West Seattle RapidRide: Fauntleroy ferry dock work starts May 11

Crews have been working on bus stop, roadway, and sidewalk changes along the West Seattle RapidRide route for the past few months – almost everywhere but at the Fauntleroy ferry dock, but the date for that work to start is now set. Just in from Metro:

Some big transit improvements are coming to the Fauntleroy Ferry Dock in West Seattle.

Beginning May 11, King County Metro Transit will begin a month-long project to install a variety of improvements to accompany the start of the RapidRide C Line this fall. Those improvements will include two new RapidRide stations, lighting, information kiosks displaying real-time bus arrival times and 5 electric charging stations for vanpool and public use.

Improvements will also make boarding the bus easier. An additional bus bulb will be added at the northbound RapidRide station to provide for a larger boarding platform. Other amenities will provide better access to and from the ferry terminal area for pedestrians and people with disabilities.

Construction work is expected to occur weekdays between the hours of 6:30 a.m. – 4 p.m. and may cause periodic traffic disruptions. During intensive construction periods, flaggers or police officers will be on hand to keep traffic moving, especially during peak travel times.

While construction is underway, bus riders will be directed to a temporary southbound bus stop on Southwest Wildwood Place. While the northbound bus stop will be less affected, riders will occasionally need to use the bus stop just to the north on Fauntleroy Way Southwest at Southwest Trenton Street.

New features, such as shelters, benches and lighting, will be available for immediate public use when construction is complete. Other improvements, such as electric vehicle plug-ins and real time bus arrival information, will be phased in over the next several months.

The RapidRide C Line begins operation Saturday, Sept. 29.

12 Replies to "West Seattle RapidRide: Fauntleroy ferry dock work starts May 11"

  • Andy May 1, 2012 (2:29 pm)

    > Those improvements will include two new RapidRide
    > stations, lighting, information kiosks displaying
    > real-time bus arrival times and 5 electric
    > charging stations for vanpool and public use.

    Are these things really necessary? I commute on the bus and will take the Rapid Ride C line when it starts, but I cannot believe all the money thrown at these changes (improvements seems a bit of a stretch, IMO). Electric charging stations for public use? I hope there’s going to be some electric meter-based fee for using them.

  • boy May 1, 2012 (3:17 pm)

    Cutting bus routes. Cutting metro jobs. All this to help with metro budget shrot fall. But wait there seams to be and enless supply of money for these new bus stops. I would like someone with metro plannig to look someone with a straight face whos route is being cut because of budget cuts and then explain all these new bus stops.

  • datamuse May 1, 2012 (3:28 pm)

    Y’know, in the last thread on this topic people were demanding to know when bus stops would be built, whether they’d have shelters, lights, information about arriving buses, etc…now you’re saying it’s all a waste of money.
    .
    Make up your minds, people.

  • WB May 1, 2012 (3:31 pm)

    I believe the Rapid Ride System is funded with a Federal Grant, not with local tax dollars.

  • West Seattleite May 1, 2012 (4:30 pm)

    Complain when they improve things, complain when they don’t. Much of this is south of Alaska. But, then, I hear the roads are barely drivable there. LOL

  • West Seattle since 1979 May 1, 2012 (6:41 pm)

    Datamuse, some of the complaints were because the new “shelters ” don’t give anywhere near as much shelter as the old ones.

    Then there are some stops like 35th and Avalon northbound, where they took down the old shelter February 16 and still haven’t put the new one up yet. And the sidewalk is closed, making it hard to get to the temporary stop. The people at this and other affected stops are wondering when we’re going to have shelters again, since the ones we had were removed.

  • JN May 1, 2012 (6:55 pm)

    The electronic time update is a great improvement, in line with more advanced systems elsewhere, notably the BART in San Francisco/Bay Area. And I am also wondering about the new stops. Are they going to be as lame as the last one I saw, with no adequate side protection?

  • Harry Reems May 1, 2012 (7:56 pm)

    Thank you “West Seattle since 1979”, well stated.

  • Eric May 1, 2012 (8:27 pm)

    I hope this “month long” project only takes a month. I also pray that these workers have a bit more skill and pride than the group working on at 35th Ave bus stop. I have seen some slow work in my time but at the rate they work, the Spokane Street Viaduct rebuild will be finished before the “workers” will be done on 35th.

  • boy May 2, 2012 (9:07 am)

    Hey westseattlite, These new bus stops are not an improvement. They are removing the exsiting bus stops that provied better shelter from the weather. The word improvment means that something was broken or in need of repaire.

  • Nick May 2, 2012 (3:44 pm)

    How about real transit like rail. Rapid ride is just another crappy bus that I wont use

  • Laurie May 2, 2012 (8:05 pm)

    Why do the new bus stop curbs now come out into traffic? Southbound on California and Fauntleroy has been “improved” and has lost the area where the bus would pull off into allowing bus passengers to board and cars to pull around the stopped bus. The new curb has gotten rid of this and will cause such a back up on a very busy corner. Poor planning if you ask me.

Sorry, comment time is over.