By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor
Midway through the West Seattle Transportation Coalition‘s comment period for the proposed RapidRide C Line rerouting in The Junction, WSTC co-chair Amanda Kay Helmick called for a show of hands: Anybody in favor of this?
Two-dozen-plus people were in the room – from WSTC members to first-time attendees – but none offered any show of support.
The reception Tuesday night for the SDOT-initiated suggestion of moving the route onto California SW between Edmunds and Alaska, to save a minute per trip, indeed seemed just as chilly as it had been during November’s Southwest District Council meeting (WSB coverage here). Thanks to a reader tip, we had first word of the proposal back in August.
Maybe chillier: Marci Carpenter, a WSTC member who had a spotlight at the podium with political leaders celebrating last month’s transit-funding vote, asked sharply, “Why in the world would you break up the West Seattle transit center with this?”
She was referring to the collection of bus stops on SW Alaska and 44th west of California in the heart of The Junction.
The question went unanswered, but by that point, SDOT’s Jonathan Dong had said he, Metro’s Paul Roybal, and a consulting-firm rep were not there to try to convince WSTC that this would be a good move, but rather to listen.
And they heard a lot, including suggestions for other ways to speed up the route. It’s not the concept that is drawing opposition – it’s the thought of frequent buses running along a block that is already busy with pedestrians and, with hundreds of apartments under construction and a midblock crossing spanning almost two blocks, going to get busier. (Once 4730 California is complete early next year, the raised crosswalk midblock will lead to a passageway along its north side, connecting to the north side of Mural, and on to 42nd, while the crosswalk’s west end is close to the breezeway leading toward 44th.)
One phrase surfaced over and over again: Signal prioritization – equipping/programming traffic signals to interface with buses, maximizing their progress along their routes. Dong said that more of it had just been activated on much of the RapidRide C Line route, “but some areas could be amped up a bit more,” he acknowledged.
The proposal for keeping RapidRide on California up to a right turn on Alaska – instead of the left turn to Edmunds, right turn to 44th, right turn to Alaska – was attributed to a consulting firm. Dong said the time it takes to make those turns “can discourage transit riders.” Putting a stop on the southeast corner of California/Alaska would allow more waiting/boarding space than the current stop which “gets a little cramped because of trees, and the narrow sidewalk,” while the new Junction 47 development “plans to rebuild the sidewalk – we’ve been in discussions with them.” Dong also said the revision “is consistent with the Seattle Transit Master Plan.”
When comments opened, the first was from Pete, asking if SDOT had considered how the RapidRide runs would work with street parking on that side of California and the midblock crosswalk, as people make short stops, running in and out of businesses.
Next, WSTC board member Ray Krueger recounted a trial run of watching the bus and riders in The Junction, and again mentioning traffic-signal priority – something that does not exist, it was noted, at California/Alaska.
Board member Michael Taylor-Judd pressed that point, asking why it wasn’t in place on key parts of the route, and how far it would go toward speeding up RapidRide, rather than trying to make this change. Signal priority was promised years earlier, he pointed out, adding that the California route option had been discussed and discarded back in 2008, and community stakeholders were in agreement that they wanted the transit center that’s on the west side of the California/Alaska intersection.
Signal prioritization was promised and needs to happen now, board member Marci Carpenter reiterated, then asking, “Why in the world would you break up the West Seattle transit center” alignment to make this change?
Board member Marty Westerman accused SDOT of “historical forgetfulness.” Shortly thereafter, Chris Arkills, transportation adviser for King County Executive Dow Constantine, broke in, saying that while they still weren’t sure this reroute would be a good thing, RapidRide’s routing hadn’t been revisited since its launch four years ago, and he expected SDOT and KCDOT would bring up improvements whenever they could.
Interjected Chas Redmond, “and we need to keep bringing up transit signal prioritization every chance we can.”
That wouldn’t necessarily be the only way to save time along the route, co-chair Helmick said, wondering about its south end, and how it serves (and doesn’t serve) Arbor Heights.
WSTC board member Deb Barker wondered when the Transit Master Plan had “adopted this layout,” as SDOT’s Dong had seemed to say.
She suggested the reroute would be disruptive to businesses and should be evaluated by the city’s Office of Economic Development, because of the potential monetary impact businesses might feel.
Businesses also were mentioned by Susan Melrose, executive director of the West Seattle Junction Association, who said many of her organization’s member merchants are concerned about walkability and how it would be affected by this change. “It’s not just about (saving) a minute – it’s about the character of the community,” Melrose said.
As the discussion concluded, Dong promised to send WSTC leadership answers to the questions that were raised, so they could be circulated. He called the proposed reroute part of a “collection of projects” that also included signal prioritization and possible changes in boarding. He said he’d be at the Junction Neighborhood Organization’s meeting on January 13th, and that overall, “this is your time to tell us your concerns.” (If you have an comment, you can e-mail him at jonathan.dong@seattle.gov.)
WSTC report #1, progress on low-bridge issues, is here; WSTC report #3, on city plans for what happens to West Seattle in case of disaster, is in the works for later today.
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