Op-Ed
Mon, 03/03/2008
More bus service coming
By Larry Phillips
In 2006, voters said a resounding yes to expanding Metro bus service with passage of the Transit Now ballot measure. The first service increases got rolling last year, and 2008 will bring even more service to the streets.
As the representative of transit-oriented Seattle neighborhoods including Ballard, Queen Anne, Capitol Hill, Belltown, Downtown, Eastlake, and South Lake Union, the most common transit request I hear from citizens is for more bus service. Constituents appreciate that taking public transportation is environmentally responsible and an alternative to building more roads and parking garages. As gas prices and parking prices soar, and congestion worsens, transit demand and bus ridership across King County has grown at a tremendous rate. Transit Now should bring a measure of relief and increased convenience to our crowded transit system.
Our part of the county is already starting to see some of that relief. In February, service increased in the afternoon peak on Route 8, serving riders between Capitol Hill and Lower Queen Anne, and on Route 70, serving riders between Downtown and the University District along Eastlake. Metro also added trips between Interbay and Downtown and West Seattle on Route 33.
Another component of Transit Now was designed to maximize taxpayers' investment by leveraging partnership funds from cities and large employers. Transit Now set aside 90,000 service hours and solicited proposals from partners to match those investments either with cash or capital improvements that would improve speed and reliability.
Cities and businesses across King County submitted 23 proposals involving 37 routes, potentially leveraging Metro's 90,000 hours into more than 130,000 hours. Those proposals are now being considered by the King County Council. Once the council reviews and adopts the proposals, riders will begin seeing the first of service increases from this program in September of this year. You can find more information about Transit Now's partnership program on my Web site www.kingcounty.gov/phillips.
If approved, the Transit Now's partnership program will have a great impact on bus routes in our neighborhoods. The proposals include service increases on Routes 2 and 13 serving Queen Anne and First Hill; Routes 3 and 4 serving Queen Anne, First Hill, and the Central District; Route 5 serving Greenwood; Routes 10 and 12 serving Capitol Hill and First Hill; Route 11 serving Capitol Hill and Madison Park, Route 14 serving the International District, Capitol Hill, and the Central District; Routes 26 and 28 serving Downtown, Fremont, and Broadview; Route 44 serving Ballard and the University District; Route 74 serving Queen Anne, Fremont, and the University District; and Route 75 serving Lake City, Northgate, and Ballard. Also included in the partnership program is a proposal for a new route serving First Hill.
That's great news for citizens who rely on buses to get to and from work, appointments, errands, and recreational activities. Increasing the convenience of some of our most used routes will also help draw more people away from their cars and onto the bus. I will be working hard to support passage of the proposed Transit Now partnership program.
In addition to these 90,000 hours, Transit Now included provisions for dedicating an added 30,000 hours to the partnership program if it proved successful. The shear volume of great proposals put forth by partners all over the region shows the value of this program. In fact, Metro received so many proposals that several high-merit partnerships are not able to be funded. Some of these unfunded proposals serve Ballard, Uptown, and the Aurora corridor.
I am asking my council colleagues to support including the additional 30,000 hours in the partnership program. It makes sense to put those hours where they will leverage the highest return for taxpayers' investment, which is in the partnership program. There, partners' contributions have the potential to turn 30,000 hours into 40,000 hours or more. I hope citizens will join me in telling my council colleagues to support this increase in the partnership program. You can contact us at www.kingcounty.gov/council.
In the meantime, enjoy the new options starting to emerge through Metro Transit. We are continuing our work to make riding the bus a more feasible, convenient choice for commuters. Doing so helps our families, communities, businesses, and environment.
Larry Phillips is a King County Council member representing the Ballard area and may be reached at larry.phillips@kingcounty.gov or 296.1004.