Tag Archives: King County Metro

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Grand Opening Ceremony for 8th and 100th Intersection, Tuesday, June 17th

We’ve all been driving, cycling, walking through the new vastly improved intersection of 8th Ave NW, NW 100th St, and NW 100th Place since August last year. Come celebrate with our 36th District State Legislator, Gael Tarleton:

  • Where:  8th and 100th
  • When: Tuesday, June 17th, 5-6 PM

A great chance to see some of your neighbors, say hi to Gael.

The intersection was revised to eliminate the free right swing for traffic northbound on 8th onto 100th Place. The Walkable Crown Hill effort identified this intersection as the number 2 priority for attention by the City.  The revision was dovetailed with King County Metro’s startup of the D-Line Rapid Ride service, which made 7th Ave NW one-way Northbound at Holman Rd, so the buses could use 100th Place and 3rd to turnaround back to Holman Rd. The intersection is  much safer now, that all northbound traffic on 8th must come to a full stop before proceeding.

Transportation

Transit Survey

bdc

King County Metro Transit made big changes to many of its bus routes on September 29th, 2012. They made these changes after much public consultation. Most changes to routes and schedules were a response to the introduction of the Rapid Ride C and D lines providing service from West Seattle to Downtown Seattle, and Ballard to Downtown Seattle via Queen Anne. This is a Ballard District Council led initiative to determine whether these changes have made it easier or harder to use public transit. Some people feel their commute or other use of the bus system has been impaired, while others feel the changes have been an improvement. This is not designed as a scientific survey, but an opportunity to see whether or not the service is improved over what it was.

Participation in this survey is completely voluntary. The information collected will be tabulated and used for transit planning discussions for Ballard and in discussions with Metro Transit. The survey is open until Jan 31, 2013

To add your voice, please visit:

tinyurl.com/BallardTransit

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Rapid Ride Line “D” Route Map Updated


View 15/Line D changes in Crown Hill in a larger map

Back in January 2011, we reported the tentative routing for the northern terminus of King County Metro’s new Line “D” service. That routing as well as the routing for the southern terminus has now been finalized. Additionally station and stop information has been added and/or altered. In the map above, the new routing is in red and the current routing (15 and 15X) buses is in blue. The official route map from King County Metro is below.  KC Metro has recently secured federal funding for the “C” line. The “D” line has not yet been funded by the Federal Transit Administration. The D line is presently proposed to be up and running in late 2012. More information on the D line is available here.  Metro also has a Rapid Ride Blog which is updated from time to time.

Rapid Ride Line D routing and stops
Rapid Ride Line D routing and stops (click to download PDF from Metro)

 

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King County Metro — effects of proposed cutbacks

The Washington State Legislature has authorized a measure to allow King County to levy a temporary congestion reduction charge of  $20 per vehicle per year on each vehicle registered in King County for two years. If the King County Council passes the congestion charge, Metro will continue to provide planned bus services, including Rapid Ride.  In the event the charge is not approved, King County Metro has proposed a list of service cutbacks to balance their budget. In the first round of service cuts 100,000 of service would be eliminated. In the second round, 680,000 service hours are proposed to be axed.

How will the proposed service cuts affect Crown Hill?

Crown Hill is serviced directly by the following routes:

  • 15: runs along 15th NW turning around using NW 100th, 14th NW, NW 105th, 13th NW, NW 103rd. This service will be changed with the advent of Rapid Ride Line “D” scheduled for Fall 2012. This route services Downtown Seattle and Queen Anne.
  • 28: runs on 8th Ave NW and services Broadview and Fremont
  • 48: runs along NW 85th Street and services Loyal Heights to Rainier Beach
  • 75: runs along NW 85th turning North on 15th then Eastward on Holman. Services Ballard and the U-district (via Northgate Mall)

Continue reading King County Metro — effects of proposed cutbacks →

Traffic, Transportation, Walkability

Rapid Ride Line D is coming

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King County Metro will be replacing the current 15 and 15 Express buses which serve Crown Hill with Rapid Ride D Line by the end of 2012. As shown on KC Metro’s graphic (at the end of this article), both the Northern and Southern end of the line details have yet to be firmed up (see below for proposed route). Rapid Ride Line D will serve the route between Crown Hill and Downtown Seattle via Queen Anne.

General information on Rapid Ride is available from Metro’s Rapid Ride web page. Rapid Ride offers many improvements over the current bus service. Some of the improvements include:

  • Faster boarding via three doors rather than the current single point of entry
  • You won’t need a timetable. Service as frequent as every 10 minutes during the commute periods and into a larger portion of the non-commute day. 15 minute interval at other times during the day, and the same interval as the 15 for the wee morning and late evening hours
  • Pre-paid boarding. Pay at the kiosk, and walk on.
  • Fewer stops speed transit up with the tradeoff of having to walk a little more
  • Improved amenities at stops, including improved lighting, and stop request signals to notify bus drivers of waiting riders

Of interest to many in Crown Hill, Blueridge and Olympic Manor will be how the bus is routed on the northern terminus. The current routing of the 15 turns around using a loop comprised of the residential streets 14th Ave NW, NW 105th St, 13th Ave NW, NW 103rd St, and 14th Ave NW.  According to Paul Roybal of Metro, Line D is proposed to use a loop comprised of Holman Rd, 7th Ave NW, NW 100th, 100th Place, 3rd Ave NW, and Holman Road. Stops have not been determined, as yet. This will be music to the ears of many living on the current terminal loop, as articulated buses will no longer be driving on the residential streets adjacent to their homes at all hours. However that also means a longer walk to reach the new bus from many areas in Crown Hill, Blueridge and parts of Olympic Manor. Additionally, this will force a pedestrian crossing of Holman Road for those riders residing North and South of Holman to either board or alight from the bus. The changes will mean easier connections to the 75, 28 and 5 routes running respectively along Holman, 3rd and 8th Aves, and Greenwood Avenue.


View 15/Line D changes in Crown Hill in a larger map

Below is the full route map published by Metro. This is available as a PDF from the Line D information page at Metro.

Continue reading Rapid Ride Line D is coming →