Metro’s plan is to keep the electrified trolleys of Route 12 and 10 rolling once RapidRide G comes along (Image: CHS)
With construction of the new line now at “50%,” officials are collecting feedback on proposals to alter existing bus routes that will connect with the Madison RapidRide G line when it begins service in 2024.
The new “Madison Street Area” network would alter Routes 10, 11, 12, and 47 in the Capitol Hill, Central District, First Hill, and Madison Valley neighborhoods to “improve public transportation connections and transfers,” reduce duplication with the new RapidRide G line, and “address service that was suspended since COVID began in 2020,” Metro says.
The new configurations could also fit better with the streetscape overhaul currently underway that will make Pike and Pine one-way between downtown and Bellevue Ave.
Metro’s plan is to roll the proposals out now and collect survey feedback through May before possibly revised revisions go out later in the year and are finalized in time for RapidRide G’s start of service in 2024.
Metro is promising “a final proposed bus route network that reflects community input from this survey, conversations with community members, and equity analyses” by fall 2023.
In total, the proposed changes aren’t as harsh as riders might have become accustomed to during the pandemic but when Metro says it plans to “address” something, well, that part does, indeed, mean a cut. Under the RapidRide G planning, Metro is making the case to permanently axe Route 47. CHS reported here on the 47’s pandemic era suspension as Metro made cutbacks across its service areas due to changes in staffing and demand. Metro says killing the 47 off will allow it “to focus service investments on routes along Broadway” despite leaving “no local bus along Bellevue Ave and Summit Ave, north of Olive Way where there are high-density residential populations.”
You can make your case for keeping the 47 via the survey.
The other routes are also being lined up for changes that are more like optimizations than cutbacks.
ROUTE 10 and 12
Changes to Route 10 and Route 12 are being intertwined with a proposal for the lines be “reoriented” to operate along E Pine instead of E John and Madison, until they turn north on 15th Ave and 19th Ave.
Along Pike and Pine between 2nd Ave and 15th Ave, revised route 10 and 12 trips would be staggered to create frequent all-day service, every 15-minutes or better, Metro says.
Metro says the change allows it to operate the routes in tandem to provide frequent service between Downtown Seattle and eastern Capitol Hill along Pike/Pine St and 15th/19th Ave while still connecting the areas of the northern and eastern edges of Capitol Hill to light rail. But it would come at a cost. That light rail connection would be made at Westlake, not Capitol Hill Station. The proposed 10 and 12 would bypass the area of the Broadway light rail facility completely.
Route 12 riders would also need to transfer to the new RapidRide line to reach First Hill via Madison.
ROUTE 11
Metro is also proposing to move Route 11 off Pine. In the current proposal, Route 11 would serve E Thomas, E John, and E Olive Way between 24th Ave E and Bellevue Ave, providing “a new direct connection between the Madison Park neighborhood and Meany Middle School, Kaiser Permanente, and Capitol Hill Link light rail station,” Metro says.
Revised Route 11 riders would be able to transfer to the new RapidRide G Line at new bus stops along Madison at MLK Way.
The process to reshape bus service near the new RapidRide bus line comes as construction on the route has reached the halfway point. The three-year, $134 million SDOT-managed project has grown into a complete overhaul with everything from the city’s sidewalks and intersections to its water and sewer mains being ripped up and replaced along the 2.4-mile route.
Relief is coming. 2023 brings what should be the final push of major construction as the system prepares for a 2024 start of service. Along the way, the construction schedule will shift the most intensive work up and down the corridor to hopefully give areas a break. When it finally debuts in 2024, along with what is hoped to be faster, more efficient bus service, the route will also have new curb ramps, sidewalks, and crossing improvements.
Metro says RapidRide G will provide bus service every 6-minutes for most of the day on weekdays and Saturdays in new bus-only lanes with RapidRide stations along the curb or center of Madison.
Sometimes in Seattle, H comes before G. The new RapidRide H line serving Burien and West Seattle connecting to downtown debuted this weekend.
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Yay for the 10 back on Pike/Pine! Having 2 routes in that stretch makes it much more frequent and useful. Moving the 12 to that routing also makes a lot of sense.
Cutting the 47 is a bad idea though. We should be expanding transit service, not gutting it.
why should it be expanded with ridership down 50% since before 2020? It should be cut by the same proportion the ridership declined.
As a disabled person, I rely on the many stops up Pine, Summit to 15th. So the 10 returning to Pine w 11 rerouted is imperative; I would have major problems getting to those areas without it. And having the 10 back, considering how highly unreliable the 11 has always been since I moved here in 2010, will indeed be a blessing if it is as reliable as it previously was. I don’t have the luxury of a reliably able body or the money to pay ride shares. And there are no good alternatives thru Metro (if only Metro Flex were in Seattle!).
I can’t speak to the purported drop in ridership you note, but when it ran up Pine to 15th, it was always packed full!
There are a variety of reasons for lower ridership. Service cuts (like the ones that have happened since 2020) are a big one that turns into a viscous cycle. If the bus only comes once every 30 minutes, it’s not very useful, and people won’t take it if they have other options. Cutting lines in dense neighborhoods makes driving all but impossible to avoid. This makes other bus routes unreliable due to buses getting stuck in increased car traffic. Good service (coverage, frequency, and separated right of way) yields higher ridership which should be the goal during ongoing climate and street safety disasters.
*Vicious cycle, not viscous, although the cycle can also be quite sticky
Thank you for your support for keeping the #47. It’s worth noting that Metro has put up no notices about the elimination at any route stops — including the shelters — on either Bellevue or Summit. Local residents, especially the seniors, have been learning about the change mostly by word of mouth.
Not having Rapid Ride G go all the way to Madison Park and instead having to splice the 11 onto the end just seems so odd?
Giving up a trolley wire bus, the 47th, when all the climate alarm bells are blaring seems like a bad idea.
I believe there were some original plan drafts that had rapidride going all the way up to madison park, that were nixed due to budget and pushback from the madison park community on construction in that area.
I had heard the last little bit had the potential to create delays and wasn’t worth slowing the whole line down to service the last stretch.
Can’t they just run the buses to Madison Park as part of a future service change… its just funding, no? Maybe some spare buses of this weird custom design? I was under the impression everything east of 15th was standard curbside operation in mixed traffic anyway?
Overall this makes a lot of sense!
I do still wish for something that connects SLU and Capitol Hill with a very short loop – something like a Tram would really improve the lives of people who live in cap hill and commute to SLU, and vice versa.
yeah, if we had something trolleyish that went up the overpass at Roy, south on Bellevue, west on Denny, and back around via Westlake or something it would be very popular. The SLUCHT!
YESSS!!! Even a “bus” that just acts like a trolley would be fine, meaning constantly running in the same short route, essentially ensuring that you never have to check a timetable, you know that it’ll be there every N minutes (~10 sounds about right and can probably be done with 2 busses max, even just 1 would be a game changer)
Even an elevator and ped bridge at Lakeview Blvd/Eastlake Ave just like the Gibbs Street Bridge in Portland under the Aerial Tram?
That’s exactly how I used the old 25 route before it was cut – Lakeview to Eastlake.
Glad to see that a bus is coming back on 15th. Also agree that it is a mistake not to send the Rapid G down to Madison Park. Budget, I assume. And why, oh why, are they stopping the 47? That is a large area of apartment buildings without public transit on Capitol Hill.
Madison Park residents don’t ride the bus, and they dont want to make it easier for others to get down to their enclave.
…except for the hired help.
Would be awesome to have a pedestrian ferry from Madison Park to Meydenbauer Park in Bellevue. Then Rapid G to Madison Park.
Exactly! I would also note that the #47 serves an area with many senior and disabled residents.
I hope they adopt this. From where we live, this would improve connections on both John and Madison.
I’m a supporter of twinning the 10 and 12 up/down Pine AND for better access from the 11 to LINK, north and South. Yes, please to these changes.
They’re definitely going to regret not having the Madison RR go all the way to the lake later and in 8-10 years someone will have to OK an extension at great cost. Pretty shortsighted, like cutting the streetcar short of Volunteer. Why?!
It’s a bus line, an extension wouldn’t have to come at “great cost”, especially given most of the cost of the line we’re getting is for street revamps and water main upgrades.
The rich speak more much more loudly, drowning out reason.
I dont think there is any infrastructure needed for the Rapid G to go to MP, it would all be in mixed traffic with standard curbside stops, they’ve already chosen non-trolley buses for the line so no wire extension. They might just need to order more of these weird custom buses with doors on both sides.
Quick reminder that the City’s original plans for Rapidride G were to have it end at 23rd. Neighbors lobbied for it to continue down the hill, and hence can take some credit for getting to go as far as it does.
BTW it pretty much sticks to Madison. Can it be called Route M?
These proposals seem interesting. I will have to give them a little more thought, but overall not bad. The Madison BRT was never planned to go to Madison Park. There had been talk of water to water but never in this plan. The first plans proposed a route to 23rd and turning around. That was too short for the Feds to consider as a RR; so the City asked what is the absolutely shortest route that they might recognize, and MLK was negotiated as the turn around. It was also promised to be electrified (remember the 12 is) until the planners at the last minute realized that no one manufactures electirc trolleys that would fit the design. They were unwilling to change the design. So, no, it is not electrified. It certainly has been a journey. Also remember the #8 serves the western edge of SLU.
Its a shame they didnt design the route to use their existing standard fleet buses… all stop platforms for right-side doors. Now they need a special fleet of buses just for this single route because they designed a couple stops that require doors on the left-side of the bus. A huge chunk of the cost of this project was acquiring these custom buses.
The 47 should come back and, given its short length, be the one Capitol Hill line interlined with another route to the south of the city (like it used to be) to provide a one-seat ride. Used to be interlined with the 14? I know they stopped interlining the Capitol Hill route lines like 10 years ago because of traffic delays and unpredictable schedules but this might be one line worth revisiting for interlining.
The city says it is a lack of funding. If the new route of the 11 wee combined with the 47 it could work. The 11 goes up Capitol Hill, then downtown. On the return, the same bus and driver would be the 47. Eliminting the 47 is odd considering the city encourages density in the neighborhood while refusing to restore a transit option.
Giving up the 47 is awful. This is one of the most densely populated parts of the city, and it makes no sense to further isolate this corner from public transit. We moved to this apartment at Bellevue and Bellevue specifically because of the #47 bus line. It’s no easy walk to Olive to catch a bus downtown and walking straight up the steepest part of the Hill to Broadway is no picnic. Stupid, stupid decision.
I don’t understand the ultimate reasoning for killing the 47 when it served an area that is so dense with apartments, with more being built. Without it, journeys downtown pencil out to walking 50% of the way or more.
Keep the 10 connection to the Capitol Hill light rail station!
What if the 12 went west on Thomas and the 11 remained on Madison to Pine since that would be less change. This proposal makes for less bus service on Madison to compete with the BRT and distributes more to Thomas/John. Also it has less direct bus service from 23rd to Central College but offers direct service from 23rd to the Capitol Hill Link. And, John St. isn’t far from the college. The reduced service on 10, 12, and 11, along with the deletion of the 47 is a little disturbing,especially since the 10, 12 and 47 are trolleys. Our new RR is diesel. There are no great improvements over what already existed, but I know that SDOT and METRO are not going to give the BRT up now; so mainly I am thinking about how to minimize the damage to the network.
As a Madison Park resident, let me just say that the neighborhood is very relieved that the Rapid Ride doesn’t extend to the neighborhood.
You can blame and shame the rich all you want, but looking at the track record of Light Rail (operators now getting sick from fentanyl smokes from homeless who camp on the trains), can you blame them?
We need to treat public transit as holy as our universities. They are for the good of the public, not taxpayer funded drug dens.