Last month, the Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) released the draft preferred alternative for Madison Corridor Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) Study. Over 180 people attended an open house at the Seattle Central Library on November 16 to learn more about our recommended route and conceptual design. Partially funded by the Move Seattle levy passed in November, the project will provide fast, reliable transit service connecting Downtown, First Hill, Capitol Hill, the Central Area, and Madison Valley.
The draft preferred alternative is based on extensive planning and technical analysis, along with a public outreach process spanning more than a year. The preferred alternative balances technical feasibility and community input while maintaining cost-effectiveness and transit performance. For details on the draft preferred alternative, please see the Madison BRT Locally Preferred Alternative Summary document.
Below are some of the highlights of the draft preferred alternative:
- Project extent from downtown (1st Ave) to Madison Valley (Martin Luther King Jr. Way)
- Peak headways of 6 minutes on weekdays
- Transit signal priority to keep the bus moving through the corridor
- Mix of side-running, center-running, and mixed traffic segments
- Station and vehicle features, such as off-board payment and level boarding, to reduce dwell time at stations
- Intersection improvements for people who walk, bike and visit the Madison Corridor
What We’ve Heard
Public participation has been strong throughout the planning process. During our latest round of outreach in November, we received over a hundred comments on our draft preferred alternative on topics ranging from the extent of dedicated transit lanes, to support for a future extension to Madison Park, to safety concerns from people who bike and walk in the Madison Corridor. Details on project feedback can be found in the November 2015 Outreach Report. SDOT will continue to listen to the varied interests in the community as the project moves into design.
Next Steps
We would like to thank everyone for their input up to this point as we discuss tradeoffs and benefits. We will continue to gather input as early design begins. Our next steps are to finalize the preferred alternative and request City Council approval, followed by preliminary design and environmental assessment in early 2016. Please stay tuned for more information!
For more information about the project, and to provide feedback, head to: www.seattle.gov/transportation/madisonbrt.htm.
Contact email: madisonbrt@seattle.gov.