County Council Receives Update on Waterfront Shuttle
In April, the King County Council committee on Transportation, Economy, and Environment received a report from Metro providing an update to its 2018 waterfront transit study (pdf). The study was requested by the Council to assess short- and long-term strategies for supporting public transportation on the waterfront as its major makeover nears completion. As the update notes, the COVID-19 pandemic and changing status of several projects in the area put the return of waterfront service on pause on recently.
Waterfront Streetcar at Washington St. Stop, Route 99, 2005 by King County, WAA Brief (Recent) History of Waterfront TransitFrom 1982 to 2005, the George Benson Waterfront Streetcar Line rolled along Alaskan Way to the delight of tourists and locals alike, with service temporarily" cancelled due to the demolition of the service barn to make way for the Olympic Sculpture Park. Although a new barn was meant to be built by 2007, unexpected delays and expectations of imminent long-term service interruption due to demolition of the Alaskan Way Viaduct put the project on hold indefinitely (Seattle Times $). In the meantime, waterfront service was replaced by a bus, Route 99, which ran along the waterfront until 2011, when it was moved to serve 1st Avenue as the viaduct demolition took over Alaskan Way. In 2017, the assumed-imminent construction of the Center City Connector (CCC) streetcar motivated Metro to plan for diverting Route 99 from 1st Avenue.
Screenshot of the King County Metro Blog, June 30, 2017.In 2018, Route 99 was deleted altogether as ridership was weak (likely due to it only running hourly) and the CCC had not only just been halted due to revised costs exceeding funding. Since then, there has been no consistent bus service west of 2nd Avenue north of the Ferry Terminal. However, the Downtown Seattle Associated piloted a Waterfront Shuttle" service in the summer of 2018, with funding from WSDOT as a mitigation for work on SR-99 and construction along the waterfront. As reviewed by the Blog in October 2018, the shuttle was a moderate success with around 1,000 boardings per day, with slightly higher ridership on weekends. The shuttle service was continued through Fall 2019, but cancelled in 2020. It returned for the summer in 2023 and will return again this year, thanks to one-time funding from King County. However as the shuttle does not technically count as transit" service (due to it having impermanent funding and being run by a private operator), Metro is still evaluating how to bring transit back to the waterfront.
Bringing Service BackThe report to the King County Council notes that several significant changes have occurred since the Waterfront and North Belltown Transit Study was first completed in 2018: delays to the completion of the new waterfront, opening of RapidRide H, indefinite delays to the Center City Connector (now the Culture Connector), reduction in funding from the Seattle Transportation Benefit District, operational capacity impacts from the pandemic, and SDOT's new limitations on heavy vehicle travel paths in Pioneer Square due to unreinforced historic areaways" under sidewalks there (mapped, below).
2019 SDOT map of restrictions on heavy vehicle traffic (including buses) in Pioneer Square due to historic areaways" beneath sidewalks.The updated Waterfront and North Belltown Transit Study reviewed the original three concepts for bringing service back to these areas: extension of Route 125, establishment of a new Waterfront route, and addition of trolley wires along 1st avenue to extend Routes 1 and 14. From the report:
Route 125 Extension
- Route 125 is an all-day SR-99 South route from South Seattle College and Delridge to Downtown that currently begins and ends in south Belltown.
- The 2018 study suggested that once two-way Columbia St. was completed (completed and opened in 2019), Metro could consider extending Route 125 via 1st Ave. to Broad St. or Seattle Center.
- This option carries a significant operating cost, requires 1st Ave. to be available to transit (the City of Seattle currently has curb lane restrictions for heavy vehicles on 1st Ave. between Marion St. and S Dearborn St.) and requires the securement of bus layover space in Belltown.
New Waterfront route
- In 2014, a previous study by the City of Seattle recommended a new route along the future surface Alaskan Way that would operate every 15 minutes.
- In the 2018 study, Metro shared a conceptual routing and supported exploring partnerships to help fund and operate the service.
- This option carries a significant operating cost and requires the securement of bus layover space in Pioneer Square and Belltown.
Trolley wire extension on 1st Ave
- Routes 1 and 14 are through-routed together, meaning both buses transition from one route to the other along a shared pathway. New trolley wire along 1st Ave. could support moving the routes from 3rd Ave. to 1st Ave.
- Trolley wire extension on 1st Ave. is not in the current Metro Capital Improvement Program but could be explored to provide continuous trolley service between Pioneer Square and Seattle Center.
- This option requires approximately 0.6 miles of two-way trolley wire to be constructed and re-establishing bus zones on 1st Ave.
- The added operating cost for this option would be low.
In addition to these concepts, the updated report added a revised Waterfront Shuttle Concept" and extension of Route 106 to the list.
Revised Waterfront Shuttle route concept.New concept to extend Route 106.The updated study notes that feedback from stakeholders along the waterfront indicated a strong desire to see transit services expanded to Alaskan Way" and a desire to connect the waterfront to additional key destinations, such as Link light rail and the civic campus, as well as the desire for seven-day a week service".
Of course, each of these concepts need some combination of additional operational capacity and capital investment to bring to fruition. Although the King County Council is not expected to take immediate action on this report, it will inform future efforts to bring consistent service to Seattle's shiny new front door.
What would you want to see?