At the Southwest District Council meeting on Jan. 7, King County Metro Transportation Planner Jack Lattemann said West Seattle could see Rapid Ride service by 2011.

Rapid Ride was first introduced in 2007 and was designed to improve travel times through King County's most heavily used transit stations. These buses would run every 10 minutes during the busiest travel hours and are designed to let people on and off more quickly.

Implementation of the bus system in West Seattle depends on the success of Rapid Ride's first line, the A-line, which will run between Federal Way and Tukwila on Pacific Highway South.

Currently being installed, the A-line and will be analyzed for its first few months in operation before Rapid Ride's other lines are installed. If it stays on schedule then the B-line, running from Bellevue to Redmond, and C-line, running from West Seattle to Downtown Seattle, could begin operating around September of 2011.

Metro and the Seattle Department of Transportation will both oversee street improvements needed at various stops, but Lattemann said Metro will directly manage repaving projects in the Alaska Street Junction and Fauntleroy ferry terminal.

Currently Lattemann said Metro is determining what kinds of shelter they will use at each Rapid Ride stop. He expects riders will have better protection from wind and rain than current bus shelters provide.

Another major change Lattemann said to expect between Rapid Ride and Metro's existing buses is a new tracking system being developed.

Now if buses are not on their typical route, dispatchers and riders are unable to track them. But the new system will operate using a global positioning system (GPS) and could locate buses even when they are forced off their routes.

Lattemann added that Metro has conducted significant community outreach to determine where stops should be located and added one station near Fauntleroy Way and California Avenue Southwest at the request of the community.

Members of the Southwest District Council were concerned about Rapid Ride's articulated buses, those with more than one trailer connected by accordion-like joints. Vlad Oustimovitch, a representative of the Fauntleroy Community Association, and other council members suggested that these kinds of buses would be impractical on West Seattle's many hills during poor weather conditions. During the latest snowstorm several of these buses were not operational.

"I don't think that this bus is our best solution," said Sharon Meeks of the Fairmount Community Association.

On Jan. 21, Metro will host a meeting at the Youngstown Cultural Arts Center to discuss a new route 50 which could connect parts of Delridge Way to the Alaska Street Junction. If implemented, Lattemann says it could begin operating in February 2010 and would likely run every 15 minutes during rush hours and every 30 minutes at other times until 11 p.m.

For more information on the Rapid Ride transit system please visit http://www.metrokc.gov/kcdot/transitnow/rapidride.stm.

For more information on the proposed route 50, please visit http://transit.metrokc.gov/up/sc/plans/2008/102008-sesea-rb-sodo.html or see our previous coverage at http://www.westseattleherald.com/articles/2008/11/10/news/local_news/news03.txt.

Rose Egge can be reached at 932-0300 or rosee@robinsonnews.com.