along a corridor served by the very fast and frequent E. Very few riders will bother waiting for their direct connection, and instead just take the E and transfer. In both cases the buses are going the opposite direction most people want to go, further hurting ridership. People generally don’t like going the wrong direction, especially if it would take a while (e. g. north up to 175th, east along 175th, then north up to 185th to the station before heading south).

Overall, with the exception of the first item, coverage is largely a wash. Some people have a longer walk to a bus stop, others are closer. Frequency is reduced, but in areas with relatively few riders. A few direct connections go away, but the extension of the 72 makes up for it. Not only does this give a lot more people a direct connection to the college, but it gives those same riders a connection to the RapidRide E. While there are drawbacks to this proposal, they are largely worth the cost savings, and it would mean better service elsewhere.

Robust Proposal

This proposal provides additional coverage, direct connections and frequency. Specifically, it:

1. Covers the greater Hamlin Park/Briarcrest area (east of 15th NE) with the 335.
2. Restores coverage for the Hillwood neighborhood (west of Aurora Village) with the 336.
3. Covers 205th (south of Lake Ballinger) after all. The 333 could be timed with the 130 to provide good combined headway between Aurora Village and Mountlake Terrace.
4. Extends the 334 (from Ballinger/North City) to Aurora and Shoreline Community College. This adds a direct connection to an important destination, while also giving lots of people a good connection to the RapidRide E.
5. Individual routes are as infrequent as with the austere proposal, but the combined headways along 185th would be excellent. If timed properly, you would have 7.5 frequency connecting Aurora with North City (and the station). Some of the trips would still involve two transfers, but with fast and very frequent service along 185th and Aurora, this would make up for it.

There are a range of options here, and I would like to know what people think in the comments.

As we covered a while back, Metro is gathering input on bus routes following the implementation of Lynnwood Link. They have initially proposed a sizable service gap along Lake City Way, as well as limited connectivity in the area. This should be fixed.

Current Service and Future Plans

There are three buses that run on Lake City Way south of Northgate Way: The 322, 372 and 522. The replacement for the 522, the S3, will no longer go on Lake City Way. Metro is planning on eliminating the peak-only 322. The 372 (or its replacement, the 72) does not go south of Ravenna Avenue. This would leave a considerable stretch of Lake City Way with no bus service at all.

Ridership and Coverage

The 522 currently serves a bus stop at 20th and 85th, along Lake City Way. Before the pandemic, more 522 riders used that stop than any outside Seattle. Close to 400 people used the bus stop every evening on that bus alone. This was for an infrequent 522 that did not connect to Link. Prior to Northgate Link, the stop was served by other express buses (like the 312 and 309) which had another 150 riders. This was happening before the current boom in development around the bus stop.

But it isn’t just the ridership from that one stop. Without service along that corridor, the coverage gap from eliminating the 73 grows larger. It is easy to argue that riders of the old 73 should walk to Lake City Way or Roosevelt to catch a bus, but if there isn’t service on Lake City Way, a lot of riders would have a very long walk to the nearest bus stop. The 372 does not serve 95th (as it has to move over into the left lane to get on Ravenna Avenue) and there is no crossing Lake City between 20th (85th) and 95th. This makes the trip to the nearest bus stop much longer than it appears. To get from these apartments on Lake City Way to the nearest 372 bus stop is quite the trek, no matter which way you go.

There is also the fact that the 522 and 372 go to different locations. The 522 connects to Roosevelt, a growing and increasingly important neighborhood. Directly connecting the Lake City and Roosevelt neighborhoods (as well as the places along the way) is a worthy endeavor, and will increase ridership along that corridor. It is also a much faster way to get to Link. According to Google, it takes about 20 minutes to get from that neighborhood to Link via the 372 while it takes only 5 minutes via the 522. This time savings applies to anyone along Lake City Way south of Northgate Way.

Route Options

There are a number of different ways to cover this area, but I assume it will require a new route. For sake of argument, I will call this new route the 76.

Option 1: Lake City to Roosevelt Station

The cheapest option for the 76 is to go from Lake City to Roosevelt Station. It is short and fast enough that a bus could make a live loop using 65th, as shown above. While short, it is likely this would be one of the most useful, cost-effective buses in the area.

Option 2: 145th to Green Lake Park and Ride

The second option is to basically do the reverse. Instead of starting in Lake City, it would start at the Green Lake Park and Ride. It could then do a live loop in Lake City, using 30th, 145th and Lake City Way. This would connect to Stride S3 (522) as well as more of Lake City. With bus service this far north, we could truncate the 72 at the Fred Meyer location, or double the service (and halve the headway) between 145th and Lake City.

Option 3: Lake City to U-District

The third option is to run from Lake City to the U-District, providing one-seat rides to the second biggest destination in the city. I show the bus laying over at Campus Parkway, but there are other options, such as through-routing with a bus going through campus or going further to the UW Station. A bus serving the U-District could potentially live-loop on either end, although it might be too long of a route.

With any of these options, the bus should be synchronized with the 72, providing very good headways along much of Lake City Way for relatively little cost.

No matter how it is done, the area should have frequent bus service along this corridor. Please let Metro know by commenting on the Metro Restructure for Lynnwood Link by March 10th.

Metro is seeking input on “Phase 2” of Lynnwood Link Connections. In Phase 1 they gathered input on what the public wanted, and now they have taken those ideas and proposed a restructure. There are several themes common with this proposal, which are listed after the map.

Fewer Routes and Less Coverage

After the Northgate restructure, there were 5 express buses from the north end. Now that is down to just one — the 322. It is the only bus to go over the I-5 ship canal. Buses will instead connect to Link. This reflects a move away from expensive, peak-only express routes, towards a more all-day system.

But that isn’t the only place where service is being simplified. Several corridors will no longer have coverage. The 73 is gone, which means no service on 15th NE between Pinehurst Way and 75th. 5th Avenue NE, between 120th and Northgate Way (served by the 75 and before that the 41) will no longer have service. The 346 is gone, and with it is service on Meridian between 130th and 200th. There are more, but the most controversial change (to me, anyway) is the loss of service along Lake City Way between Ravenna Avenue and Roosevelt Avenue.

More East/West Service

One of the big suggestions to come out of phase one was to improve east-west travel in the area. Several routes help accomplish this goal. The 61 replaces the 20, linking up Greenwood with Northgate and Lake City. The 65 now covers the 125th/130th corridor, connecting Bitter Lake with Lake City and 35th NE (making a trip from Ingraham High School to Nathan Hale High School a one-seat ride). Instead of going north, the (3)72 heads west, to the station at 148th. Riders can continue to Shoreline by taking the 333 further west. There is now coverage along 175th (via the 334) while the 336 and 348 go over 185th. Finally, the 333 runs along the county border, connecting the Mountlake Terrace Station with Aurora Village and Shoreline Community College.

Routes are Split Based on Demand

The 372 is split into two routes: The more frequent 72, and the less frequent 324. The 75 ends at Lake City, which means it is largely a coverage route for Sand Point Way. As a result, it is slated to run less often (30 minutes outside of peak). The 331 is more or less split into two, with the eastern half (the 334) running a lot less often than the western part (the 333).

Conclusion

Overall, I consider this a strong step in the right direction. I have ideas for changes, but I’ll make that another post (along with comments here). Survey ends March 10th.