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Week of May 25, 2008
Bus schedule, routing, and stop changes arrive Saturday
Once Route 358 arrives in downtown Seattle, passengers will have a different boarding location at the southern tip of the route. | Starting Saturday, May 31, King County Metro Transit will make a few changes to bus routes to update bus service. Although there are not many changes this time around, some are significant for people traveling to and from Issaquah, the University District-Sand Point area, and the Kent Station Transit Center.
Metro adjusts its routes and scheduling three times a year in February, June and September to improve service and keep up with the changing needs of transit passengers. All of the changes are detailed in new bright green Metro timetables and a special Rider Alert brochure. Look for them on buses in the racks near the front of the coach. The brochures and timetables are also available at Metro information racks, libraries, and work sites.
The new schedule information is now available in Metro’s online Trip Planner. Be sure to enter a travel date of May 31 or later to access the new information. The revised route schedules will be available on Metro Online on Friday, May 30. Or, call Metro Rider Information at (206) 553-3000.
Highlights of the upcoming service change include:
• There will be new boarding locations for Metro routes 200, 209, 210, 214, 269, 271, 927 and ST Express 554, 555 and 556 at the Issaquah Transit Center (formerly the Issaquah Park-and-Ride) located on State Route 900 between Maple Street and Newport Way. Starting May 31, passengers should board at the new transit platform located between the construction area and SR 900. Bus riders can still park at the Tibbetts Park-and-Ride south of Newport Way or in the interim lot on the west side of SR 900 until Sound Transit opens the new transit center garage later this summer;
• Local service on Route 74 connecting the Seattle Center to Sand Point via the University District will be renumbered as Metro Route 30. The Route 74 Express that serves downtown Seattle stays the same, and there will be no change to routing or frequency of either the new Route 30 or the Route 74 Express.
• A new trip on Route 212 will leave the Eastgate Park-and-Ride at 4:30 p.m. on weekdays to connect with southbound Sounder train service that leaves Seattle at 5:15 p.m.
• There will be an additional late-evening northbound trip on Route 221 leaving Eastgate at 10:11 p.m.;
• The bus stop for Route 358 at the south end of downtown Seattle is moving to westbound South Jackson Street between Fourth and Fifth avenues. The route will no longer stop eastbound on South Main Street at Second Avenue South;
• DART Routes 914 and 916 will no longer serve Bay 5 at the Kent Station Transit Center. Instead, passengers can board them adjacent to the transit center on westbound Temperance Street between First Avenue North and Ramsay Way.
Sometimes people need more than just bus service. That’s where Rideshare Services can help by providing resources for carpooling, vanpooling or vansharing. Carpooling and vanpooling match people traveling to common destinations. VanShare helps those who need to make a connection to or from bus service. You can VanShare from home and connect to your bus, or use VanShare from the bus stop or park-and-ride lot to complete a trip to work.
As the old saying goes “time is money,” and the King County Road Services Division recently saved on both by piggybacking repair projects east of Redmond. Approximately 10 blocks of Union Hill Road were closed on Saturday, May 24 so county crews could repair the shoulders of the road that were significantly damaged by winter storms. The weather caused the roadway to drop approximately 12 inches along the edge and caused damage to a retaining wall that supports the roadway. While that scheduled work was underway, another Roads Maintenance crew took advantage of the traffic-less conditions to cut out worn patches of asphalt, grind down bumps, fill dips and cracks, and smooth out several sections of rough roadway. The pavement work was originally scheduled for a future date, but by combining the projects together the division needed fewer traffic control workers and the total road closure meant the work could get done faster. The efficiency saved money, and also allowed Roads to tap into federal grant money for storm repairs that expires on June 1. There is still some follow-up work to do on Union Hill Road involving repairs to curbs and guardrails that will be done with single lane closures outside of commute times. Motorists should drive with care through the area when the crews are at work. |
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Check on access to recreation areas before heading out Despite warmer weather, the Road Services Division is warning that some roads in remote areas of unincorporated King County are still impassible due to snow, which will also limit access to some popular recreation areas. This is particularly true around the town of Skykomish. In that area, upper portions of the Old Cascade Highway that connects Highway 2 to the Iron Goat Trail are blocked by up to two feet of snow. Money Creek Road, another popular access to hiking trails, is impassible about three miles west of Highway 2. Heavy snowfall and winter storms have also damaged some backcountry roads and trails that are beyond the maintained county road system. Hikers and other outdoor enthusiasts should check with the U.S. Forest Service, Washington State Parks, or local ranger stations about current conditions before entering remote areas. People should also use extreme caution around local rivers, many of which are swollen with snowmelt. |
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