 Get ready for the Seattle Squeeze
As we hope you know, the Alaskan Way Viaduct permanently closes Friday, Jan. 11, to make way for the new State Route 99 tunnel. Before the tunnel opens, construction crews will need approximately three weeks to realign the highway into the new tunnel. During the closure, up to 90,000 vehicles a day that use the viaduct could shift to surface streets through and around downtown Seattle. This will cause major traffic congestion and travel delays until the tunnel opens.
For commuters coming to Seattle from the north and south, this could be a great opportunity to try commuting by train—Sounder and Link light rail trains don't spend any time stuck in car traffic.
Most Link trains have three cars and run every 10 minutes, and during peak hours we add several two-car trains to ensure trains run every 6 minutes. During the viaduct closure, we will also have an extra Link train on standby to help with crowding. However, we do not currently have enough light rail cars to run all three-car trains during rush hours. Since Link trains are already very full during rush hours, we recommend flexing your work hours during the closure in order to take the train outside of peak hours, which tend to be from about 6:30-8:30 a.m. and from 4-5:30 p.m.
Need a ride to your closest Link station? Sound Transit is collaborating with King County Metro, the City of Seattle and three of the area's ride hailing/ridesharing companies—Uber, Lyft and ReachNow—to encourage transit use during the viaduct closure. These companies are offering discounts on ride-hailing trips to and from select light rail stations and transit centers.
Sounder trains will also be busy, but could offer another good option. Because Sounder runs on tracks owned by BNSF, we are not able to add more trips during the closure. The good news is that existing Sounder trains have room for more riders. Visit our Platform blog story to learn which Sounder trips have the most capacity.
There's no way around it—commuting to Seattle is going to be rough this month. But working together, we can get through it. Our blog post has more tips and resources to help commuters navigate the closure period.
 Transit Tips: Simple steps to make room on busy trains
With the viaduct coming down and SR 99 closing, expect a lot more company on our already busy trains. We know you've experienced it: Unsuspectingly getting hit in the head with a backpack; rolling your eyes at the person who just can't wait for their phone call (and talks loud for everyone else to hear); asking someone to please move their bag so you can sit down.
More than ever, if we can follow a few simple rules for riding, we'll have a little more room to ride. Throughout 2019, we'll be featuring a new tip in each newsletter. This month we're focusing on bags and backpacks.
To the backpack wearer. Please take off your backpack to avoid playing “whack-a-mole” with the people sitting down.
To the seat taker. Bags don't have butts, but people do. Please leave the seat next to you open so others can sit down.
We know the trains and buses are crowded. These tips will help us all ride happy.
 Heads up: March 2019 Service Change
Every year Sound Transit analyzes all of its routes to identify routes or trips that do not meet agency service standards or that need additional investment, ensuring efficient use of resources as part of the annual Service Implementation Plan.
This March, Sound Transit is making changes to several ST Express routes to increase the agency's ability to operate service reliably when construction projects close some transit facilities to buses in 2019. This will help to optimize service in the face of increasing regional congestion. Other changes aim to improve regional transit integration and use resources more efficiently. Changes go into effect the weekend of March 23.
Here are the basics:
Route 550 will move to surface streets in downtown Seattle because of the shift to rail-only operations in the Downtown Seattle Transit Tunnel. Rail-only operations in the tunnel will increase Link light rail reliability.
Route 513 will originate at Community Transit's new Seaway Transit Center in Everett. The route will serve a new stop at Casino Road and Evergreen Way, which will replace the current stop at Evergreen Way and 79th Place. All other stops will remain the same.
Route 580 will have fewer trips. We will discontinue low-ridership trips; others will run only between Puyallup Station and the South Hill park-and-ride. Reinvesting in resources will improve service in Pierce County.
Route 555 will operate only between Northgate and Bellevue Transit Center, and will no longer serve the low-ridership segment between Bellevue, Eastgate and Issaquah. Sound Transit will invest resources into improving reliability on Route 554. Riders can use King County Metro route 271 for trips between Bellevue Transit Center and Issaquah.
More details will appear in our March newsletter. If you have an affected route, sign up for Rider Alerts to get the most up-to-date information delivered right to your inbox.
This spring Sound Transit will release through a separate process additional changes proposed for September 2019.
 New Sound Transit website faster, easier for mobile users
As we hope you've noticed, the Sound Transit website has an entirely new look and feel.
The revamped site is mobile-friendly and makes our most popular content easier to find and use.
We see around 1 million visitors to soundtransit.org every month with almost 80 percent of those visitors looking at the site on their phone. The new site ensures all of our content is easy to access on any device.
Improvements include:
We've based trip-planner improvements on how our visitors use it, including making sure any real-time service alerts show up when planning a trip or looking up real-time arrival or schedule information.
As with any major upgrade, there may be glitches with the new site that we have not encountered.
Please let us know about any issues you run across.
 Northgate Station Garage opens, First solo permit-parking site
Sound Transit's newest parking facility, the Northgate Station Garage, opened in late November. This garage is adjacent to the Northgate Transit Center, serving the many bus routes using that facility. The Northgate Station Garage is the first location to offer Sound Transit's solo permit-parking program, in addition to the carpool permit program. Solo driver parking-permit holders have reserved parking on the lower level of the garage on weekdays during the morning rush hours. On weekends, holidays and after 9 a.m. on weekdays, all may use available spaces in permit-parking areas on a 'first-come, first-served' basis. Permits at Northgate Station Garage are currently $120 and are still available for purchase.
Permit applicants must provide basic contact information and ORCA card numbers. Regular transit ridership is not required for initial issue of a permit, but after receipt of a permit, we will check ORCA records to verify regular ridership. Permit-parking members must average three days of ridership per week (12 days per month) to qualify for monthly permit renewals. Sound Transit will reserve up to 50 percent of spaces at our highest-demand lots for train and bus riders who use parking permits.
Check back later this year for information about solo driver permit parking at other facilities. You can also sign up to receive Parking Permit updates; from the main Subscription page, check the “Permit Parking” box under News & Information.
For more information about Sound Transit's parking program, including how to sign up for Northgate Station parking permits, visit our Parking web page.
 Breaking ground on the Hilltop Tacoma Link Extension
After years of planning and community involvement, the Hilltop Tacoma Link Extension officially broke ground at a ceremony Nov. 19 at People's Park! Thank you to everyone who celebrated with us, including two community members who spoke at the event: Brendan Nelson representing the Hilltop neighborhood and Denny Faker representing the Stadium District. Local businesses provided the refreshments, including Red Elm Café, Anthem Coffee and Tea, Corina Bakery, and Johnson Candy. Thank you, all!
This project more than doubles the length of Tacoma Link with six new stations from downtown Tacoma to the Stadium District and Hilltop. Trains run in the center of the street and are compatible with on-street parking and existing bike lanes.
Construction is ramping up. The overall construction work will take approximately two and a half years. First, crews will replace underground utilities and then install the tracks, platforms, power stations and overhead wires. Next Sound Transit will test the trains and light rail system. Service begins in 2022. We can't wait to celebrate the grand opening!
To learn more and sign up for email updates, visit soundtransit.org/htlink. |
