By John Jinneman, UW News Lab

A University of Washington landscape architecture class will be studying Ballard's much discussed 15th Avenue transit corridor as Metro looks to replace critical bus routes with RapidRide.

At this month's Ballard District Council meeting, Steve Cohn, who is on the project's advisory team, presented the project and explained that the students are looking at designing bus stops along the RapidRide D-line service, which would replace the No. 15 bus running between downtown and Crown Hill through Queen Anne, Interbay and Ballard.

"It's a group of students that actually go out and study neighborhoods and study real life issues and come up with some ideas on how to approach them," Cohn said.

On Friday, Jan. 13, Cohn and others will meet with the students to get a better idea of what the students have learned about the Ballard area and the bus stops they focus on.

The students will present their final projects to a council committee on March 14.

At the Ballard Distrcit Council meeting, the council also unanimously approved sending a letter to the director of King County Transit, Kevin Desmond, citing the negative effects of eliminating bus stops on N.W. Market Street. Metro is looking to eliminate stops at 14th Ave N.W., 17th Ave N.W., and 26th Ave N.W.

According to the letter, Safeway shoppers would have to walk several long blocks carrying groceries, and patients heading to Swedish Ballard Primary Care would have further to go to catch a bus.

In addition, transfer points would be reduced, creating potential hardship for the many older people living in nearby condos.

Earlier this months, Ballard council member Catherine Weatbrook sent an email to King County councilmember Larry Phillips to draw his attention to the concerns about the proposed D-line and consolidation of some bus stops.

The council will be awaiting response regarding these issues and the topic is to be revisited at coming council meetings.