Graphic courtesy of Metro: Newly revised proposed bus-stop changes for 16th Ave SW between Holden/Henderson

By Jason Grotelueschen
Reporting for West Seattle Blog

In response to pushback from area residents, King County Metro is proposing a newly modified set of scaled-back changes to bus stops and service associated with the 125/128 routes on 16th Ave SW between SW Holden Street and SW Henderson Street (see image above).

These changes, shared with us at WSB and discussed at last Wednesday night’s monthly meeting of the HPAC community coalition (serving Highland Park, Riverview and South Delridge), represent a partial rollback of the more-abruptly announced changes that caused a stir when they were announced back in February.

Metro is now looking for community feedback on these changes, in the form of an online survey that is being broadly promoted and will be open until November 22nd.

Some bus-riders have likely already noticed the new “Proposed Stop Changes” signs (including a QR code that links to the same online survey) that Metro began posting last week at various stops on 16th Ave SW:

Based on the initial feedback from HPAC attendees in last Wednesday’s meeting, the reception to Metro’s proposal seems likely to land much better this time around. “In general, this is all good news!” said one attendee. Here’s what the process now looks like, with potential implementation happening in the new year:

A complete rundown of the bus changes and the rationale from Metro is down below, but first, some other HPAC items from the meeting, which was facilitated by co-chair Kay Kirkpatrick.

After opening remarks, HPAC acknowledged last week’s passing of WSB co-founder Patrick Sand, calling it “sad news” and commending Sand for always improving morale of those around him, and “just getting stuff done.”

Next up, SPD Officer German Barreto from the Southwest Precinct provided a crime-stats update. He said that for Highland Park, aggravated assaults are trending down (but up for the past 28 days compared to 2023), and vehicle theft is down.  For Delridge, burglaries have gone up (33% for the past 28 days compared to 2023). In terms of specific events, he mentioned a shooting and attempted robbery in Highland Park on September 30th (shots fired, nobody hurt), and in South Delridge a shots fired incident (no victims or property damage) on September 5th.

SW Precinct Operations Lt. Nathan Shopay was also in attendance, and he addressed the fact that neighbors told him that although crime is down in the past year, they “hear a lot of shootings in the distance.”  Shopay said that there have indeed been some events “behind the greenspace” and down the hill, mostly just shots, but as one attendee pointed out there have been some significant events such as the shooting at Shree’s.

Barreto and Shopay both reiterated the importance of neighbors calling in whenever they hear gunshots (or if they experience any potentially criminal event).  They said that for data collection purposes, and staffing, SPD uses that data to help make decisions and often to link together suspects and crimes at a later date. “Make the call to 911, it’s never an inconvenience.”  One attendee said that they’ve typically received good response from 911 calls.  Another asked about a recent robbery they had heard about, and Shopay said that SPD has “caught about half of the guys responsible for 60-70 robberies in the area,” (SPD info here) which was a big win.  Another attendee thanked officers for their assistance with some specific issues in their neighborhood (such as a troublesome property near 20th and Henderson), and asked about why there would have been several people on her block that were suddenly ticketed for expired plates all at once — Shopay said that it was likely because the vehicles were flagged as part of parking regulations related to recent RV parking enforcement.

Next up was an update from Sean Blackwell from the city’s CARE Department (Community Assisted Response and Engagement), who confirmed that his team plans to expand the number of Community Crisis Responders (CCRs) from 11 currently to 28 eventually. This will include, in the first quarter of 2025, an expansion into the South Precinct and into West Seattle’s own Southwest Precinct.  He said the role of CCRs is to support and complement police and fire responders, and to focus on connecting people to necessary services while dealing with crisis situations. He mentioned a YouTube video that talked about some of the team’s successes. Blackwell echoed what SPD staff said about 911 calls — always call, if you see/hear something — and said that he finds the community meetings very valuable and plans to attend more in the future.

One attendee said that they once attended a workshop about “how to make a good 911 call” by providing the right information, and asked if SPD/CARE staff could perhaps do something like that for HPAC in the future.  Blackwell said that’s definitely an option, although he said that 911 dispatchers are well-trained to ask the right questions, and to get the right information. He said that one of the main complaints he hears from residents is “OK, I call 911 and ask for someone to come, but how come it took so long?” He said that SPD has staffing challenges, and steps are being taken to fix that but it will take some time. Incoming calls are prioritized: if it involves threat to life or bodily harm or is an emergency, then it’s a “priority 1” call and it gets triaged and dispatched first.  If multiple calls come in with high priority, then it can lead to delays, but regardless it’s important for residents to call 911 and engage with the right people.

At that point in the meeting, the Metro bus stop discussion took center stage for the rest of the meeting. Kirkpatrick thanked Metro staff for following up and coming back to talk to the group.  There were three Metro staff members in attendance: Robbie Frankel, Drew Robinson and Jessica Vu.  Frankel drove the discussion and presentation, and said “we want to apologize for causing confusion in the past; we are here with a revised proposal” and look forward to hearing the public’s feedback via the online survey between now and November 22nd.

Here is the full list of changes and rationale from Metro, sent to us and also shared with HPAC last Wednesday night:

Bus stop changes proposed to create better King County Metro bus service

To improve bus service for riders in Highland Park, King County Metro is asking for public feedback on a handful of bus stop changes along 16th Avenue Southwest between Southwest Holden and Henderson streets in West Seattle.

In early 2024, Metro gathered feedback on an initial proposal to change stops along 16th Avenue Southwest for routes 125 and 128. A summary of feedback from riders highlighted that:

• For safety and comfort reasons, many riders prefer to cross the street at intersections with flashing pedestrian lights (Southwest Kenyon Street, Southwest Thistle Street, and Southwest Trenton Street) and avoid crossing at busy streets (Southwest Holden Street and Southwest Henderson Street.)
• Stops at Southwest Thistle Street are important for community access.
• Many students use the northbound stop at Southwest Trenton Street.

As a result, Metro is proposing closing only four existing closely-spaced bus stops, relocating one bus stop and installing one new bus stop. As part of these changes, Metro proposes sidewalk, shelter and ADA improvements to be built in partnership and funded by the City of Seattle Transportation Measure. This area also has seen recent service improvements with the launch of Metro Flex and added service on routes 60 and 125.

In the section of 16th Avenue Southwest between Southwest Holden Street and Southwest Henderson Street, consecutive stops are roughly 600 feet apart, compared to Metro’s target of having stops no closer than 1,300 feet. This area is a good candidate for bus stop improvements, and consolidating some stops ensures that city investments are made in stops Metro is committed to keeping. Reducing the number of stops also means each stop will be able to be made ADA-accessible.

Metro’s online survey of riders runs Oct. 24 through Nov. 22. Analysis of public feedback will take place later this year. Stops will be improved by the City of Seattle on a rolling basis beginning in 2025 and Metro will keep stops locations open until construction improvements at the remaining stops are completed.

Rider alerts with online survey links in English, Spanish, Simplified and Traditional Chinese and Vietnamese are scheduled to be installed along the corridor beginning Oct. 24.

Proposed stop closures

• 16th Avenue Southwest and Southwest Elmgrove Street, northbound (stop #21390) and southbound (stop #22210)
• 16th Avenue Southwest and Southwest Cloverdale Street, northbound (stop #21370) and southbound (stop #22230)

Proposed relocated stop

• Southbound stop (stop #22244) at 16th Avenue Southwest and Southwest Henderson Street relocated to serve as a westbound stop at Southwest Henderson Street and 17th Avenue Southwest

Proposed new stops

• New southbound stop added at 16^th Ave SW and SW Trenton St

Planned stop improvements

• Sidewalk improvements including adding bus bulbs, repairing damaged sidewalks, and rebuilding/adding bus landing pads at multiple stops
• Installing a new shelter with seating for the northbound bus stop at S Thistle St (stop #21380)
• Installing a new bench for the northbound bus stop at SW Trenton St (stop #21360)
• Improving ADA accessibility

No changes

• 16th Ave SW and SW Holden St, Southbound stop (stop #22190)
• 16th Ave SW and SW Kenyon St, Southbound stop (stop #22200)
• 16th Ave SW and SW Thistle St, Southbound stop (stop #22220)
• 16th Ave SW and SW Henderson St, Northbound stop (stop #21350)

Several meeting attendees thanked Metro for the changes, and asked for some follow-up clarifications (described in the map at the top of this article). One attendee thanked the team for keeping the Thistle stop, and for Sunday service (making it easier to do weekend grocery runs).

Others asked whether work needed to be done for certain bus stops, to make them more usable and safer — one near Kenyon, for example, has a sidewalk that’s very uneven due to tree root damage. The Metro team said that, yes, that’s something that they look at, but in many cases like that the tree is actually on private property, which makes it more difficult to manage.

Another attendee said that “I really appreciate the 125 route; it’s the fastest ride downtown on most days” and is glad that it’s been prioritized. Another attendee agreed, and added that the 125 is going to be essential to connect to the new light rail line. Frankel confirmed that, yes, the 125 route “rose to the top of all of our metrics” as the Metro team was looking at how to prioritize and optimize route changes. “We’re thrilled to offer improvements to it.”

An attendee also called out the Metro Flex service for routes 60 and 125 as a great example of a new offering that really makes a difference for residents.

HPAC meets on the 4th Wednesday of the month (with some “months off”) from 7pm-8:30pm, currently via Zoom.  The group can be contacted via email at: hpacchair@gmail.com