This week’s Transpo Notes roundup touches on a mix of bus, train, ferry, and driving stories, including:
- A long-awaited University District bus stop opening;
- Coming fixes to a leaky U District Station ceiling;
- Explanation for why four-car Link light rail trains aren’t the norm;
- Upgrades coming to a trolley bus traction power substation;
- An end to state ferry building contract negotiations;
- A check-in on Pierce Transit hiring progress; and
- Proposed toll rate reductions for the Tacoma Narrows Bridge.
Long-awaited U District Station bus stop soon to open
King County Metro has announced that the long-awaited bus stop on NE 43rd Street in front of U District Station will open this month. The bus stop was supposed to open last fall when the station did, but supply chain and construction delays meant that it couldn’t. For instance, Metro and the City of Seattle still needed to get overhead catenary wires strung up and energized. Those wires stretch along NE 43rd Street from 15th Avenue NE to 12th Avenue NE and then follow 12th Avenue NE north to the mainlines on NE 45th Street.
Metro plans to begin using the bus stop on June 25th. That means the street will also be fully open to westbound-only buses and bikes. People biking can already use the protected bike lane in the eastbound direction. The first electric trolleybuses will use the street on June 27th.
An estimate by Metro suggests that about 16,000 riders on weekdays will benefit from the stop, providing direct access to the Link light rail station. The new path will also improve speed and reliability of buses and offer better to new bus layover space on 12th Avenue NE. Routes benefiting from the new bus stop and path include Routes 20, 44, 49, 70, and 372.
Leaky U District Station ceiling to be fixed soon
At U District Station, riders quickly realized that there were leaks coming from the ceiling, landing water drops directly onto platforms. The Urbanist asked Sound Transit what, if anything, would be done about this problem; the agency says that corrective work should be coming this summer.
