West Seattle / Downtown via SODO busway

Sound Transit still plans on building a new Link line to West Seattle. As Sound Transit struggles to find ways to fulfill the ST3 promises, there is a better option for West Seattle transit riders. With a relatively small investment in bus-based infrastructure, we could give riders in West Seattle the best of both worlds: a fast connection to Link and a fast, direct trip to downtown.

Connect the SODO Busway with the Spokane Street Viaduct

In 2012 SDOT evaluated various ways to connect West Seattle with downtown Seattle by bus. Since then they've added an eastbound ramp from the Spokane Street Viaduct to 4th Avenue South. This ramp could be leveraged to quickly connect to the SODO Busway. If this approach has significant delays, it would be relatively easy to build a second ramp just to the east of that one, directly connecting to the SODO Busway. The Spokane Street Viaduct already has a dedicated bus lane extending partially east of Highway 99. It would be trivial to extend the bus lane to the ramp at 4th or the new one. Buses would then travel in their own lane from West Seattle to downtown. Going the other direction, a new ramp could be built from the southbound busway to westbound viaduct. This would be similar to the one at First Avenue and relatively inexpensive. This work could be done much faster than a Link extension and the savings could be put immediately into running buses a lot more frequently to and within West Seattle.

Only Holgate and Lander Street cross the SODO Busway. ST3 proposed building overpasses to improve Link. The same would apply to the busway. The Holgate to Beacon Hill viaduct could be extended to cross the Link tracks and the busway. A similar link could be built for Lander between 4th and 6th Ave. This would also improve the reliability of Link and the other buses that use the busway. The toughest section for buses is probably between Stadium Station and CID. The report also considered various ways to improve that.

One advantage of this proposal is that the improvements could be iterative. The buses could run more often almost immediately. Southbound buses could use Lander Street and the First Ave ramp until the southbound busway-to-viaduct ramp is complete. Northbound buses could use the ramp to 4th Avenue South. Each improvement could happen bit by bit.

Better for Other Riders from the South

There are plenty of riders who would not use West Seattle Link. Unfortunately, they will be hurt by the project in ways that aren't widely understood. The connection between the north end (e. g. the UW) and the south end (e. g. SeaTac) would be broken. Riders would be forced to transfer.

Riders from Renton, Kent and Tacoma that take a bus to Seattle would also be worse off. If West Seattle is built, the SODO Busway will be eliminated. Instead of their bus going on the SODO Busway it would travel on a nearby street, with less protection from traffic. This alternative would not only avoid that degradation, it would improve the SODO Busway, making their trip faster.

Better than West Seattle Link

Very few riders live in the walkshed of the proposed Link stations (there are only three). Sound Transit expects that the vast majority of riders will arrive by bus. If those rides are headed downtown, the existing bus is faster as it will avoid a transfer. Thus one of the strongest arguments for West Seattle Link is that riders headed to other Link locations are better off. If you are trying to get from South Seattle College to the UW you save a little time by making the transfer at Delridge Station instead of downtown. A busway route offers that same connection via a transfer at SODO Station. Given that SODO Station is at the surface (and Delridge Station wouldn't be) it is quite possible that a rider would get to the UW faster by making the connection in SODO. Of course this proposal offers a lot more.

Riders would continue to have a one-seat ride to downtown, South Lake Union, Greyhound, Amtrak/Sounder, and the stadiums. Downtown Seattle is not only a major destination, but a major connection point. Riders heading to First Hill, the East Side or SeaTac would transfer once. With West Seattle Link they would have to transfer twice or even three times. SODO also serves as a transfer point for trains heading south (to Beacon Hill, Rainier Valley, SeaTac and other destinations).

For an extreme example of the benefits of this approach consider someone trying to get from Alki to SeaTac. If the 56 ran all day like it used to, with this proposal they would take the 56 to SODO and transfer to a southbound train there. With the West Seattle Link Extension there is a detour. First a rider has to head to Alaska Junction. Then they have to take a train to SODO. Not only is this annoying, this is significantly slower. There is a significant amount of extra time spent transferring to a tunnel platform, riding the train and most of all, waiting. The BusWay route is much better for Alki riders than West Seattle Link.

What is true of Alki is obviously true for Admiral Junction riders as well. It is also true for riders from Morgan Junction, High Point, Westwood, and along Delridge or California Avenue (south of Alaska Street). A lot of riders could avoid an extra transfer to places like First Hill, Bellevue or SeaTac.

Better Transit Much Sooner

It is important to understand that the West Seattle Link project does not involve a line all the way to downtown. To reach downtown, riders will need to transfer at SODO Station. With the current planning, a direct connection won't happen until the second tunnel is built. ST hopes to have that work done by 2039 but at this point that seems unrealistic. The current plan would only provide a Link stub to SODO where riders would need to transfer. In contrast, not only would this proposal be better for most riders in the long run, many of the changes could be implemented much sooner.

Much of the work is actually funded. ST3 included some early deliveries" projects including improvements for RapidRide C and D. This work was indefinitely delayed during the 2021 realignment. This decision could be partially rescinded to improve West Seattle service, while Link construction could focus on the Spine and Ballard.

Given the tremendous success of Link, we take it for granted that Link is the best way to improve transit. That is definitely the case in some areas, but not all of them. West Seattle is an exception. By investing in our buses - and bus-based infrastructure - we can provide much better transit for West Seattle than West Seattle Link - sooner and for less.