ST considers stopping some buses at Northgate

Sound Transit is considering reworking both ST and Community Transit buses that come down I-5 from Snohomish County when Northgate Station opens in 2021.

• Sound Transit buses 510, 511, 512, and 513 would all turn around at Northgate, allowing them to run more frequently.
• 800-series Community Transit routes would also turn around at Northgate instead of serving the University District Directly.
• 400-series CT routes would continue downtown, as they do today.

There is a survey. Public meetings begin Nov. 20th, and are listed at the end.

Northgate is supposed to be 5 minutes away from the U-District, 7 to Husky Stadium, and 13 to Westlake via Link. 800-series buses budget about 18 minutes from the HUB to 45th & I-5. Given a decent transfer experience, which we cannot take for granted, it should be a winner.

Existing ST express routes don't have a timepoint at Northgate, but from the closer 45th St. freeway station to Westlake are scheduled for as little as 10 minutes and as much as 35. For downtown routes, fighting the traffic pattern around Northgate plus a transfer is going to be worse when the freeway is open and better when it's not. Of course, the ST/CT split into downtown gives many Snohomish County commuters the option to pick their route based on traffic conditions.

Arguably, the CT/ST split is backwards. CT buses are peak-only and their riders will nearly always benefit from avoiding intense congestion below Northgate, and preserve reliability, while ST covers the entire day , when I-5 is often clear.

On the other hand, truncating ST trips allows higher frequencies where trips are sparse, and creates a more logical connection to the all-day network. When going north, riders would simply ride Link as far north as possible and then switch to a bus, rather than potentially having to backtrack downtown.

Meeting schedule:

Wednesday, Nov. 20
Everett Station, 4:30-8 a.m.

Thursday, Nov. 21
Lynnwood Transit Center, 2:30-6:30 p.m.

Thursday, Dec. 12
S Everett Freeway Station, 3-6 p.m.

Saturday, Dec. 14
Everett Public Library, 10 a.m.-1 p.m.

Saturday, Dec. 14
Silverlake Safeway, 3-7 p.m.