Metro Bus 30 Route Change Could Bring Night And Week-End Bus Service To Laurelhurst

A reader forwarded us information from the Seattle Transit Blog,  alerting us that Metro Bus Route 30 might be extended into Laurelhurst, because the City of Seattle has asked Metro to change the route’s eastern end, now going through Magnuson Park.

With the upcoming change in the route, Metro Bus 30 would either serve Hawthorne Hills or turn south to serve Laurelhurst and Children’s Hospital.

The reader said the change would provide much better weekend and evening coverage in Laurelhurst,  as currently there is no service after 7pm on weeknights and no service on weekends.

Route 30 currently winds its way from Seattle Center to a variety of endpoints near Sand Point. The route currently ends at Magnuson Park and turns around inside there on weekday evenings and on weekends.

The City of Seattle has requested that Metro not go into Magnuson Park anymore because of concerns about heavier vehicles traveling on park roads, so Metro needs to find an alternate route in the area.

Metro is looking into two possible alternatives for the east end of this route on nights and weekends.

In both of these, the routing would the same as it is now as as far east as the Princeton Avenue NE bridge. And with both alternatives, passengers could transfer to Route 75 to go further in either direction on Sand Point Way NE.

Here are the alternatives, also shown here on this map:

Alternative 1

After crossing the Princeton Avenue NE bridge, eastbound Route 30 would go west on Sand Point Way NE, turn south on 47th Avenue NE, turn west on NE 45th Street, and end at a bus loop on the south side of Children’s Hospital. Westbound Route 30 would go west on NE 45th Street, north on Sand Point Way NE, and north on Princeton Avenue NE before resuming its current routing.

With this alternative, on nights and weekends Route 30 would no longer serve Sand Point Way NE north of Princeton Avenue NE, or Magnuson Park. It would serve Children’s Hospital and Laurelhurst.

Alternative 2

East of 40th Avenue NE, Route 30 would make a one-way loop. Eastbound, it would still cross the Princeton Avenue NE bridge and continue north on Sand Point Way NE. It would turn west at NE 65th Street, and end on the far side of Sand Point Way NE. Westbound, it would go west on NE 65th Street, continuing on NE Princeton Way NE to NE 65th Street and 40th Avenue NE. At this intersection, it would turn south on 40th Avenue NE and rejoin the regular (weekday daytime) routing with a west turn onto NE 55th Street.

With this alternative, on nights and on weekends Route 30 would not serve Sand Point Way NE north of NE 65th Street, but it would serve the NE 65th Street entrance of Magnuson Park. Riders would board and exit the bus at different locations because of the one-way loop.

Metro is asking the community to share their opinions on its website by taking a quick survey. The reader said "It would be great to give Metro lots of feedback from Laurelhurst."

For more information about this project, contact Ashley DeForest at ashley.deforest@kingcounty.gov or call 206-684-1154.