Burien and Normandy Park could see a new bus in town starting this fall.
Later this year Route 166, previously a Kent and Des Moines only route, may extend its service to Burien by way of 1st Ave. South if King County Metro’s changes are approved and finalized.
Changes to Route 166 will improve Metro’s efficiency by eliminating duplicate routes, with the onset of Route 156’s changes and also increase frequency for riders in the areas of Normandy Park and Des Moines, according to Metro officials. The proposed schedule for Route 166 will run at 30-minute intervals throughout the day, dropping to hourly at night and on Sundays.
The current bus for this area is Route 131. South of the Burien Transit Center it provides weekend and weekday service until around midnight at hourly intervals along 1st Ave. South.
With ridership falling and costs for Metro rising, the proposal was made last year to eliminate Route 131 south of the transit center. Route 121 would continue to serve 1st Ave. South, ending at Highline Community College. However it only runs during peak hours.
Route 131 currently, starting in Seattle, connects the transit center with Highline College, through downtown Des Moines during the off hours of Route 121. Access to the college would no longer be available from Route 131. Route 166 is the alternative.
Although it travels through a largely retail area in Burien and Des Moines and ends at Highline College, the route fell into the bottom 25 percent for rider usage, according to Metro documents.
“The decision making process isn’t easy,” said Des Moines Mayor pro tem Matt Pina. Pina is on the city’s Public Safety and Transportation Committee and also the South County Area Transportation Board, and has worked closely with King County Metro officials during this process.
King County Metro has held several public hearing over the last six months and taken in over 10,000 comments from metro riders and other concerned parties.
You can email your comments and concerns to King County council members at testimony@kingcounty.gov.
For further details on all of Metro’s proposed changes you can visit http://metro.kingcounty.gov/have-a-say.
