Information from King County Metro

Construction of the State Route 99 tunnel on the Seattle waterfront will continue to affect bus service for the next few years. When the Columbia and Seneca street ramps are closed in 2016, it could change access to downtown Seattle for many King County Metro Transit routes.

Metro is planning ahead on how buses will be routed through downtown Seattle in the long-term and during construction once the SR 99 tunnel project is complete and the city of Seattle begins works on the Central Waterfront project.

It is starting by soliciting feedback from the public via an online survey, and would particularly like to hear from current riders of routes: 15, 15X, 18, 18X, 21X, 54, 54X, 55, 56X, 113, 120, 121, 122, and 125.

The survey can be found online.

Survey respondents will help Metro look at potential pathways to connect transit from south of downtown along Alaskan Way to the Third Avenue transit spine in the Central Business District. Two possible pathways are Columbia Street, or a combination of Main and Washington streets.

If you have questions or need the survey in an alternate format, please call 206-263-9768 or email haveasay@kingcounty.gov.

Additional background on two alternative routes
Background

With the loss of the Columbia and Seneca street ramps during the SR-99 tunnel project, Metro is looking at potential pathways to connect transit from the south of downtown along Alaskan Way to the Third Avenue transit spine in downtown Seattle. This pathway will be used both during the construction of the Seattle central waterfront project (2016-2018) and for the long term.

Metro is currently looking at two potential pathway concepts; a two-way pathway on Columbia Street and a combination of Main and Washington streets. Both pathways include bus stops in both directions at Dearborn and Alaskan Way for access to and from the stadiums.

Columbia Street

- Buses would travel in both directions on Columbia Street from Alaskan Way to Third Avenue (likely using bus only lanes).

- A bus stop in the vicinity of Columbia Street and Western Avenue would be the most southern stop in downtown Seattle for riders from Ballard, Interbay, Uptown, and Queen Anne.

- Riders in West Seattle, Burien, and southwest King County would access destinations such as Pioneer Square and the International District via a stop in the vicinity of Columbia Street and Western Avenue, similar to the stops that are there today.

Main and Washington streets

- Buses would travel either into downtown on S Main Street and out of downtown on Washington Street, or in both directions on S Main Street (likely using bus only lanes) from Alaskan Way to Third Avenue.

- Buses would stop in the vicinity of Main and Washington streets at Occidental Avenue.