(Reader photo, February 2014)

That was what it looked like at Seacrest as Seahawks victory parade-goers lined up to catch the West Seattle Water Taxi on February 5, 2014 – we had ongoing outbound travel coverage that day, as we will this Wednesday, plus reader pics from the 700,000+ parade crowd. Here’s what Metro says so far about Wednesday transit plans – relevant excerpts from their regional news release:

Get ready to celebrate with the Super Bowl winning Seattle Seahawks by taking transit to be part of the festivities!

All of the regional transit agencies – Community Transit, Everett Transit, King County Metro, Kitsap Transit, Pierce Transit, Sound Transit and Washington State Ferries – will be working together to ensure that fans will be able to get to and from the parade route along Fourth Avenue in downtown Seattle. …

Travel early, stay late

With hundreds of thousands of people expected downtown we expect demand to skyrocket on transit and at area parking garages – so we’re putting more service on the streets, the rails and the water to help. Many buses will also be on reroute so riders may need to transfer to bus shuttles or light rail to reach downtown destinations.

We encourage people, including those coming downtown for work, to please travel early and allow additional travel time. Patience will be your best teammate on Wednesday.

But before you go, please make a plan: Travel early and review your transit options and prepare to be flexible. And after the big event, fans are encouraged to spend some time downtown to spread out demand while transit works hard to carry everybody back home.

Transit can bring you to the events

Times have changed since the last Super Bowl parade in 2014. The Sound Transit Link 1 Line now stretches from Lynnwood to Federal Way and tens of thousands of people now can travel more quickly and easily to the celebration.

Sound Transit will be operating 1 Line trains every (6) six minutes from 5 a.m. through 6 p.m., and Sounder service will operate an additional four trips, with three trains on the S Line from Lakewood and Tacoma and one on the N Line from Everett.

Metro bus service, Seattle Streetcars, Kitsap Fast Ferries, and additional Water Taxi service will also bring more riders to downtown Seattle.

Parade, street closures will affect transit service

The City of Seattle plans to close several downtown streets early Wednesday before the parade begins on Fourth Avenue. King County Metro plans to reroute bus service starting around 5 a.m. and until the streets reopen after the parade. Many buses that usually travel through downtown will pick up and drop off riders at hubs north and south of downtown. East-west buses that usually cross Fourth Avenue also will be rerouted, meaning riders should plan to potentially walk or roll a few blocks to reach their destinations. Riders are encouraged to review these changes on Metro’s service advisories page.

Your best resource on how to use transit to get downtown will be from the transit system you use. Go to the website of your favorite mode of transport to get more information on transit to the parade. …

King County Metro

To keep service moving reliably, these key changes are planned:

Special shuttles: To keep riders moving within the Seattle downtown core, special north-south shuttles will operate, and riders are encouraged to use Link 1 Line trains in the transit tunnel to travel through the downtown core. More details and a map of Metro’s parade day shuttle will be posted online as soon as possible.

Metro, Sound Transit and Community Transit buses coming from the north plan to drop off riders at the north end of downtown Seattle. A planned hub at Mercer Street and Queen Anne Avenue will allow riders to connect to a Second Avenue circulator shuttle into the central business district. This shuttle will operate on the west side of the parade via Second and Third avenues and travel to and from Cherry Street. A second rider hub is planned at Boren Avenue and Pike Street and will connect riders to a shuttle that will operate on the east side of the parade route and travel on Boren Avenue to South Jackson Street.

Metro, Sound Transit and Pierce Transit buses coming from the Eastside and the south end plan to drop off riders near SODO and Stadium stations, where riders can board the 1 Line, walk or roll to the parade route, or take bus routes traveling farther north. Shuttle buses will be available north of South Jackson Street. A map of shuttle connections will be posted online.

East-west bus routes will be unable to cross the Fourth Avenue parade route and will be rerouted, with details posted on Metro’s Service Advisories web page prior to the event. …

King County Water Taxi: Additional Water Taxi sailings are planned on Wednesday to accommodate fans coming from Vashon and West Seattle, with a third vessel available if needed.

We’re checking for more specifics (here’s what they did in 2014, for example) and will add when/if available.

ADDED 12:22 PM: Metro spokesperson Al Sanders elaborates, “This will be a dynamic day and Marine will have staff and vessels ready to support and will be continually evaluating/adapting service as best they can. The decision on the third boat will be based on available space at pier 50 and volume of people in the moment. Marine will already be running more frequent service with our larger primary vessels. For awareness: Kitsap Transit will be also running additional service on multiple routes.” That’s one big change from 2014 – the Water Taxi’s downtown dock at Pier 50 is shared by more vessels, with the Kitsap Transit runs. The downtown dock was upgraded and reopened in 2019.