FOLLOWUP: Metro finalizes plan for 16th SW bus-stop closures, changes

| Highland Park | Transportation | West Seattle news

A year and a half after we first reported on proposed Metro bus-stop changes in Highland Park – seemingly proceeding at the time with little notice or feedback opportunities – the final plan is out. It looks much different from the original plan, though it still includes bus-stop closures. Here’s what we received today from Metro:

Bus stop upgrades on routes 125 and 128 in West Seattle are heading for construction this summer as part of an effort to improve transit conditions along 16th Avenue SW between SW Holden and Henderson streets.

Metro collected feedback from riders and neighbors in 2024 and developed proposed changes to be built by the City of Seattle that reflect rider and community requests. The plan moving forward is to make improvements at five existing bus stops and two new stops.

The improvements include bus boarding zones that are accessible for individuals who use mobility devices, seating and shelter for transit riders, and bus bulbs designed to enhance transit service and reduce pedestrian crossing distances at intersections.

Four current bus stops located at SW Elmgrove and Cloverdale streets will be closed once nearby bus stop upgrades are completed and riders would be directed about one block away to new or improved bus stops.

Location improvements on 16th Avenue SW and SW Henderson Street:

SW Holden Street

Stop No. 21410 (northbound): Accessibility improvements for people with disabilities.

SW Kenyon Street

Stop No. 21400 (northbound): Wider sidewalk “bus bulb” for easier crossing and accessibility improvements for people with disabilities.
Stop No. 22000 (southbound): Accessibility improvements for people with disabilities.

SW Thistle Street

Stop No. 21380 (northbound): New bus shelter, new seating, wider sidewalk “bus bulb” for easier crossing and accessibility improvements for people with disabilities.

SW Trenton Street

Stop No. 21360 (northbound): New seating and accessibility improvements for people with disabilities.
Southbound: New bus stop location.

Southwest Henderson Street

Westbound: New bus stop location with seating, wider sidewalk “bus bulb” for easier crossing and accessibility improvements for people with disabilities.

Questions about Metro’s plans can be emailed to community.relations@kingcounty.gov and questions about construction plans can be emailed to Aidan Bernal at the Seattle Department of Transportation, aidan.bernal@seattle.gov.

We’ll be following up with SDOT regarding construction timeline.

P.S. Thanks again to Juan for the original tip last year!

DRW August 8, 2025 (2:58 pm)

Now the 125/128 will have to stop twice southbound at 16th and Henderson four way and then on Henderson St. This makes no sense at all. Not to mention the new stop on Henderson will cause more noise for people in houses, townhouses, and apartment buildings. Impacting a lager number of the population. Just keep the stop at the 4 way where the bus already has to stop.

DRW August 8, 2025 (3:04 pm)

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Not to mention taking away already crowded parking spaces due to townhomes with no parking.
- Foop August 8, 2025 (6:52 pm)
  
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  The roads are not your private driveways to store you car, good lord.
  - BH August 9, 2025 (8:39 am)
    
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    Not private, but taxpayers and residents do get a say in how roads are used. Parking is a valid concern.
  - Alf August 9, 2025 (11:35 am)
    
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    I pay heafty property taxes and my concern around the absolute need for parking is validtired of anti parking bullying, good lord
    - Foop August 10, 2025 (12:54 am)
      
      Well I pay a lot of taxes and if removing one parking spot from a n arterial to move busses full of people I think it’s far more worth it than someone storing their personal car all day.
- Kyle August 8, 2025 (9:30 pm)
  
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  The new location makes more sense and is safer. The buses have to make wide right turns and it’s difficult for them to serve the current stop, then merge back in with traffic to make the right hand turn.
Foop August 8, 2025 (3:06 pm)

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That’s how stop signs work. The SB stop move will help traffic at the 4 way flow better. All of those houses already live on a bus route so this won’t change much for them.

Allie August 8, 2025 (2:58 pm)

I wish they would do something about the bus stop at 16th & Myrtle because the back door opens up to a tree with the roots coming up out of the ground. I sent an email to metro about it, but nothing was done.

Yukon August 8, 2025 (3:15 pm)

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I agree with this. That bus stop / sidewalk at SW Myrtle St and 16th Ave SW needs to be repaired

Big Beautiful Bart August 8, 2025 (7:12 pm)

Those bus bulbs unnecessarily cause traffic to stop behind the bus. This causes traffic backups all over Delridge. At the Barton bulb at WWV the traffic sometimes backs up to the north Target parking lot entrance. They serve no purpose and should be banned.

DC August 9, 2025 (10:35 am)

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Bus bulbs are incredibly beneficial if you ride the bus! They are obviously designed to benefit busses, that’s why they’re called bus bulbs. If you want to see their benefit, try ditching the car for the H Line.
- Kyle August 9, 2025 (2:32 pm)
  
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  Sure..but at this location? Have you been to the proposed stops? Little to no benefit for buses (traffic isn’t heavy enough), a new danger for cyclists, and pedestrians already have curb bulbs to shorten the walking distance. I understand downtown and busier spots, but this is just building to build.
- Hello Cat August 9, 2025 (5:43 pm)
  
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  DC, over 90% of Seattle’s street users are in cars and light trucks. There’s ZERO benefit for bus passengers for buses to unnecessarily hold up traffic when for decades they’ve simply pulled over to the curb.

Kyle August 8, 2025 (9:28 pm)

The bus bulbs make no sense and I thought Metro agreed to remove that from this plan in October? All 3 of those locations already have pedestrian crossing bulbs and flashing pedestrian activated lgihts. I use them often and they are some of the safer crossings in the area. Adding bus bulbs does nothing but make a new obstacle for cyclists and piss off other vehicles for no additional benefit. This isn’t downtown or some highly congested area where they are beneficial.

BH August 9, 2025 (8:37 am)

How do they decide where to put the new stops – traffic and number of riders? What happens if/when that changes due to population shift?

Kyle August 9, 2025 (2:35 pm)

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There was already a community conversation on this in October. They were picked to align with existing pedestrian crossing infrastructure, and connectors from stair walkways like Thistle. They were spaced to increase speed of the bus so not as many stops. It’s a pretty good compromise, minus the unexplained bus bulbs that got added last minute.

K August 10, 2025 (2:47 am)

With all the long overdue traffic calming happening on 16th, the bus bulbs will be another great tool to keep speeds reasonable on this street. The only people who don’t like bus bulbs are the people who want to pass the buses anyway, which endangers pedestrians. The bulbs make the street and the bus stops safer.

Kyle August 10, 2025 (6:39 am)

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You apparently don’t bike on 16th. There are already pedestrian crossing bulbs at the proposed locations that buses pick up and drop off passengers behind. I look forward to the fire house sending emergency vehicles up 17th because they can’t get around the buses. Bus bulbs don’t make sense at these locations.