(Image: Fix the L8!)
(Image: Fix the L8!)
A campaign to fix a key bus line connecting the Seattle Center, Lower Queen Anne, South Lake Union, the Central District, and beyond via Capitol Hill is raising awareness for its mission to improve the average on-time performance of the Route 8 bus. The campaign is focused specifically on the stretch of road spanning from 1st Ave to Fairview for the trip known as “Route L8” to many riders,
Nicholas Sattele, a volunteer with Central Seattle Greenways who is heading up the Fix the L8 campaign, pointed out that Denny Way is getting repaved next year without plans to add a bike or bus lane.
“Seattle pays higher transit taxes and in exchange, we get money to use for transit improvements,” Sattele said. “Route 8 is notably absent from that list.”
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(Image: SDOT)
The Fix the L8 campaign was launched by Central Seattle Greenways in partnership with the Transit Riders Union. Their goal: push city leaders to dedicate more space for bus lanes on Denny Way in South Lake Union.
“We’ve sent over 800 letters to each city council member and we haven’t really heard much back,” Sattele said.
A major complaint that Sattele pointed out amongst riders is that during rush hour, a bus route with an average of 5,600 daily boardings, can move as slow as three miles an hour.
“The average on-time performance for Route 8 in September was 60% on time, dropping to 46% during rush hour,” Sattele said. “That makes it the number one worst-performing route in Seattle.”
The goal for King County Metro is an average on-time performance of 80%.
“It’s really slow and unreliable which makes it impossible to get anywhere,” Sattele said. “It pushes people to not take the bus because the bus just doesn’t come.”
In 2007, Seattle passed the Complete Streets ordinance which instructs the Seattle Department of Transportation to create street designs that prioritize pedestrians, bicyclists, transit users, and individuals with diverse abilities, with a focus on ensuring safety for all road users.
“They’ve completed the checklist and evaluated what each type of road user needs,” Sattele said. “Now with Route 8, it seems they’re just going to repave the road and keep it the way it is.
Sattele pointed out that SDOT has not taken this approach with other repaving projects.
“Delridge Way in West Seattle was repaved and bus lanes were added, then on Green Lake Way in Green Lake the road was repaved and bike lanes were added,” Sattele said. “We’re getting repaved and they are adding nothing.”
Sattele and the “Fix the L8” campaign are asking for the addition of the red paint from 1st Ave to Fairview to ensure a smoother public transit ride for the thousands of passengers who consider the ride to be vital to their commute.
(Image: King County Metro)
King County Metro officials say that the delay on Route 8 was caused by traffic due to the return-to-office of major employers in the area but directed questions about plans for the bus lane to SDOT.
“We are aware of these delays and are engaged in ongoing conversations with Metro, trying to explore additional measures to enhance transit service reliability,” Mariam Ali, press secretary for SDOT said. “I don’t want to say we’re never going to do anything for Route 8 because we’re aware of the issue and we’re trying to figure it out.”
When asked if SDOT has any plans for bus lane additions to Denny Way during its repavement, Ali said that there is no plan but explained two alternative near-term projects on Denny Way that can help improve the reliability issues on the route.
The first is the Denny Way Paving Project which includes bus stop consolidation and relocation between Vine St and Dexter Ave. The second is the Denny Way ITS Project (Intelligent Transportation Systems), which will help improve multi-modal travel across the city and upgrade traffic signals.
The Fix Route L8 campaign advocates for “red-carpet” or “bus-only” lanes.
These bus lanes, according to SDOT, work to enhance transit travel times and increase their predictability, particularly during peak traffic periods, aiming to minimize delays caused by congestion.
“It’s not like we could just put in a bus lane,” Ali said. “We have to analyze the area, we have to talk to Metro — there are still ongoing conversations to try to figure out the best way to try to implement a bus lane.”
The city has been able to relatively quickly deploy these bus lanes in the past regarding situations calling for immediate action. In 2021 during the Montlake Bridge closures temporary bus lanes along NE Campus Parkway in the University District were installed within days of addressing the issue.
Ali suggested reaching out to the Seattle Transportation Plan process to advocate for changes regarding Route 8.
“With the STP we’re asking the community to help us shape the city transportation,” Ali said. “We want to hear from you and we want to hear from the constituents in the public to see how we can improve the future of transportation.”
STP is in phase two of drafting — public engagement. It is asking the city for feedback on STP’s vision, goals, and what actions the public wants it to take to improve the public transportation system.
For further action, Sattele recommends contacting the City Council either through a letter, email, or by calling council members directly.
“Let them know that you are concerned about this and angry — tell them about how it’s affecting your life,” Sattele said.
You can reach out and send a letter to the Seattle City Council through the Fix Route L8 campaign website.
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Stop consolidation without any other changes just makes the bud less convenient. It isn’t be slowed because it makes stops. It’s being slowed because of cars, with mostly just the driver occupying them, going to/from I-5.
Just close the Denny/Olive I-5 ramps. They are the real cause of delay, and the cause of so many traffic and safety problems throughout Downtown, Capitol Hill, and SLU. Just do a trial for a month, and see what happens. I’ll bet traffic would actually improve.
I can imagine that consolidating bus stops might help speed but times a little if it keeps buses from missing traffic lights. But it will make it less convenient to catch the bus, too, of course.
Too often Metro’s consolidations are made without any consideration of the topography of the Hill or the demographics of the riders. Walking an extra couple of blocks to a stop may only be an inconvenience for an able-bodied rider; for a senior or someone with disabilities, going an extra block or two uphill can be a challenge.
That is a very interesting idea. The problem is of course coming up Denny towards the Hill. I try and avoid this route (use the back way through SLU) because even at mid day there is a good chance 2-3 cycles in a row will be blocked by box boxers trying to get on i5. This is infuriating and it’s constant.
I would put a damn traffic cop there permanently if nothing else. You block the box, you pay the fine, and you don’t do it next time.
Classic 3P as my design teach used to say. There was a minuscule chance many years ago when Denny could have been widened. That’s gone and now the only real solution is to get it (bus or incredibly adaptive alternative) off the street through the choke either above or below ground, which will never happen partly due to such awkward terrain.
It is crazy-making how unreliable the number 8 has become, in both directions. And having those new arrival time displays somehow just makes it worse. Number 8 arriving in 5 minutes… in 3 minutes… in 2 minutes… in 12 minutes… Wait, what?
PR remarks from transit leadership like, “It’s not like we could just put in a bus lane,” is why after a lifetime in Seattle, most of it on the 8 route, I moved somewhere else that really runs reliable (& free) public transportation for everybody.
The way Denny Way is set up near i5 favors cars getting on the freeway and penalizes public transit users to do it. The bad state of pedestrian access between Queen Anne/SLU & Capitol Hill via Denny is probably worth another article in itself.
Just put in a bus lane on Denny, Seattle! This is not a new issue and should have been addressed when the Sonics playing at the Coliseum was still a thing. You’re running too L8 on this!
as one who is regularly stuck behind the 8 on MLK i would suggest that sometimes it’s late simply because it drives at closer to 20 than 25mph. rather than car traffic slowing it down, it slows down all traffic behind it.
Lol – your car-brained anecdote is noted. Persistently delayed buses in the traffic-clogged car sewer of Denny Way are definitely not due to the buses driving below the speed limit (otherwise known as legally and safely) on MLK.
Maybe try taking the bus on Denny rather than driving if you want to really know why it’s late.
Bring back the idea of the Gondala between Seattle Center and the Capitol Hill station. Then, have a new bus from the station that follows the 8’s route south. If the bus doesn’t need to get through the bottleneck at Denny things would be better. I know this won’t happen, just dreaming. :)
@Rob It may be just dreaming, but it’s always been a fun dream. Thanks for the reminder of that post!
The bulk of the ridership is SLU to CH and back, The 8 needs to be split into 2 routes – SLU to Capitol Hill and Capitol Hill to Mount Baker – with an overlap on Broadway. There are very few riders going from Mount Baker to Queen Ann via the 8.
The 8 needs to have 50% more buses (especially between 5:30-10am and 3-7pm).
And, whoever the fuck did the construction reroute on small streets through the neighborhoods needs to be shot. The reroute adds 5-15 minutes to the route depending on traffic.
Not to mention those small streets are not really meant for bus traffic.