Metro, communities gear up for more route changes

Monday, May 11, is a big day for transportation advocates in King County. After months of receiving feedback from neighborhoods around the city, Metro will publicize new revisions to its proposed bus changes.

With light rail nearing completion in March 2016, Metro has been proposing bus modifications for the last several months. Light rail will expand to Capitol Hill and the University District, so the demand for buses locally will reportedly decrease.

Metro proposed changes with “Alternative 1” and “Alternative 2,” both viewable to the public on the Metro website: metro.kingcounty.gov/programs-projects/link-connections.

In brief, “Alternative 1” aims to create a consolidated, frequent network of service, according to the website. It would consolidate service into fewer routes on major streets where ridership is highest, to create more efficiency.

In contrast, “Alternative 2” involves more modest changes, according to the website. It assumes that riders will switch to the light rail only where there is a benefit in travel times. But like Alternative 1, it still responds to shifts in the transit market.

Residents, community councils and other organizations have been providing Metro with feedback and concerns.

“Our goal is on May 11 to begin publicly sharing info about the proposed bus improvements, incorporating feedback received from the public meetings and surveys and comments,” said Metro spokesperson Jeff Switzer.

Metro will present these plans to various community groups. “We are still setting dates and times for meetings and stakeholder briefings,” Switzer said.

But everyone will be able to access the revisions. “Robust info will be available online, including a video presentation and how-to guide for our web content,” he said.

However, people can still submit feedback. “We’ll have our usual online survey, email and phone channels for comments,” he said.

Madison Valley

Greater Madison Valley Community Council president Lindy Wishard said she’s looking forward to Metro’s rework.

“We will be holding a public meeting in Madison Valley after the 11th to review Metro’s revisions, and we will have comments back to Metro,” Wishard said.

Madison Valley, like nearly all communities, has received its share of alarm that the buses it relies on might be changed for the worse.

“The biggest concern in the neighborhoods is ensuring that our residents can get to the locations they need to go in an efficient manner,” Wishard said.

Residents are mostly concerned with Routes Nos. 8 and 11.

“We need to be able to get to the financial district downtown, the hospitals on First Hill, the University District and to the South Lake Union Amazon location,” she said. “Our comments to Metro have been that we wanted to ensure that the residents and business workers of Madison Valley can commute to and from where they want to go in an efficient way.

“We had a wonderful meeting with Metro, where they presented their ideas for Alternatives 1 and 2,” she said. “We got a good turnout, and Metro did a good job in listening to our concerns and comments.”

Wishard said one attendee came up with a third alternative, which was taken into consideration.

Alternative 1 would make drastic changes for Madison Valley, including significant changes to Route No. 11. However, Alternative 2 would result in minimal changes, Wishard explained.

Madison Park

Madison Park Community Council president Maurice Cooper said Metro is proposing to eliminate Route No. 11 and change Route No. 8 so it goes directly from Madison Park and then over Capitol Hill and onto Seattle Center.

“It might be useful but nowhere near as useful as the No. 11, which takes you downtown,” he said.

Cooper said the change will impact the quality of people’s commute.

“What it really means for the residents of Madison Park is that you’d have to change buses, and changing buses can be a real pain and it discourages people from taking the bus,” he said.

However, he noted that Metro did provide opportunities for public comment, including a transportation meeting.

Cooper invited Metro to make a presentation to his community council earlier in the year “because [the changes] will impact the No. 11 bus pretty dramatically,” he said.

Cooper also said Madison Park residents will receive no benefit from the changes, since they generally have no need for the light rail.

“What this has got to do with us is irrelevant,” he said. “They increased our taxes, but we got a reduction in service.”

Leschi

Leschi Community Council co-president Diane Snell said her neighborhood already experienced cuts within the last few years.

“Last September, we lost our No. 27 bus,” she said. “We didn’t have an early morning, weekend or nighttime commute.”

It was difficult for the community that relies on the bus service, she said: “Geographically, Leschi is a very difficult area. We have residents by the lake and a huge, steep hill to travel before getting to the rest of the community.”

The cut especially affected residents who are disabled, she added.

But Leschi residents advocated for themselves. “We fought and fought to get our bus back, and now the City Council says they’ll fully restore it in June,” she said.

According to Snell, Metro will have enough money by June from the $60 car tab fees to have contracts for drivers.

Moreover, residents will largely not use the light rail, she said: “The light rail is not a good option for us. We’re a small neighborhood. We don’t have a lot of people, and by cutting that bus, it was totally isolating the neighborhood.”

However, according to Metro, there will be no reduction in service.

“Neither of the network alternatives include changes to service in Magnolia or Leschi,” Switzer said.

Final stretch

Starting in May, Metro will begin Phase 3 of its bus-change timeline. During this final phase — which will last until light rail completion — community members can continue to help shape the final set of service changes. Those changes will ultimately be presented to the Metropolitan King County Council and the Sound Transit board for review. After that, the King County Council and Sound Transit board will “consider and adopt service changes,” according to the timeline.

In early 2016, light rail will begin serving Capitol Hill and the University District, followed by the change in bus service, in March 2016.

To comment on Metro Transit’s proposed changes, visit metro.kingcounty.gov/programs-projects/link-connections.

To comment on this story, write to MPTimes@nwlink.com.