South Seattle Community College President Gary Oertli has shared a letter to the public urging comment and involvement regarding the proposed changes by Metro set to take effect next September. The changes to Route 125 from the college to downtown are a primary concern and his letter urges people to voice their opinion.

TO: SSCC Community

FROM: Gary Oertli, President

RE: Metro Changes

Last November, Metro asked for public comment on suggested service changes related to the September 2012 start of the RapidRide C and D lines. Under those proposed changes, South Seattle Community College and our neighbors would have been severely impacted by revisions to Routes 125 and 128.

Thanks to the efforts of our students, faculty, staff, and community, the first round of suggested changes to Routes 125 and 128 were revised to better meet the our needs. While the newly-presented revised service change proposal is, indeed, better than the original (which would have limited the 125 and 128 to peak-hour service only), the new proposal limits Route 125 to weekdays only, essentially eliminating our only direct service to and from the downtown hub on weekends.

Metro has proposed increasing service of the 128 to include weekends. However, the 128 is not a direct route to downtown and riders would be forced to add additional time and transfer to their trips. This may very well become a key factor in determining a potential student’s decision to either attend South or a more accessible college.

This will impact many people – faculty and students with weekend classes; neighbors who need to get to downtown and back; and community members attending events on campus or visiting the Garden Center, Northwest Wine Academy, or other college attractions.

The month of February is the last chance to voice your opinion before decisions are made final. There are a number of ways you can let Metro know what you think:

· Easy and quick – just click to submit! Petition Metro and decision makers directly through an online petition created and ready to send on South’s website: www.southseattle.edu/metro. Your petition will go directly to major policy and decision makers, and is not limited to use by South Seattle Community College students, faculty or staff. Feel free to share the URL with others.

Express your opinion via Metro’s Have-A-Say site: http://metro.kingcounty.gov/have-a-say/get-in-the-know/projects/restruc…

· Attend a public meeting:

Feb. 15 –Madison Middle School, 3429 45th Ave SW, Seattle, 6-8 pm
Feb. 16 – Chief Sealth High School, 2600 SW Thistle St, Seattle, 6-8 pm
Feb. 21 – Union Station, 401 S Jackson St, Seattle, 12-2 pm

Even if you don’t need Saturday Metro service, consider your friends, classmates, and neighbors who either depend on it now or will in the future.

View the service change proposal for September 2012 at: http://metro.kingcounty.gov/have-a-say/projects/restructuring-system.ht….

Sincerely,

Gary Oertli
President