In what one transit manager referred to as 'routes on steroids', King County Executive Ron Sims has a plan to get more buses in and out of Ballard.

Sims announced the plan, called Transit Now, on April 18. The executive is proposing a one-tenth of one cent sales tax hike, translating to about $25 a year in sales taxes paid by the typical King County family. The funding would provide a 20 percent increase in Metro's passenger capacity, or 21 million more bus rides annually, within ten years. Sims said the additional public transit capacity would get 60,000 people out of their cars.

Over the next twenty five years, King County expects the population to grow by nearly half a million people. Sims says the county's public transportation network will fall further behind without additional funding.

In Ballard, the beefed up service would mean bus pickups every ten minutes on certain north south routes along 15th Avenue NW and Aurora Avenue North, as well as one cross-town route on NW Market Street. The increased frequency of service would be available all day, six days a week.

Though the plan has yet to be formally presented to the King County Council, Council President Larry Phillips, whose district includes Ballard, is optimistic.

"Everybody wants more transit service, especially in Seattle. I'm intrigued ...it looks like it should provide an alternative to the Green Line," Phillips said, referring to the monorail project, recently scuttled by voters.

The city of Seattle undertook a study to find possible transit solutions for the north south corridor into downtown from Ballard and West Seattle, in response to the demise of the monorail project. No time frame has been given by the city as to when the results of that study would be published and Phillips said the county shouldn't wait for one.

"The city doesn't provide transit. We certainly value their research...we just feel it's time to move forward," he said.

But Phillips stopped short of endorsing the plan, saying that until the King County executive collected feedback from the public and the City of Seattle, aspects of the plan could change.

If approved by voters, Transit Now will require the county to purchase some 200 additional buses. The plan calls for purchasing environmentally-friendly diesel electric hybrids and buses that can use bio-diesel; a blend of conventional low sulfur diesel fuel and fuel distilled from organic sources, similar to corn oil. Currently, King County Metro has about 1300 buses, mostly diesel and diesel electric hybrids, as well as 150 fully electric trolleys.

But buses aren't the only thing Ballard needs to solve its transportation woes, according to Philips. Last year he asked Sound Transit to look into the feasibility of downtown train service from Ballard along Burlington Northern railroad tracks on Shilshole Bay. And that's not all.

"At some point, we need to have a discussion in West Seattle and Ballard about street cars. That's part of what we should be talking about," Phillips said.

If the King County Council approves the Transit Now plan, it will be one of at least three transportation projects Ballard voters must decide on this fall. The city of Seattle plans to ask voters to cover a $500 million funding gap for road construction and maintenance. And all King County voters will likely vote for a tunnel or a rebuild of the Alaskan Way Viaduct.