Prop. 1 defeat has implications here

Madison Park loses late-night service 

The landslide defeat this week of King County's ballot measure to support public transportation will have a minor impact on our neighborhood if Metro's recently announced route cuts and service reductions are implemented.  Press reports have noted that Bus Route 84 to Madison Park will be eliminated as a result of the changes Metro is planning. That route, however, is not the main bus route to Madison Park. Route 84 ("Night Owl") makes two runs to the neighborhood, leaving Third and Pine downtown and at 2:15 am and again at 3:30 am and arriving here at 2:32 am and 4:08 am respectively.  Quick service on empty streets.

Our principal Metro Bus service, however, is along Route 11, which currently has a total of 52 bus runs from downtown to Madison Park each weekday, busses arriving at 42nd Avenue E. and E. McGilvra Street in the hours between 5:00 am and 1:30 am. Metro plans to reduce the number of runs by having the last run to the Park arrive at 11:30 pm.  The expected bus arrival times (every 15 minutes during peak hours and every 30 minutes during mid-day) are expected to remain unchanged, however.

If approved by the Metropolitan King County Council, the proposed changes to Route 11 will take effect in September 2015.

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Bus changes a non-event for Madison Park

Although some bus riders around Seattle may be getting agitated about proposed changes to King County Metro's bus routes, Madison Parkers can rest easy that our own Route 11 is facing only a very (and we mean very) slight alteration in service. That, at least, is based on the recommendations from Metro Transit that will be going to the King County Council in September.

Essentially the whole story for those using Route 11 is that instead of having the option of disembarking the bus on 3rd Avenue between Pike and Pine Streets downtown, the new option will be to get off on 2nd Avenue between those two streets.  In the official parlance of Metro, the "turnaround loop" for Route 11 has been extended by one block.

This should result in better service, according to Metro, since the Route 11 bus will not longer link with Route 125, thus improving Route 11's "reliability." Metro's second rationale for this minor route change is that it will further limit bus traffic on the supposedly congested Third Avenue corridor. Other bus routes are also being rechanneled from Third Avenue. No other service changes have been recommended to Route 11.  So, essentially, this is a no-story-here story.

Those who utilize Route 11 to access other Metro routes within the County may be interested in learning more about the proposed changes (information about which is provided here). And if you're really ticked off (or even excited and supportive) you can give your input by attending a public hearing of the King County Council’s Transportation, Economy and Environment Committee tomorrow, Monday, April 16, from 6:00 pm to 8:30 pm at Sound Transit’s Board Room at Union Station (401 S. Jackson Street).

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