Seattle Streetcar and a RapidRide bus side-by-side. Photo: SDOT Summary:
- During Ride Transit Month, we’re celebrating public transit in Seattle. Transit will play a key role in our COVID-19 recovery.
- Thanks to your Levy to Move Seattle and Seattle Transportation Benefit District dollars, we’re making transit improvements across the city.
- Check out some of the transit projects that are underway!
It’s June, which means we’re celebrating Ride Transit Month! Public transit has always been an important and reliable way for people to move through the city and get where they need to go. Now, as travel patterns restart and resume, it’s time to get those ORCA cards out and jump on your favorite transit route.
During the pandemic, King County Metro, Sound Transit, Washington State Ferries, and other transit partners in the area made service adjustments to keep riders and operators safe. Though ridership was down as some people were able to work from home, our buses, light rails, trains, ferries, and street car remained reliable ways for frontline workers to travel to and from their jobs and get where they needed to go.
We ♥ our transit operators! Day in and day out, you wake up early, stay up late, and take us to all of our destinations. Your job is not easy. We know that, and we appreciate all of the hard work you have done during this unique time in history. See more of the reasons why we appreciate transit operators.
As more people return to the office and move around Seattle in coming months, transit will play a key role in the recovery. We’re working with employers to continue to promote transit as one of the best ways for their workers to return to the office. If you’re an employer, check out ORCA for Business to help your employees choose sustainable commuting options!
Thanks to your investment in the Seattle Transportation Benefit District and the Levy to Move Seattle, we’re working to improve transit routes across the city.
Our goal is to deliver an equitable transportation system that meets the needs of Black, Indigenous, and People of Color and those of all incomes, abilities, and ages. Public transit is central to this system because it provides an affordable and reliable way for people to get to school, work, and access other opportunities.
Here are some of our current projects that support access to transit. These projects are also making our streets safer for our most vulnerable travelers and are part of our efforts to reach our Vision Zero goal to end traffic deaths and serious injuries on city streets by 2030.
Click on the links below to learn about some of the projects that are underway!
This weekend, we’re lifting the final bridge segment of the new Northgate Pedestrian & Bicycle Bridge, on schedule to open by October 2. The bridge will provide a safe and easy connection between the future Northgate Link light rail station and North Seattle college for people walking, rolling, and biking. It will reunite two neighborhoods that have been divided by I-5 for nearly 60 years, and also connect with bike routes leading to Greenwood, Phinney Ridge, and Crown Hill via the Aurora Licton Springs Stay Healthy Street.
We’re getting ready for the opening of the U-District Light Rail station by improving access for people walking, rolling, and biking on NE 43rd St near the University of Washington. This long-awaited station and our multimodal design will transform how people get around the neighborhood!
King County Metro’s Route 40 helps thousands of people get around the city each day. Over the past few years, we’ve been working with Metro and the community to find ways to make this bus route more reliable, safe, and on-time.
We’re making bold steps on Rainier Ave S to improve safety, walkability, and keep buses moving! Last year we completed the new street layout from S Kenny St to S Henderson St on Rainier Ave S. The new street layout typically includes a parking lane (either on the west or east side of the street), one driving lane in each direction, center turn lane, and bus lanes.
Our work on 12th Ave S aims to reduce vehicular speed and reduce crashes that injure people walking, rolling, and biking. We’re also prioritizing access to transit and creating in-lane bus stops at 12th Ave S and S Weller St. Retaining the two bus stops was one of the community’s priorities as these are busy stops that serve people who need transit the most.
The Fairview Ave N Bridge replacement is scheduled to open this summer. The new bridge improves safety, supports future RapidRide J and protected bike lane investments, and connects people to thousands of jobs in South Lake Union.
New Sound Transit Link light rail stations are coming to NE 130th and NE 148th Streets! With your help, we’ve studied the areas and created a roadmap for future improvements to make it easier to walk, roll, bike or take transit.
We’ve been allocated almost $60 million from the Federal Transit Administration for the Madison Bus Rapid Transit – RapidRide G Line Project. This new RapidRide line will create a faster, more frequent, and safer public transportation line between 1st Ave downtown and Martin Luther King Jr Way in Madison Valley.
