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Emergency drill Saturday at Link stations
Category Archives: Getting Around
Don’t hate the station, hate the game
Today’s loser: Residents of Southeast Seattle who might, had Sound Transit not decided to build an expensive (and over-budget) station through Beacon Hill, have had two more light-rail stations in their part of the city.
Barnett’s analysis appears to be in error, however. She claims that:
…The distance between stations on the south end of the line is much longer than in the central, north, and (planned) east portions of the line: Nearly two-and-a-half miles from station to station, compared to just over 1.5 miles for the north section and just over a mile for the central portion.
However, the 2009 Seattle Transit Blog article in which she has found this statistic is not referring to Southeast Seattle when it describes “South Link.” The existing light rail line, from Westlake south to Sea-Tac, is known as “Central Link,” and is listed on the STB article with an average station distance of about 1.2 miles. “South Link,” on the other hand, is used in the STB post to refer to the extension of the line from Sea-Tac to Tacoma (or Redondo/Star Lake — it’s unclear which version of the proposed line is being referred to here). The distance between the Rainier Valley stations actually averages (very roughly) 1.25 miles.
Also mentioned in the Publicola article is a statistic from the February 2010 Metro/Sound Transit rider survey (also discussed on Seattle Transit Blog), showing low ridership numbers at Beacon Hill station, with only two percent of riders boarding at Beacon Hill. To put the number in context, this total was just above SODO and Stadium stations (one percent or fewer), and just below Mount Baker, Othello, and Columbia City (each of which accounted for three percent of daily boardings). SeaTac/Airport (30%) and Westlake (23%), unsurprisingly, accounted for the highest number of boardings.
More recent numbers released by Sound Transit last month (February – June station activity based on actual boarding data instead of survey responses as was the February survey) found here and here show Beacon Hill Station with more boardings than Columbia City, Othello, Rainier Beach, SODO and Stadium, and more deboardings than all of the above plus Mount Baker, and only a few short of Pioneer Square.
Lane closure on Rizal Bridge today
Today, the Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) will close the right lane southbound on the Dr. Jose Rizal Bridge to conduct a routine inspection of the bridge. The closure will begin at 9:00 am with the lane reopening for traffic no later than 2:30 pm. The western sidewalk adjacent to the closed lane will remain open.
Lucile Street Stairway closed for repairs
The Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) reports that they have temporarily closed the public stairway that runs between 18th Avenue South and 20th Avenue South at South Lucile Street, through the greenbelt east of Cleveland High School. During the next two months, SDOT crews will rebuild a lower portion of the stairway which does not meet current standards. A pedestrian detour is in place.
View Lucile Street Stairway in a larger map
Bus service changes for Beacon Hill begin Saturday
According to Metro, revisions include:
- Route 36 will return to its regular routing between Beacon Avenue South and South Myrtle Street, and South Myrtle Street and 39th Avenue South. It will no longer operate on Beacon Avenue South between Myrtle Street and Othello Street. The Route 36 shuttle will be discontinued.
- Route 38: All service before 9:00 am will be discontinued.
- Route 39 will return to regular routing between South Othello Street and 38th Avenue South and South Myrtle Street. It will no longer operate on Martin Luther King Jr. Way South and Renton Ave South between South Othello Street and South Henderson Street.
- Route 60: On weekends, all trips will be extended from Georgetown to White Center, and service will be improved to a 30-minute frequency.
The online Trip Planner will help you see if your route’s schedule has changed. Be sure to input a date of October 2 or later when using the Trip Planner, or you won’t get the new schedule.
The new RapidRide “A Line” will debut on Saturday, replacing Route 174 and running between Federal Way and the Tukwila International Boulevard Link light rail station. If you’re interested in trying it, you might want to take Link from Beacon Hill down to Tukwila on Saturday or Sunday, because all trips will be free on the A Line for opening weekend.
S. Orcas to gain new sidewalks through Neighborhood Street Fund
On Wednesday, Mayor McGinn announced eleven neighborhood projects that will be constructed through the Neighborhood Street Fund Large Project program, funded by the Bridging the Gap transportation levy. One project is of note to Beacon Hill residents: South Orcas Street from Beacon Avenue South to the Chief Sealth Trail will receive new sidewalks, lighting, and other improvements. Other changes would be made between the Trail and Martin Luther King Jr. Way South, including making room for new sharrows on that part of the road.
The original project application stated that sidewalks on Orcas are currently “badly degraded or non-existent. Pedestrian access to Dearborn Elementary School is dangerous, especially when it is non-daylight hours. If the improvements are made, many will walk safely from Beacon Ave South to Lake Washington.”
See more about the Neighborhood Street Fund Large Project process here.
Leaks in Beacon Hill Station being fixed
During last week’s miserable, rainy weather, we noticed something disconcerting—it was raining in the southbound tunnel of Beacon Hill Station.
The leaks along the wall in the tunnel (seen above in the photo on the right) were noticeably worse, and a constant shower of droplets was falling over the platform, all the way back to the wall, where drops were falling out of the front of the light fixture there.
We asked Sound Transit about this, and spokesperson Bruce Gray told us: “The short answer is, we have a leak and are fixing it. We don’t think it’s indicative of anything seriously wrong. Our engineering folks tell me this is fairly common over the first year or so of deep-mined projects, which is why the work is all covered by warranty.”
Indeed, this week work is being done on the south platform.
Columbian Way turns temporarily restricted
The Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) sent us an announcement about turning restrictions on Columbian Way to improve safety during the Columbian Way Paving Project. On the section of Columbian Way which stretches from 15th Avenue South to Beacon Avenue South, left turns are being restricted. Drivers traveling eastbound on Columbian Way are currently not able to make a left turn between 16th Avenue South and the V.A. Hospital, although left turns onto 16th Avenue South will be permitted. This means no left turns from eastbound Columbian Way into or out of Mercer Middle School until the end of the project, expected to be the first week of October, weather permitting.
A contractor working for SDOT is rebuilding major portions of South Columbian Way between Beacon Avenue South and 15th Avenue South during the next two weeks, weather permitting. One lane will remain open in each direction; however, flaggers may hold up traffic periodically for trucks entering and leaving the work zone. The traffic will be shifted from one side of the road to another several times during the next two weeks as the road is rebuilt and paved in sections.
View Columbian Way Paving Project Turn Restrictions in a larger map. The restricted area is marked here in orange.
Lanes changed on 15th Avenue South
It looks like the restriping on 15th Avenue South north of Spokane Street has finally happened. The new right-turn lane at Spokane when heading southbound is much nicer than the old “squeeze into the de facto turn lane that isn’t really a lane, and hope you have room to make the turn” situation that used to be there. The new bike lane is nice, too. The parking situation has changed a bit, though. If you live, drive, or ride on 15th, how are you handling it?
S. Lander Street to be closed for void remediation work
Sound Transit is continuing subsurface void remediation work near Beacon Hill Station, including drilling within the right of way on South Lander Street. For about a month, Lander will be closed between 17th and 18th Avenues South, with a one-block detour to either South Waite Street or South McClellan Street. There will be flaggers to assist drivers. The work will be done between 7:00 am to 7:00 pm Monday through Friday, and there will be heavy equipment and support vehicles operating in the area during these times. The street will remain closed overnight and potentially over weekends.
Drilling will also continue to take place on private properties on 17th (if you haven’t already been contacted by Sound Transit, your property isn’t included).
Jennifer Lemus of Sound Transit sent us this useful information for the folks who live on South Lander: “Normally the sanitation trucks travel east (down the hill) on S. Lander St. to pick up trash/recycle/yard waste. Our contractors will be happy to bring your trash cans up to 17th Ave S so there is ease in pick-up and less of a chance for a missed pick-up. Cans will also be returned to your property. We have communicated this to Waste Management as well.”
If you have any questions or concerns about the project, contact Jennifer Lemus, Sound Transit Community Outreach, at 206-398-5314 (work), 206-423-1407 (cell), or at Jennifer.Lemus@soundtransit.org.