We stopped by the first RapidRide H Line drop-in meeting in Burien tonight to preview what you’ll see if you go to the White Center meeting tomorrow. It’s classic open-house format – informational boards around the room, staffers there so you can ask questions, maps on tables, comment forms to fill out if you choose to. They include explanations of how RapidRide works, as well as focusing in on specifics of this project, which is scheduled to convert Route 120 into the H Line in 2020.

While there’s a separate meeting coming up in Delridge one week from tonight to talk about the new options for that stretch of the route, those boards are available too – ask if you don’t see them.

It’s not a different route, we were told, but rather some possibilities for where the stops will be – which has been a major concern in previous community discussions. The new Delridge option – they started with two and now this is #3 – would include stations at Genesee, Andover, Hudson, Findlay in the north, for example. (Andover would eventually be a connection at/near the future Sound Transit Light Rail stop.) For those who have been advocating to have RapidRide H use the Delridge/Barton triangle stop, that’s still not considered an option; Metro’s Jenna Franklin told us their projections suggest the Westwood area will have many more jobs by 2025 and the connection needs to be closer. The proposals include more than just bus-stop locations, but also multi-modal right-of-way improvements, so take a good look and be ready to discuss, especially at the Delridge meeting on January 17th (Youngstown Cultural Arts Center, 4408 Delridge Way SW), which starts as a drop-in event and then is followed by a discussion with the Delridge Neighborhoods District Council starting at 7 pm. (We also are scheduled for a more in-depth briefing on the proposal, so watch for a followup.)

Also note that tonight’s Burien meeting had materials in multiple languages and you’ll find those in White Center Thursday night, too (5-8 pm, Mount View Elementary, 10811 12th SW). And whether you do or don’t get to an in-person meeting, the “online open house” is open now too, linked from this info-laden page about the RapidRide H Line project – if you need it translated, look for the SET LANGUAGE button at lower left, which brings up a list of dozens of languages.