Community Transit Proposes Next Round of New Service

Community Transit, heading into this weekend with a minor service change to add late night and midday service, is proposing the addition of 21,000 bus hours of service (a 6 percent increase) in September 2017 and March 2018. The service proposal includes new service from Lynnwood to the Boeing Everett plant, as well as extensions and modifications to existing routes to improve connections at transit centers. Both service changes are funded by the 0.3 percent sales tax increase passed by voters in November 2015, which will also fund the next Swift line (between Edmonds, Lynnwood and Mill Creek).

In September, 13 routes would see routing changes, schedule adjustments, and frequency improvements.

• Route 105 would be extended north from Mariner Park & Ride to the Boeing Everett plant via Airport Road during peak hours only (in both directions), also serving most of the Paine Field industrial area and Community Transit headquarters. The route would cover all of the Swift Green Line corridor (scheduled to open in 2019) and would be retained for local service, similar to Route 101 and the Swift Blue Line today.
• Peak-only local Route 106 would be realigned onto the Bothell-Everett Highway through Mill Creek, eliminating part of its routing in Mays Pond (to be replaced by Route 115).
• New Route 107 would be added, bringing peak service between the Boeing Everett plant and Lynnwood Transit Center via the Mukilteo Speedway, serving a "growing demand" for direct service from the south.
• Route 115 would no longer serve Mariner Park & Ride, instead continuing east through Mill Creek and Mays Pond to Silver Firs, serving areas currently on Route 106. The route would retain its all-day 30-minute service from Edmonds to Mill Creek, but frequency to Mays Pond and Silver Firs would be cut to 60 minutes outside of peak hours.
• Route 196 would be extended from Alderwood Mall to Ash Way Park & Ride, better connecting the route to the regional transit system. The current route skips Lynnwood's other transit centers at Edmonds Community College and Lynnwood Transit Center in favor of staying on 196th Street SW, making transfers unnecessarily difficult.
• Routes 270, 271 and 280 would be re-routed in Downtown Everett, using Hewitt Avenue and Broadway instead of Cedar Street and Pacific Avenue.
• Route 277 would be eliminated in favor of extended trips of Routes 270 and 271 to the Boeing Everett plant.
• Route 280 would be re-routed in Granite Falls to serve the city's high school, and turnback trips to Lake Stevens would add a short loop to serve the city's current library (which was nearly moved closer to the transit center in last month's elections).
• Routes 240, 271 and 280 would receive 37 midday trips on Sundays to create 60-minute frequencies all day.

In March 2018, 1 route would be modified and new trips would be added to 7 others.

• Route 209 would be extended from Quil Ceda Village near Marysville to the Smokey Point Transit Center via Interstate 5, creating a single-transfer to the mall from other North County routes.
• 11 evening trips would be added to the Swift Blue Line and Routes 105, 109, 113, 130, 196 and 202, creating extended service.

During both service changes, approximately 16 trips would be added to commuter routes serving Downtown Seattle and the University of Washington, split between morning and evening service and determined based on ridership demand.

Community Transit will take public comment on the service change proposal through April 7, through its website, (communitytransit.org), e-mail (ProposedService@commtrans.org), phone number (425-353-7433), social media accounts (Facebook.com/communitytransit, @MyCommTrans on Twitter, or the Twitter hashtag #CTProposal), and written comments mailed to Community Transit, 7100 Hardeson Rd., Everett, WA 98203.

The agency will also hold talks about the proposal at various transit centers, libraries and senior centers in March, as well as an online webinar at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, March 14, and a public meeting at Everett Station on Tuesday, March 23 at 3 p.m. The proposal will also have a public hearing during the Board of Directors meeting at 3 p.m. on Tuesday, April 6 (accessible via Everett Transit Route 8).