Residents in the Delridge neighborhood have been left wanting when it comes to bus routes.

While Delridge Way currently is serviced by the 120 and 125, these routes only run north and south through the neighborhood.

The south end of Delridge is included in Metro's Route 128, but in north Delridge there are no routes running east and west to connect residents to neighborhoods to the west of 35th Avenue.

However, now King County Metro Transit is considering new Route 50 that would connect a section of Delridge Way to the Alaska Street Junction.

The route was designed to connect Columbia City and Seward Park to Link light rail stations. The new bus would run from the Othello Link station through Seward Park, the Columbia City Link station, Veterans Administration Medical Center, SODO and Harbor Island to end in West Seattle.

Once the route crosses Southwest Spokane Street it turns south on Delridge Way Southwest, where it travels for approximately three blocks before turning west on Southwest Genesee Street.

"I know there are a lot of people that would like to see this route," said Mike Dady, a resident of North Delridge. "I get the sense that people want to be able to get up to the Junction without driving or jamming up the Junction with even more parking problems."

Jack Lattermann, a member of King County Metro Transit, expects the Route 50 would increase options for residents on both sides of Sodo to commute to work. He has also heard feedback from residents of Southeast Seattle who say the new bus route would make it easier for them to get to South Seattle Community College.

While Route 50 would only travel on Delridge for a few blocks, it would run past the Delridge Community Center and Youngstown Cultural Arts Center. Route 50 would also pass the Delridge Playfield where a new community skate park will be built in 2009.

Diana Estrada-Alamo, a West Seattle High School student who volunteers at Youngstown, says that a new bus like the Route 50 would likely bring more young people to the cultural arts center and connect residents who live west of 35th Avenue Southwest to the resources available in the Delridge Neighborhood.

If approved by the King County Council, the route is expected to operate at least every 30 minutes Monday through Saturday and at least once an hour after 7 p.m. on Sundays. Depending on available resources, the route could even run as frequently as every 15 to 20 minutes.

Adding the Route 50 is only one idea that Metro is considering to provide service for Seward Park and Columbia City. In another option the existing Route 39 would be revised and no new service would connect to West Seattle. Both options would discontinue the existing Route 34.

In January, Lattermann says that Metro will continue their outreach efforts to determine which alternative would be best for residents in South Seattle. By March 2009 a recommendation will be made to the King County executive and in the spring the King County Council will make a final decision.

If approved, implementation of Route 50 would begin in either September 2009 or February 2010.

Rose Egge may be reached at 932.0300 or rosee@robinsonnews.com