I can't be the only West Seattleite who has concluded that Metro must be conspiring (and unfortunately succeeding) in making commuting by but a nightmare for West Seattle riders.

Over the years, we have endured the loss of night service on the No. 22; the loss of Sunday service the No. 37; the loss of night service on the No. 55 to and from downtown; no North End Sunday service on the No. 55; the frustration of the consistently late No. 54; and for riders northbound on California Avenue, being hostage to the No. 55 night shuttle, access to which depends on the above mentioned No. 54, which more often than not is late enough to deny riders a timely connection to the No. 55 shuttle, thus stranding them at the Junction for half an hour.

Now, as a result of what Metro calls its fall "shake-up," we route 54 and 55 riders have another mess to contend with. No longer do the 54 and 55 (and several others) stop on Fifth Avenue downtown. In someone's misguided wisdom, no doubt to make driving easier and faster for those who insist on bringing their cars into downtown, in-and outbound stops for the 54 and 55 have been moved primarily to Third Avenue. Certain areas of Third Avenue are dicey even in daytime, but become increasingly hazardous in the evening, a time when people have only one bus, the 54,from downtown to the Junction.

The third Avenue stops for the 54 and 55 are few and far between. The ones that have been designated for those riders are often jammed but, more importantly, are located in some of the most unpleasant areas of downtown. At the Third and Virginia stop, there's no bus shelter, just the overhang from the print shop on the corner. The first night I waited there, smokers or sidewalk-sitters clogged ever available doorway, thus dashing any hope of my being able to stand and breathe in a somewhat protected nook; a drug deal occurred within a few feet of me; and an obviously disturbed woman ranted and stalked past waiting riders on both sides of the street. I doubt I was the only person there who felt distinctly uneasy.

The next night, I tried the Third and Pike stop, which is just north of Walgreen's, around the corner from McDonald's and much too close to the scene of a recent shooting. The unsavory characters who have taken over that area are still hanging out in that block, and now with a bus zone there, waiting Metro passengers must tolerate the invasion of their personal space by individuals bent on disturbing the peace or even worse. At Third and Pike, I observed several incidents that could have escalated into violence at any moment. We were subjected to loud taunts and obscene remarks punctuated by physical gestures directed at us by several overtly antagonistic individuals. All we could do was move back into the nearest doorway and hope they wouldn't follow up their verbal assaults with hand-on action or provide someone into retaliating. This is intimidating at the very least and has the potential for anyone with legitimate business there to become either a victim or a witness to someone else's injury.

In the interest of fairness, and because these Metro-implemented changes are both many and major, I gave things a week to settle. So what happened last night, Oct. 1? Again, the Third and Virginia stop was populated with a typical assortment of hoodlums and crazies. The poor lighting north of the print shop on the west side of Third provides cover for those intent on suspicious or criminal activity. I encountered drunkenness, verbal harassment, and generally aggressive behavior. One person knocked over a large metal sign and proceeded to jump up and down on it, making a nerve-shattering racket that added to the already on-edge atmosphere, then paced back and forth past these people waiting as if daring them to speak up. Another person was so obnoxious and confrontational that I thought surely there would be a fight between her and one of the waiting riders. It's anyone's guess what was occurring further north in the unlighted portion of that block. One thing I do know is that I won't wait at that stop any more. I will have to wait uneasily at the Third and Pike stop, the lesser of several evils, hoping I will be able to board a bus before one of the weirdoes does something to me or someone else waiting at that stop. Sadly, at both of those zones the threat of physical harm is all too real. I can't speak for the Seneca stop; from what I've seen, however, it's not a zone where I would feel safe because it is so dark.

Have any of the people who make the decision to relocate the bus zones actually spent any time in a bus stop, particularly at night, on Third Avenue (or some of the other downtown bus stop locations, for that matter)? I have been a bus rider for nearly 30 years and have never felt I needed to exercise more than reasonable caution in choosing a zone in which to wait. Now, I dread my trip home because my choices of zones are limited to a few on a street known for undesirable loiterers and illicit activity. My fellow West Seattle riders and I are forced to wait in seamy locations for the only bus that will take us home at night. How this kind of thinking promotes transit use is beyond me. I wonder how many bus riders have become former bus riders, thanks to Metro's latest so-called improvement.

And what about the elderly, people with small children, or folks for whom walking any great distance is not possible? It's a might long way between zones for them as well as for those of us who are physically able. Are convenience and safety for only those who can afford or feel entitled to drive?

I urge every disgruntled, unhappy, inconvenienced, or just plain fed-up rider to the 55/55 to call or write Metro and tell those decision makers or "planners" we don't like what they've done to us. With all the emphasis on getting people out of their cars and onto public transportation, it is appalling that those of use who do ride the bus are relegated to waiting in unsafe areas. I don't know if our calls and letters will have any effect, but we have nothing to lose by telling Metro management that, to put it bluntly, waiting on Third Avenue sucks.

J. E. Sorensen

The Junction