On Friday, Community Transit announced substantial service improvements slated for this September and next March. At least 21,000 new service hours would added to the system, representing a six percent increase over baseline service levels.
September 2017 Service Improvements
Many of the service concepts for September 2017 include extra trips to support growing ridership demand. A handful of the changes also would revise and extend routes to provide better connections and new service in growth areas. The service change would also include one new peak route, but another peak route would be eliminated.
-
Swift Green Line planned for Autumn 2018. (Community Transit) Route 105: On weekdays between 5am and 8am and 1.45pm and 6pm, Route 105 would be extended north of Marine Park-and-Ride. The service extension would provide service to Boeing/Paine Field via Airport Road to serve commuters of the Paine Field manufacturing industrial center. This route extension would also help provide a shadow local bus service along the entire length of the Swift Green Line service planned for 2018.
- Route 106: In the Mill Creek area between 180th St SE and Trillium Blvd SE, Route 106 operates through the Mays Pont neighborhood to provide local coverage off of Bothell-Everett Hwy. This routing, however, is proposed to be realigned with the Mays Pont deviation to be eliminated to keep Route 106 service on Bothell-Everett Hwy. To compensate for this change, a routing change to Route 115 is proposed to serve Mays Pont.
- New Route 107: Community Transit plans to introduce a new route on weekdays only. The service would operate in the peak direction during peak hours only between Lynnwood Transit Center and Boeing/Paine Field via the Mukilteo Speedway to serve commuters of the Paine Field manufacturing industrial center. The service would include three trips in the morning and three trips in afternoon.
- Route 115: In the Mill Creek area, Route 115 travels on Bothell-Everett Hwy between 164th SE and 132nd St SE with its northern terminus at Mariner Park-and-Ride. This alignment, however, is proposed for a major revision with deletion of the Mariner Park-and-Ride terminus and deletion of most service on Bothell-Everett Hwy. Instead, service would be provided through Mays Pont via 180th St SE with service then routed via 35th Ave SE to 132nd St. The new terminus would be at Puget Park Dr and 137th Pl SE near the Safeway.
- Route 196: Community Transit plans to extend service of Route 196 northward from its terminus at Alderwood. This extension would provide a direct connection with Ash Way Park-and-Ride to provide better regional connections and support a rise in service demand on the Alderwood-Ash Way corridor.
- Route 277: This route would be eliminated. To compensate for the service loss, Routes 270 and 271 to Boeing.
- Route 280: This route would get minor revisions in Lake Stevens and Granite Falls.
A handful of other changes are also proposed across multiple routes:
- Routes 240, 271, and 280: Sunday service would be improved during the midday for Routes 240, 271, and 280 with an extra 37 trips. By adding these extra trips, these routes would be improved to have all-day hourly service.
- Routes 270, 271, and 280: These routes would be revised to serve Broadway at Hewitt Avenue allowing shorter walks to downtown Everett for commuters. The effect would be a small extension of service and the elimination of service on Cedar Street and Pacific Avenue. These routes would still serve Everett Station.
- 400 and 800 series: Weekday commuter routes between Snohomish County and Downtown Seattle and University of Washington could get extra trips to support growing demand. An additional 16 trips will go to select routes with eight extra trips in the morning and eight extra trips in the evening. The routes to get the service improvements are yet to be determined, but will be based on demand.
March 2018 Service Improvements
Community Transit has two key service concepts for March 2018: route extension of Route 209 and extended Sunday service on select local routes.
- Route 209: This route would be extended north from its terminus in Quil Ceda Village. The service extension would be via I-5 to provide direct connections to the Smokey Point Transit Center.
- Local Routes: 11 trips would added to the Swift Blue Line and Routes 105, 109, 113, 130, 196, and 202 to extend evening service Sundays.
More DART Service
Where new local (not commute) service is added by expanded service hours and new coverage areas by the changes described above, dial-a-ride transit (DART) would be added within three-quarters of a mile of the new and extended services. That would support increased mobility for riders that need more attentive and direct service.
Public Outreach and Next Steps
Community Transit is taking feedback on the full set of service proposals through Friday, April 7th. The easiest way to send feedback is by e-mailing the agency at ProposedService@commtrans.org. Two open houses will be held in March, including one as a webinar on Tuesday, March 14th from 6pm to 7pm (look for details online at communitytransit.org or via social media) and another at Everett Station on Thursday, March 23rd from 3pm to 6pm. On Thursday, April 6th, the Community Transit Board of Directors will hold a public hearing on the proposal in Everett where public comment will be welcome. You can attend that meeting at the Community Transit Board Room located at 7100 Hardeson Road, Everett.
Related Articles
Stephen is a professional urban planner in Puget Sound with a passion for sustainable, livable, and diverse cities. He is especially interested in how policies, regulations, and programs can promote positive outcomes for communities. With stints in great cities like Bellingham and Cork, Stephen currently lives in Seattle. He primarily covers land use and transportation issues and has been with The Urbanist since 2014.