RapidRide J Stop Spacing

Stop spacing is a trade-off. If the stops are too close together it takes too long for the bus to get anywhere. Too far apart and riders can't walk or roll to a bus stop. Although the basics are fairly simple, the geometry surrounding stop placement can be a bit complicated. Jarrett Walker has a great primer on the subject. The RapidRide J Line in particular has some interesting geometric issues. Much of the corridor is fairly narrow. For example Eastlake & Galer is hemmed in by Lake Union and the freeway. This is where you can walk from there in five minutes. In contrast, a stop like Eastlake & Boston is much wider. A five minute walk from there resembles a standard diamond shape. Narrow areas can get away with longer gaps between stations for this reason.

Using the standard walking distance of 400 meters (mentioned by Walker) and the geographic particulars of the route, I've decided to analyze the stops of the J Line. I was inspired by this comment which questioned the elimination of a particular stop. As it turns out I don't see that particular bus stop as a problem although I do see some stops that could be changed (and one stop that could be added).

Bus Stop Locations

To figure out where exactly the future bus stops will be, I looked at the slides from the main RapidRide J page (under Project Materials"). As a convenience, I've copied them here:

• U District - NE 43rd St to University Bridge
• Eastlake Avenue - University Bridge to East Hamlin
• Eastlake Avenue - East Hamlin St to E Lynn
• Eastlake Avenue - East Boston St to E Galer
• Fairview - Fairview Ave E to Yale Ave
• Fairview - Yale Ave N to Valley
• Fairview - Valley St to Thomas
• Fairview - Thomas St to Boren Ave
• Virginia St - Terry Ave to 3rd
• Stewart St - Terry Ave to Westlake

Gaps Between Stops

I decided to first look at the various gaps between the stops and then analyze those gaps. I summarized what I consider to be an acceptable compromise and what I consider to be a problem. The areas that are fairly narrow can have wider stop spacing. To make things simple I started looking at the inbound bus stops (those a rider would take on the way to downtown). The issues are quite similar in the other direction. I used Google maps to measure the distances. Here are the gaps between bus stops (along with some considerations):

• 43rd & Brooklyn to 41st & Roosevelt - 310 meters
• 41st & Roosevelt to Eastlake & Harvard - 900 meters (most of that is the bridge)
• Eastlake & I-5 to Eastlake & Hamlin - 525 meters (fairly narrow area)
• Eastlake & Hamlin to Eastlake & Lynn - 650 meters (wide)
• Eastlake & Lynn to Eastlake & Garfield - 670 meters (wide to the north, narrow to the south)
• Eastlake & Garfield to Fairview & Ward - 775 meters (very narrow)
• Fairview & Ward to Fairview & Harrison - 720 meters (narrow by Ward, wide by Harrison, bus runs in the middle of the street by Mercer)
• Fairview & Harrison to Virginia & Boren - 500 meters (wide area, extremely urban)
• Virginia & Boren to Stewart & 7th - 366 meters (wide)
• Stewart & 7th to 3rd & Pine - 450 meters (wide)

Inbound recommendations:

I see no reason to change the stop at Hamlin or any of the stops north of there. The stops have good coverage overall. However south of Hamlin there are some big gaps between stations. Unlike the areas to the north and south it is relatively wide there (people can approach Eastlake from a fair distance). There are no transit alternatives much of the way. Thus there are plenty of riders who would have a long walk to the nearest bus stop. This includes people living in apartments as well as an elementary school. My suggestion is to replace the stop at Lynn with two stops: one at Roanake and another one at Boston. This is still fairly wide stop spacing (you could make the case for one more stop) but it seems like a good compromise.

With a stop at Boston the gap to the north of Garfield is OK. Between Garfield and Ward there is a big gap but it is quite narrow. Thus I don't see it as a problem. For example the stop that inspired this post (at Fairview & Yale) is not that far from other stops. More importantly, people north or south of there (even on other streets) won't have a very far walk. While I'm sympathetic with the desire for more stops, I don't think it is worth the effort to change it here.

South of Ward things get interesting. The bus moves to the middle lane to avoid freeway-related congestion. This is good, but it means that there is a bigger gap between stops. This also happens to be where there are a lot of riders. If nothing else I would like to see the bus moved a block farther west to Republican (instead of Harrison). It may be difficult to do this, but since the bus lane starts at Harrison I think it is possible.

There is a bit of a mismatch for the next couple of stops. The stop at Virginia & Boren could be moved to Fairview & Denny for better spacing. This would also make for better transfers to the Metro 8 route.

There is one last stop I would consider moving. The gap between 3rd & Pine (an existing stop) and Stewart & 7th is fairly large. I could see the stop at 3rd & Pine moving to the existing bus stop at Stewart & 3rd. I am less confident about this move as I am the others (there are a lot of other considerations given its location).

Summary of Recommendations:

• Replace the bus stop at Eastlake & Lynn with stops at Eastlake & Roanoke and Eastlake & Boston
• Move the bus stop from Fairview & Harrison to Fairview & Republican
• Move the bus stop from Virginia & Boren to Fairview & Denny (just north of Denny)
• Consider moving the 3rd & Pine bus stop to Stewart & Third