A sizeable series of bus stops will close in West Seattle starting July 14. Route 21 and Route 5 which are connected are both affected by the changes.

Metro posted notices at low ridership stops asking for rider input on a proposal to close these stops in order to speed up the service.

This directly reached the actual riders who might be affected. This is a project led by Metro's route facilities team to help with Metro’s speed and reliability efforts. Sometimes these efforts happen when SDOT work is happening in an area, and might result in rebalancing the stop spacing on streets where bus stops could be just a block or two apart – sometimes dating back to the Seattle Transit days.

This was a Route 5 and 21 stop rebalancing effort to improve travel time for riders. The effect will be to speed up trips for riders by several minutes.

Metro provided some answers to the most common questions:

Why Routes 5 and 21?

·Additional service frequency in 2012 increased ridership.

·Some segments have bus stops spaced close together which slows transit speed.

·Metro optimized the N. Greenwood segment as part of the SDOT repaving project.

·Bus operators recommended bus stop optimization as a means to improve schedule.

How are stops located where they are?

The Metro guideline is one-quarter mile between bus stops. Some factors considered in located bus stops include bus transfer points, traffic signals, topography, sidewalk, libraries, schools, community centers, and senior housing.

What steps were taken in outreach?

Rider Alerts were posted at 21 stops the first week in May through the end of May for customer comments. This included nine low-ridership stops on the Rt. 5 and 12 low-ridership stops on the Rt. 21 for customer comments. Metro Staff reviewed all 120 customer comments (51 from Rt. 21 riders).

What did Metro decide?

The finalized plan includes the closure of 4 bus stops on the Rt. 5 & 10 bus stops on the Rt. 21, expected to speed up travel times for riders.

These 14 bus stops were posted with Rider Alerts early this week to let Riders know of stop closures scheduled for Saturday, July 14.

The Rt. 5 and Rt. 21 are interconnected, in that the Rt. 5 comes downtown from the north and turns into Rt. 21, and vice versa.

Time savings, especially in the peak hours, could be as much as 3 to 7 minutes for a combined trip (Rt. 21 & Rt. 5). This can be crucial in maintaining on time performance. 

In some cases, just the increase in trip time by a minute can mean Metro has to add the cost of adding an additional coach.

What feedback led Metro to not close certain stops?

For the Rt. 21, we dropped the proposed closure of the pair of stops at 35 Av SW & SW Hudson St due to concerns from Providence St. Vincent about access to their facility, even though the ridership is very low at these stops.

Other stops on Rt. 5 were retained due to high ridership at two pairs of bus stops in a very dense area of Greenwood, with narrow sidewalks and waiting areas.

We also decided to retain one other stop on the Rt. 5 due to comments from a blind bus user.

Another pair on the Rt. 5 were retained due to their proximity to the north Woodland Park Zoo entrance and exit, and safe crossing areas.

Specific locations

Route 5 STOPS TO CLOSE

•             #75130, SB Dayton Ave N, FS N 155th St

•             #75440, NB Dayton Ave N, NS N 155th St

•             #75150, SB Westminster Way N, FS N 148th St

•             #06390, NB Fremont Ave N & N 42nd St

Route 5 STOPS THAT WILL NOT CLOSE

•             #5820 SB Greenwood Ave N, FS N 78th St

•             #6600 NB SB Greenwood Ave N, NS N 78th St

•             #5910 SB Phinney Ave N, FS N 59th St

•             #6510 NB Phinney Ave N, NS N 58th St

•             #5990 SB Phinney Ave N, FS N 44th St

Route 21 STOPS TO CLOSE

•             #23040 SB 35th Ave SW, FS SW Cloverdale St

•             #23040 SB 35th Ave SW, FS SW Cloverdale St

•             #22670 NB 35th Ave SW, FS SW Othello St

•             #22980 SB 35th Ave SW, FS SW Othello St

•             #22690 NB 35th Ave SW, FS SW Willow St

•             #22960 SB 35th Ave SW, FS SW Willow St

•             #22740 NB 35th Ave SW, FS SW Juneau St

•             #22910 SB 35th Ave SW, FS SW Juneau St

•             #22760 NB 35th Ave SW, FS SW Brandon St

•             #22890 SB 35th Ave SW, FS SW Brandon St

Route 21 STOPS THAT WILL NOT CLOSE

•             #22780 NB 35th Ave SW, NS SW Hudson St

•             #22870 SB 35th Ave SW, FS SW Hudson St