Metro Re-Routing West Seattle/Downtown Buses Starting September 12; 1st & Dearborn Intersection Closed Beginning September 12
King County Metro announced changes yesterday to the West Seattle/Downtown bus routes, beginning on September 9th. Here’s a link to a map showing the changes (also shown below).
WSDOT announced that on September 12 they will begin removing what remains of the Alaskan Way Viaduct, and will need to close the intersection at 1st and Dearborn for up to 10 days.
Starting September 9th, buses traveling from Downtown to West Seattle will travel onto the 2nd Avenue Extension, then on to 4th; a new stop will be added on the 2nd Avenue Extension, at South Main Street.
This routing will be in effect until early 2020.
Buses will no longer travel southbound on 1st Avenue, and the stop for southbound buses at 1st/King will close.
Northbound buses, from West Seattle to Downtown, will travel on the SODO Busway and 4th Avenue. The C Line will have a stop at Prefontaine; the 21X, 55, 56, 57, 113, 120, 121, 122, 123 and 125 will have a stop at James Street, as shown on the map.
The northbound changes are scheduled from September 12th through 21st.
In early 2020, these routes will use Alaskan Way, and access Downtown on Cherry Street, then continue on 3rd Avenue.
Here’s a link to KC Metro’s announcement.
Thank you to Metro, SDOT and the County Executive for their responsiveness to constituent concerns. My earlier newsletters about this are here and here.
Also, earlier this week WSDOT announced they will begin charging tolls for the SR99 tunnel beginning November 9. My office has spoken to WSDOT about the importance of closely monitoring how this goes, as it has the potential to add more cars Downtown, and affect traffic and bus trip times, especially between November 9 and when buses begin using Alaskan Way. WSDOT indicated they are aware of this and will be monitoring it.
WSDOT’s announcement for the closure of the 1st/Dearborn intersection says: “This closure will cause unavoidable disruptions to traffic and we ask drivers to make a plan for their trips: consider alternate routes or ways of getting around, including exiting SR 99 at Spokane Street, using transit or taking the King County Water Taxi. Next month will also bring demolition to the section of viaduct around Marion Street and changes for passengers arriving at Colman Dock. This construction is just one component of the #SeattleSqueeze as Seattle updates its transportation infrastructure to match the city’s mobility needs.”
Your Voice Your Choice Voting Open through September 30
Voting for the Your Voice Your Choice program has begun, and is open through September 30.
Projects were identified by community members earlier this year, and reviewed by SDOT and Parks. Here’s a map of candidate projects.
You can review District 1 projects here, and vote here.
Voting is open to anyone age 11 and up (must be 13 and up to vote online) who lives, works, goes to school, worships, receives services, volunteers, or is part of a program in the City of Seattle. Each voter may cast one ballot per City Council district, and may choose up to three (3) projects per district. You can vote online or by paper ballot at any Seattle Public Library branch. Printable ballots are in the dropdown below.
Ballots are available in other languages here.
Information about past projects is available here.
August Constituent Email Report
Constituent correspondence is a very important task in my office. My staff and I spend time every day helping you improve our community, whether that’s by getting you help from a city department with our constituent case management services or giving you information about legislation that the Council is considering. The unshaded categories and numbers are problem-solving emails answered in July, what I refer to above as “case management services.” The shaded categories and numbers are emails answered in July related to policy or legislation that the Council is considering.