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Week of July 20, 2009
Greenbridge project will connect community
With the project area in the background, King County officials gathered with community members to break ground for the new walkway. | Community members and project partners gathered last week in White Center to kick off construction of a new pedestrian pathway that will link the Greenbridge neighborhood to the White Center business district. It is also King County’s first capital project funded by federal economic stimulus money.
The King County Road Services Division project is a small piece of the larger White Center neighborhood plan and supports the vision identified and promoted by the White Center Community Development Association and dozens of community groups and participants. It estimated that 20-30 jobs will be directly created from this construction project.
When it is completed, residents from the 1,000-plus units at Greenbridge will be able to walk, or ride to more than 130 businesses and the transit hub in the White Center business district.
The new pathway will be constructed at the intersection of Southwest 98th Street and 12th Avenue Southwest. Currently, a steep wooden stairway connects the Greenbridge development with Southwest 98th Street. The stairway will be replaced, and the county will build an accessible paved ramp that gradually slopes down the hillside. Both feature safety lighting, landscaping, and artistic elements composed by local artist Andy Cao.
The walkway builds upon county efforts to spur private investment and foster a vibrant, healthy, mixed-income community at Greenbridge. It also supports King County’s Healthscape objectives by reducing automobile dependency with more opportunities to be physically active and improve air quality.
The walkway will connect the Greenbridge neighborhood (#7) to the White Center business district via a stairway (#8) and an accessible ramp (#9).
| Total construction cost for the project is $1.4 million, with $1.27 million coming in federal dollars. Construction should begin this week, and take approximately four months to complete.
The project plan was initiated and overseen by a community steering committee. Design and preliminary engineering for the project was made possible by contributions from King County Road Services, King County Parks and King County Water and Land Resources Division, King County Housing Development Authority, 4 Culture, and Feet First.
King County Metro Transit has entered into an agreement with Daimler Buses North America to purchase a fleet of new hybrid-electric buses thanks to a $46 million federal stimulus grant awarded as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The money is part of $75 million in stimulus funding announced earlier this year.
The agreement with Daimler will allow Metro to initially purchase 93 Orion buses with options to buy more than 400 additional coaches over the next five years.
This is an example of the Orion hybrid buses that will be delivered to Metro in 2010. |
Metro officials say the bus purchase is a continued investment in hybrid technology that will further expand Metro’s reputation as one of the greenest transit agencies in North America.
The new coaches will replace Metro’s fleet of Gillig buses, which will be 14 years old by the time they are replaced. That’s two years beyond the typical useful life of a transit bus.
Another positive feature of the contract is flexibility. It will allow Metro to purchase buses as funding becomes available to replace its 40-foot fleet. These buses, along with larger articulated buses in the Metro fleet, will allow for the efficient placement of the right sized-bus on more than 200 transit routes within its 2,000 square-mile service area. The mix of buses also provides more flexibility in assigning larger coaches to ease overcrowding on some of Metro’s busiest routes.
The new 40-foot hybrid-electric buses will complement the 235 hybrid articulated coaches that have been part of Metro’s fleet since 2004. Based on its past experience with hybrid technology, Metro expects to see an estimated 30 percent fuel savings and an equal reduction in greenhouse gas emissions compared to its conventional diesel buses being retired.
Metro anticipates taking delivery of its first prototype 40-foot hybrid bus in about a year. It expects to take delivery of the remaining buses included in this initial order in about 18 months.
It’s yet another busy weekend ahead in King County with a full set of fairs, festivals, and special events – including the Seafair Torchlight Parade.
Metro buses are a great way to get to these events, but it’s important to “know before you go” about possible reroutes. And, be sure to find out in advance where the buses are boarding passengers during the event and what the weekend schedule is like for the routes serving the area. You may also encounter some delays, if traffic is congested.
For the Torchlight Parade, which runs on 4th Avenue in Seattle starting at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, some Metro buses will be rerouted away from the parade set up as early as mid-afternoon. A good option would be traveling to downtown via the transit tunnel. Just be sure to plan your trip home before the last bus or train leaves the tunnel Saturday night.
Other events that will be causing reroutes and delays for some bus routes this weekend are the: Bellevue Festival of the Arts; Enumclaw Street Fair; Capitol Hill Block Party; Renton River Days; and Ballard Seafood Fest. And, even before the weekend starts, there is the Greenwood Seafair Parade which will close Greenwood Avenue North and North 85th Street for several hours Wednesday night.
Visit Metro Online for details about service disruptions.
After months of preparation, the light rail trains are now carrying passengers. | Following a successful introductory weekend, Sound Transit Link light rail is now operating full passenger service between the Downtown Seattle Transit Tunnel (DSTT) and Tukwila. While the weekend rides were free, a fare is required on all light rail service now. Buses are still free in the tunnel and the Ride Free Area in downtown Seattle. Many Metro bus routes provide connections to light rail stations, or stop nearby, and more service is coming in September. In the meantime, please take care when traveling near the light rail line. Link trains are very quiet and may operate on any track in any direction at any time. Cross the tracks only at designated crossing points, and never stand on or cross the roadway in the tunnel. Always use the mezzanine or street level at any tunnel station to get to the opposite platform.
The King County Road Services Division is scheduled to begin repairs on the Preston-Fall City Road next week that will shut down one lane. The work area is located approximately two miles south of Fall City. The crews will be installing a new concrete culvert under the roadway to replace an old drain pipe that is deteriorating. The project will improve drainage, protect the roadbed and shoulders, and allow fish to pass under the roadway. One lane of the road will remain open at all times, with a temporary signal to control traffic. The work is expected to be completed by mid August.
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