I read Mary Ellen Kanyer's recent letter to the editor (August 15) regarding bus service at Alki with great interest.

While I share her unhappiness with the amount of regular bus service now available to Alki residents, I would like to give West Seattle Herald readers a little more background on this issue.

With the passage of Tim Eyman's Initiative 695 in 1999, a great deal of transit funding disappeared. Metro was forced to cut the lowest-performing 10 percent of its routes, including night, mid-day and weekend runs on Alki's route 37. I am told that Mrs. Kanyer spoke in opposition to this cut, which took effect in February of 2000.

While demand for transit has grown steadily, King County Metro has limited resources to add new bus service. Further, new service hours are allocated geographically - 40 percent each to East and South King County, and only 20 percent to the Seattle/Shoreline area - a formula adopted by the Council in 2002 over the vehement objections of those of us representing Seattle neighborhoods. Finally, any new hours are generally prioritized within a region to bolster service on the highest-demand routes, as with the recent expansion of the route 120 serving Burien, White Center and Delridge.

Ms. Kanyer then attacks the very popular Elliott Bay Water Taxi, which I have championed since joining the Council in 2002. I would point out to her that the Water Taxi regularly carries more than the daily ridership of Alki routes 37 and 53 combined, and that the free shuttles we were able to establish several years ago more than doubled the number of bus trips available to and from Alki. The Water Taxi has proven a vital transportation link during times when the roadways are a mess, such as the current Interstate 5 construction and last year's temporary closure of the West Seattle Bridge. We will very much need this link during the eventual Alaskan Way Viaduct project.

Earlier this year I introduced the legislation that established a King County Ferry District. This district could fund year-round operation of an improved Water Taxi and expanded shuttle service, both of which would benefit Alki residents. It could also allow the County to save the passenger-only ferry between Vashon Island and Downtown Seattle - both of which are also part of my Eighth Council District. This would keep thousands of commuters per week off the Fauntleroy ferry and West Seattle Bridge.

A big piece of the "Transit Now" measure put forward by the County and approved by the voters last fall will be coming to West Seattle in the form of a high-frequency bus corridor between the Junction and Downtown. This should allow reconfiguration of some local routes to increase mobility throughout West Seattle, including Alki.

In addition to this I have been able to use my position on the Sound Transit Board of Directors and the Regional Transportation Investment District (RTID) Executive Board to ensure that many of our local needs are addressed in this fall's transportation ballot measure. I insisted on funding for new bus/car ramps and overpasses at Fourth and Spokane, an overpass at the railroad tracks at Lander Street, dedicated bus ramps between SoDo and I-5, the Burien Transit Center, and replacement of the failing 76-year-old South Park Bridge. I worked with my colleagues to include the extension of State Route 509 southward to I-5, and to allocate study funds for future rail in the former monorail corridor between West Seattle, Downtown, and Ballard.

We need more transit for an increasingly congested city and region. I would encourage Ms. Kanyer and other residents to contact my office with suggestions and comments about Metro service or other transportation issues.

Dow Constantine

King County Councilmember

District Eight