SDOT’s Transit Projects for 2025

3rd Avenue repaving underway at 3rd and Virginia in 2017. This year's Levy projects include reconstructing 3rd Avenue between Stewart and Virginia. Photo courtesy of SDOT.

Last year, Seattle voters approved the Transportation Levy, which will spend $1.55 billion on transportation projects over the next 8 years, averaging $193.75 million each year. Yesterday, SDOT announced its delivery plan for 2025, in which it expects to spend $174.8 million across the 11 Levy program areas. The plan notes that a major focus this year will be developing new programs outlined in the Levy, preparing initial Levy projects for early 2025 construction, and beginning early work on the largest capital projects which require years to develop and build.

Of the $151 million planned to be spent on Transit Corridors and Connections" over the next 8 years, $12.6 million in projects are on the docket this year. The Transit Corridors and Connections program area includes three sub-programs: Transit Spot Improvements", Transit Passenger Safety", and Transit Improvements and Access to Light Rail".

Transit Spot Improvements

The Transportation Levy promises 160 Spot Improvements projects over 8 years. Previously, these projects were funded by a variety of sources, including the Levy to Move Seattle and the Seattle Transit Benefit District, as well as partnerships with Sound Transit and King County Metro. SDOT will likely continue to seek to supplement Transportation Levy funding with money from other sources to make these improvements.

In 2025, SDOT expects to start construction on several spot improvements that are nearly shovel-ready, including:

• Installation of up to 20 bus benches at various locations
• Completion of Route 125 bus zone improvements
• Expansion of Aurora Ave N bus lane operations between N 38th and N
  115th streets
• Repair of sidewalks at bus stops at various locations
• Maintenance of historic bus shelters at Rainier & Wildwood and Westlake & Dexter
• Reconstruction of 3rd Avenue between Stewart and Virginia

Meanwhile, the department will begin designing more spot improvements to be made the city, including:

• 24th Ave Bus Only Lane
• 30th Ave NE Paving and Bus Improvements
• Broadway Safety Improvements
• E Jefferson St/9th to 12th Re-channelization
• Jackson Street Safety Improvements
• MLK Jr Way S/S Myrtle to S Othello Safety Improvements
• N 92nd St Bus Bulbs
• Route 8 Improvements
• SW Oregon St Asphalt Overlay
• W Nickerson St/3rd Ave W Re-channelization

Although these projects are small, the impacts can be significant.

Transit Passenger Safety

One of the new programs created by the Transportation Levy is a nebulous project to invest in strategies that increase transit rider safety and security, including transit and public safety personnel services in coordination with King County Metro, Sound Transit, and/or other transit agencies".

This year, SDOT will launch new transit passenger safety initiatives", but specifics remain to be seen.

Transit Improvements and Access to Light Rail

This sub-program of the Transportation Levy has three goals: make transit improvements on streets with high-ridership bus routes with a focus in equity priority areas, improving access to certain Link light rail stations, and advancing key connections" to future Link stations.

In service of the first goal, SDOT will start planning transit improvements on Beacon Ave S, Rainier between Walden and Jackson, and resume planning for RapidRide R. Projects left for future years include improvements on Aurora and the Denny/Olive corridor.

The Transportation Levy specifically identified streets around the Rainier Beach, Judkins Park, and Pinehurst Stations as needing access improvements. This year, SDOT will begin designing mobility improvements between Bitter Lake and Haller Lake on 130th Street, and start planning improvements on South Henderson Street. The mobility improvements on 130th would continue SDOT's work west of the upcoming Pinehurst Station. The South Henderson Street project would presumably build on SDOT's work building safe routes between Rainier Beach Station and Rainier Beach High School.

Finally, the Levy identified five corridors around present and future Link stations in need of key connections": NE 145th Street, SW Alaska Street, 4th Avenue S, S Graham Street, and East-West South Lake Union Transit Connections". In 2025, SDOT will start work on the SLU transit connections project by starting design on the Harrison Street/Mercer Street transit corridor.

New Priorities

The Transportation Levy shows the city's priorities on transportation improvements, and transit improvements are far from the top of the list. The previous transportation levy, the $930 million Levy to Move Seattle, allocated about 16% of its funding toward transit projects; the Transportation Levy cut that down to less than 10%. Where Move Seattle promised transformational change" and several corridor projects spanning entire bus routes, the Transportation Levy limits corridor improvements to a handful of streets and instead focuses efforts on improving access to Link stations. The only RapidRide route explicitly funded by the Transportation Levy is RapidRide R (although that may not be a bad thing), leaving the task of finding funding future RapidRide upgrades up to Metro.

That's not to say the transit improvements have stopped; there are a few Move Seattle-funded transit projects left to complete, including the Route 40 TPMC project which will put the city's first Bus + Freight lanes on Westlake, RapidRide J which will turn Route 70 red, and a new northbound bus lane on Rainier.