New Neighborhood Shorter Bus Route To Light Rail Station Starts Today

Warning notices put on all

existing Metro 25 bus stops.

This alert was on NE 45th Street in front of Pro Robics

 

 

 

 

new bus stop and signage eastbound on NE 45th Street

 

new bus stop on Mary Gates Memorial Drive in front of Talaris

The new Metro Bus Route #78 started its weekday service today and runs from about 6am-6pm.  

The route begins and ends in the Children's Hospital turn around on NE 45th Street.  It then turns left onto 42nd Avenue NE, then right onto NE 41st, and stops in front of Talaris. This stop is located at the southeastern-most point of the Route 78 pattern in order to place it near the greatest number of former Route 25 riders.

The bus then veers to the left staying on NE 45th Street and stops in front of Burgermaster.

Next, it proceeds up the NE 45th Street hill through the UW campus and makes two stops along Stevens Way. 

Those connecting to Light Rail exit at the top of the new Rainier Vista plaza, which provides an improved lighted walkway straight down the hill and onto the Montlake overpass leading to the entrance of the Link Light Rail Station.

The total time estimated time from Children's Hospital to the Light Rail is about 25 minutes.  The bus route runs a continuous loop all day with no layovers.

 

After going through the UW, the bus crosses 15th Avenue NE to NE  Pacific Place Triangle and then stops at a new bus stop in front of the HEC Ed Pavilion. Passengers can exit there as well for the Light Rail station. Exiting at this stop instead of the one at Rainier Plaza adds about 8 extra minutes of travel time.  

 

The bus then travels northbound  on Montlake Boulevard and turns right at the 5 way intersection from NE 45th St onto Mary Gates Memorial Drive, the first stop on the way back to Children's Hospital.  

 

This stop is a companion stop for the existing stop on westbound 45th at Union Bay Place. So passengers who board the Route 78 at one stop can deboard at the other. This pair of stops is well-situated to use existing pedestrian infrastructure (crosswalks, sidewalks) to facilitate access to and from the stops. These stops are convenient for those living at the UW's Laurel Village multi-family housing complex.

The Laurelhurst Community Club (LCC) has voiced their concerns about the dangerous location of this stop a the busy corner of Mary Gates Memorial Drive and NE 45th Street and has suggested Metro move it onto Mary Gates Drive.

One nearby neighbor said about this but stop:

Metro should move this stop down the road south at least about fifty more yards. Right now if it stays where it is, it is just an accident just waiting to happen with cars and pedestrians at such an extremely bus intersection.

 

 

After Route #78 ends for the day, Route #65 will come from the Light Rail Station along Montlake Boulevard heading north, and stop in front of Seattle Children's Hospital on 40th Avenue NE and NE 45th Street.  This route operates more frequently than the #78 as well as on Saturdays. 

Route 65 and 75 will serve the edge of Laurelhurst, coming about every 15 minutes until about 12:30 am and 1:30am respectively.

Two bikes fit inside each train and two outside. The Light Rail station is planning for 80 bike storage facility.  

There is no official place to drop off passengers by car, nor is there any official Light Rail parking. 

 

Metro considered the ridership on the previous Route 25 when determining the routing of the Route 78. The new Route 78 hours of operation most closely align with the highest ridership hours of the previous Route 25. 

Then, Metro determined stop locations based on the routing of new Route 78, the locations of existing stops, potential high-ridership locations, and safe pedestrian facilities like crosswalks and sidewalks.

Metro requested three new stop locations for the new route and SDOT approved. Metro notified by mail all adjacent property owners, including those in Laurelhurst.
 

Go here to see the full Metro Bus Route #78.  And full service change details can be found on Metro's website here. 

Here is in-depth information about the history and planning of the new route.

 

Laurelhurst Bus Route 25 Under Consideration To Be Replaced By Week-day Only Route To Connect With Link Starting In March, Give Your Input Now

King County Council is considering a final set of bus changes in NE Seattle that would replace Laurelhurst bus  Route 25 week day only service to new Route 78 starting in March of next year when Link light rail begins service.

The King County Council is considering this route and other recommended changes in the latest proposal submitted by Metro bus service that would help commuters connect from bus service to the light rail service at the nearby Husky station and other new stations.
 
Route 78 would serve Wedgwood, View Ridge, Laurelhurst, the University District, and the University of Washington Link Station every 30 minutes during the day and peak hours and every 60 minutes in the evening. The hours would be 6:30am-10:30pm.
 
Public comments are being accepted by the King County Council, the final decision maker.

"These service changes are extensive and Council discussions are now underway. We need you to be part of the process and hope you will please send us your comments and concerns by using our submission form" the website says.
 
The King County Council is expected to make a decision on the recommendations soon. 
 
The information says:

Link will give riders a reliable eight-minute trip between Husky Stadium and downtown Seattle, avoiding freeway and surface-street traffic.

Metro’s recommended changes would make it easier for riders to connect with the new service. The changes would also improve bus networks in northeast Seattle and on Capitol Hill, using resources saved by trimming bus service that duplicates new Link service. 

 

Here are the proposed route changes:
Route 78

Replacement for route 25 that currently serves Laurelhurst and runs every 30 minutes

 

Route 65

Touches the corner of Laurelhurst by Children's Hospital and runs every 10-15 minutes

 

Route 31 and 32

Both start near Children's Hospital on Sand Point Way and run every 20-30 minutes

 

Here are comment the Laurelhurst Blog received:

The routes will connect nicely with the new Link light rail station near Husky Stadium when  it opens.

We recently moved to Laurelhurst and were surprised by how bad the bus service is to downtown. My wife works in Pioneer Square and tried a couple bus options. The 25 meanders through the U District and Capitol Hill taking an hour to get downtown in the morning. She also tried parking by the Center for Urban Horticulture and taking a bus on Sand Point Way to the U District and transferring to an express bus. It was still just under an hour. Now she ends up driving to Sodo and catching a bus there. 

It's nice to see the proposed route changes are centered around connecting with the Link light rail. The frequency of the trains is being increased to every 6 minutes during commute times. Combined with the advertised "8 minute travel time to downtown," Laurelhurst will hopefully be only a half hour away from downtown via a connection with the new route 78. 

SDOT and King County Metro are cutting some commuter bus lines or re-routing them through the U District to feed the light rail stations, even after Seattle voters approved more $ for buses.

For more information:

•  here to see the detailed news release
• proposed changes to north Seattle service: including travel times to primary destinations from key transfer points.
• map showing bus stops, and the routes that would serve them, near the University of Washington light rail station
• interactive map that allows you to compare the current transit network with the proposed one
• submit comments

 

 

 

Metro Bus Route 65 Now Serving Children's Hospital Via 40th Avenue NE

Map of route change

Route 65 has begun serving Children’s Hospital this month with the recent revision aimed at providing improved access to the hospital.

The route was moved from 35th Avenue NE to 40th Avenue NE between NE 55th Street and NE 45th Street/Sand Point Way NE.  There were no changes to the route north of NE 55th Street or west of NE 45th Street/Union Bay Place. 

Route 65 will serve all existing stops along its new routing on NE 55th Street and Sand Point Way NE/NE 45th Street, as well as some new stops along 40th Avenue.

The change adds approximately two to three minutes of travel time for riders who travel through the revised area.

Here is a map of the route change.

The Metro information says:

Metro is making this change in order to serve the significant numbers of employees, volunteers, and visitors to Seattle Children's Hospital who live in areas served by Route 65. Also, the businesses and apartments along the revised routing can potentially provide more riders than the single-family homes and cemetery along 35th Avenue NE and NE 45th Place between NE 55th Street and NE 45th Street.

Metro is currently working to adopt a proposed standard for making changes to existing routes in order to attract more riders at the expense of additional travel time for customers who already use the routes. This revision to Route 65 would meet this standard, since the expected number of new riders is enough to outweigh the added travel time for existing customers.