Community Post

Metro Releases Revisions to Proposal: Routes #2 ,#4, #12, #14, and #27

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Metro released the narratives (maps to come) to  proposed revisions to original proposed changes yesterday afternoon, along with presenting a number of ways to comment:  http://metro.kingcounty.gov/have-a-say/projects/restructuring-system.html

The highlights to this for the  Central District are:

  • The #27 will be restored to serve Leschi and Coleman Park during the day.  Frequency would decrease on weekends to once every hour. And it  it will be E Yesler Way until  Boren Avenue where it will be rerouted to Spring Street, Seneca Street, and Third Avenue rather than continuing along E Yesler Way to downtown Seattle.  Then it will continue as the #33 on Third Avenue  and vise versa on return trips.
  • The proposals to delete all of the #2 except the portion from Lake Washington to 12th Avenue with a reroute on Madison to the ferries where it  would turn around to the Lake again remains in this proposal.  This would be staggered with the #12 along new Madison portion.  Saturday service for the #2 along E. Union will decrease from every 15 minutes to every 20 minutes on Saturday.
  • The deletion of the #4 remains.
  • Proposed frequency increase in the #11 is no longer proposed.
  • Proposals for the #14 remain to delete service between 31st Avenue S/S McClellan Street and Mount Rainier Drive S. at all times and on Capitol Hill and downtown Seattle after 7 p.m. and to separate the north and south parts of the route. Take it off Third Avenue on the north and link it with the #1 on south on Third.  (map please)

As soon as Metro releases the new maps I will post them and links to them.  The pictures here are a history of the stories that have appeared with first being a map of all the first proposed revisions to central routes.

Maps are coming, but at the moment the drop down menu at the right provides a narrative  on each of the current revisions to the revisions that were presented in November 2011.

The period for further comment will continue throughout February and will end February 29.  Metro will then prepare a recommendation for King County Council to consider in the spring probably April.

A number of methods to comment on the proposal are presented.

Meetings and open houses in or near or related to the CD:

  • Feb 10 at 11am – Horizon House  
  • February 14, 6pm – 7pm First Hill Improvement Association, Swedish First Hill Campus, B Level Conf. Room, 747 Broadway Seattle, WA 98122
  • Feb 21 12-2pm – Union Station, 401 S Jackson St, Seattle
  • Feb 23 6-8pm – QA Community Center, 1901 1st Ave W, Seattle 
  • Feb 27 6-8pm – Washington Middle School, 2101 S Jackson St, Seattle

Other meetings where you can comment:

  • Feb. 13 – Ballard (Ballard High School, 1418 NW 65th St, Seattle, 6-8 pm) 
  • Feb. 15 – West Seattle (Madison Middle School, 3429 45th Ave SW, Seattle, 6-8 pm)
  • Feb. 16 – Delridge/White Center (Chief Sealth High School, 2600 SW Thistle St, Seattle, 6-8 pm)

FROM METRO:We’re still doing some testing on Internet Explorer and will be adding an interactive neighborhood map and proposed system maps in the coming days—so stay tuned!

We’re still doing some testing on Internet Explorer and will be adding an interactive neighborhood map and proposed system maps in the coming days—so stay tuned!

Some recent CD News Stories:

http://www.centraldistrictnews.com/2011/10/25/metro-shows-significant-changes-to-the-2-3-4-11-12-14

http://www.centraldistrictnews.com/2011/12/15/bus-chick-petition-save-the-27

http://www.centraldistrictnews.com/2012/01/26/bus2ridersgmailcom-announces-more-local-metro-meetings-and-action-plan

And links to others:

http://www.centraldistrictnews.com/2012/01/18/improving-route-2-in-the-central-district-and-first-hill

http://seattletransitblog.com/2012/02/02/metro-waters-down-fall-changes/#more-33422

 From Ashley at Metro : A media release is going out to neighborhood blogs and citywide media outlets momentarily and we will be sending out a series of other notifications tomorrow. You may also see us in the neighborhood putting up laminated posters in the bus shelters. Please stop by and say hi if you spot me struggling with a tape gun.From

12 thoughts on “Metro Releases Revisions to Proposal: Routes #2 ,#4, #12, #14, and #27”

  1. Hi Joanna,
    Thank you so much for the informative update and great news about the 27! I feel your statements about the proposed changes to the 2 are mieading, however. The 2 will still run at the same frequency from Lake Washington to downtown and still serve University Street Link light rail station. Moving it to two blocks to Madison (west of 12th only) will:
    1) speed up service from the Central District to downtown since Madison traffic flows more quickly
    2) improve reliability of the 2 since the routing to/from Queen Anne will not slow it down anymore and make it late all the time
    3) let it share stops with the 12, which gives people travelling between 12th and downtown twice as many options (essentially doubles the frequency) of buses on Madison without changing service frequency or routing of the 2 in the CD..

    True, the portion of the 2 continuing on to Queen Anne will go away, but between the limited number of people who actually contine on to Queen Anne (for which I am ocassionally one, actually!) and the increased frequency of the 13, the improved reliability of the 2 and the fact that the 2 will still serve University St Link light rail station and now the ferry docks, I see this change as an improvement to service to and from the Central District. It’s also worth noting that the 27 will now continue on to Queen Anne as the 33. I truly admire your advocacy and thank you for standing up for the 27, and please cotinue standing up for bus riders in the CD, but please please please be careful about what you wish against for the 2.

  2. One note, the reduced frequency of the 2 on Saturday is a bummer, so my argument is not in favor of that reduction. But to be honest I rarely ride the 2 on Saturday so I can’t knowledgeably speak to that change. :)

  3. I think that those of us who support the changes and those of us who are less enthusiastic can all agree that we do not want to see Saturday service reduced.

  4. I think that those of us who support the changes and those of us who are less enthusiastic can all agree that we do not want to see Saturday service reduced.

    Let’s all work together to advocate for Metro to not to cut Saturday service!

  5. Agreed, although in the grand scheme of some of the other cuts Metro is looking at systemwide, going from 4 trips an hour to 3 trips an hour isn’t the end of the world. Worse case wait time (assuming buses are on schedule) goes up roughly 5 minutes and average wait time only goes up 2.5 minutes…

  6. Well, I do think that the reliability will improve dramatically. Nevertheless, maintaining consistent frequency is a worthwhile goal that I think could help unite us, in contrast to the inter-squabbling that has been the benchmark of route 2 discussions so far.

  7. While it does take away the easy access to light rail for the University Station and the Westlake Station, there is nowhere in this story that I assert that opinion. You said it, I did not.

  8. If I’m reading this correctly this seems to say that, via route 27, there will continue to be a bus stop near the north entrance of Virginia Mason Hospital and within one block of Horizon House as is currently the case, right?

  9. That is correct. This 27 reroute was designed to ensure that there remains some service for those with mobility impairments that prevent them from walking to the consolidated Madison corridor.

  10. Most of us want less service. Having more busses on the road than is needed is a diservice to us all. Hourly weekend service is suffficient to move people around. Seattle businesses can adjust schedules for most employees. Does it really matter if you get to work at 0700 rather than 0730? Doctors appointments are scheduled – so pick the right time. Really, let’s have less. People seem to want a full service system that is on call 24/7/365 with door to door custom service. That is called a limosine service, or a car. Busses have a schedule and get you pretty close to where you need to go. Walking a few blocks (or wheel chairing it) and planning are a healthy part of living. It seems like folks are begging Metro to help them die of obesity and sedentary related illnesses. Quit whining and walk a freaking block.

  11. *Metro said that they wanted to get rid of buses on 3rd Avenue and the turn onto Spring.
    *The new trolleys will have the floor that lowers thus eliminating some of the delays on many of the trolleys (this is good)
    *The new proposal has created an twisted, patched and unproven crosstown diesel route still on 3rd Avenue, still using Spring and Seneca routes (which can be improved) replacing a huge chunk of the what is a trolley and one of the most productive routes in the system. Show me the green (both types)? What is the projected productivity of the new #27 and #33 crosstown diesel (Leschi to QA)?
    *The #2, the 7th most heavily used route in the County, is too valuable a cross-town trolley service to be sacrificed.
    *People want and use the #2.
    *The #2 will not connect with the University Street Station or any other tunnel station.
    *Under this current proposal the #27 loses its connection to the tunnel transit at 3rd and James. Now even fewer CD residents will have access to the tunnel. Update: oops I guess it really is only the #2 and the #12. The #27 will have a connection at 3rd and Pine.

  12. To be precise, low-floor trolleys (not “floors that lower”) have numerous advantages. If anyone can’t get onto the lower floor (which can “kneel” at the push of a button, Joanna, which may be what you mean) the ramp deploys in less than half the time of the lifts currently use on our existing trolley bus fleet. This is a huge time savings.

    And, as has been stated many many times, the #2 will still connect to University Street Station. You’ll just have to walk a little bit. Or get off at 3rd/Madison and transfer to anything northbound to Westlake.