A group of Seaview Avenue Northwest residents and business owners want King County Metro to restore bus service to their area, but transit officials say it's not cost effective because ridership on that corridor is too low.

The Seaview Transit Coalition, a group of more than 1,000 "busless" residents, business owners, and employees, say the lack of midday bus service on Seaview has "created serious hardships," especially for seniors with no cars.

Clay Bean, chair of the coalition, wonders how this fits with the city and county's stated goal of getting people to use public transit.

"We are repeatedly told to get out of our cars," said Bean, a resident of Sunset West condominiums on Seaview. "We cannot routinely use pubic transit when there is no public transit."

Seaview Avenue and Golden Gardens Park is currently provided with only peak-period transit service during weekdays. There are three runs in the early morning and four in the afternoon.

There is no service between 8:15 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. and buses don't come that way at all on the weekends.

The nearest bus stop for other major routes is on 32nd Avenue Northwest and Northwest 54th, more than a mile away from businesses and residences on Seaview. Employees who bus to work during off peak hours have to walk the last stretch.

Ray's Boathouse has anywhere from 125 to 250 employees depending on the season, said Lori Magaro, a spokesperson for the restaurant located on Shilshole Bay.

"A lot of those folks would use the bus more frequently if they could get a bus more frequently," Magaro said. "The parking situation down here is pretty dire, so having more of our employees take other modes of transportation makes our business better."

Residents say they need daylong service to get to downtown Ballard for shopping and transferring to other routes.

"People here would like to get out of their cars," said Lilla O'Grady, a member of the coalition.

For about a year, Seaview did have midday service.

Route 86 ran every 30 minutes along Seaview to Golden Gardens and then to downtown Ballard and beyond. The route was cancelled in 2000 after voters approved Initiative 695, which cut the cost of automobile-license tabs and reduced Metro's operating revenue by one third, said David Hull, a transit planner for Metro.

As a result, Metro cut its poorer performing routes like 86, which averaged only about 2 riders per hour. Sales tax increases, staff reductions and a fare increase helped Metro recover some of its losses, but it's still not enough to restore all the services that had been cut, sad Hull.

The coalition wants Metro to use funds from the "Transit Now" initiative that voters approved last fall to increase service on Seaview. But Hull said it makes more sense to add service hours to runs that are already overcrowded, such as routes 15, 18 and 44.

"Our resources are probably better spent responding to a bunch of our customers rather than a few," he said. "Seaview has really not been a good transit market for us."

Seaview isn't the only community that's frustrated, though, said Hull. Neighborhoods all over the city feeling the squeeze of new residential and commercial developments are also asking for more service.

"There's a lot of demand on the system, but we don't have enough revenue to address every problem or need out there, so we have to prioritize," Hull said.

Metro's ridership for February has gone up about 8 percent compared to the same month last year, he said.

The coalition has suggested Metro extend Route 17, which travels down 32nd Avenue Northwest, to loop down Seaview to Golden Gardens and back.

"We're saying just five minutes-make the loop and come and get us," said Bean. "In the business world that's called creative financing."

Actually, it would be more like 10 minutes, said Hull, and would cause "unacceptable" travel delays for current customers on 32nd.

"The impact is just too great," he said. "The people on 32nd Avenue probably wouldn't like that idea very much."

But the limited service has impacted some businesses along that corridor.

G and C Carpet and Upholstery Cleaners was located on Seaview for about 11 years but moved across the city two years ago, partly because employees had a hard time getting to work by bus.

"It was definitely a deciding factor," said Rich Lemmon, part owner of the carpet cleaning business.

However, Lemmon agreed that boosting service on Seaview probably doesn't make economical sense for Metro.

"There's not enough of a population grouping down there," he said. "I wouldn't say it's underserved - there's just not that much to serve."

As part of the rapid transit program in the Transit Now measure, Metro is conducting a comprehensive review of Ballard's transit network. It's possible some additional service hours could be brought to Seaview, said Hull.

Ballard won't see those changes until about 2012. But in the meantime, Metro has no plans to enhance service for Seaview.

"I would love to be able to service everyone, everywhere but we have to make hard choices on the best ways to spend tax dollars," Hull said. "But that doesn't diminish individuals' needs."

The coalition has presented Metro officials and King County Council member Larry Phillips with a petition signed by residents and business owners.

Travis Commodore, a legislative aid to council member Phillips, encouraged community members to be patient while Metro examines if other routes could be expanded.

"We all know the need is increasing," Commodore said. "We're kind of stuck between a rock and a hard place. We have to do this in a strategic manner to continue to push it - but it's on our radar."

In the meantime, the coalition doesn't plan on letting the issue rest.

"Maybe we fell through the cracks," Bean said. "Things like this happen once in a while with bureaucracy."

Rebekah Schilperoort may be reached at 783-1244 or rebekahs@robinsonnews.com