A bus travels in the existing curb lane on 15th Ave W. When not restricted to buses only, the curb lane is used for parking and loading access. Photo credit: SDOT Editor’s Note (Jan. 24, 2023): The expanded bus-only hours took effect on Monday, January 23, 2023. Crews also updated signs along the street to note the change. Please read this blog post for additional details.
Summary:
- In collaboration with King County Metro, we are working to improve transit reliability and travel times on 15th Ave W and Elliott Ave W in the Interbay neighborhood.
- We’re evaluating expanding the operating hours of existing bus lanes between W Mercer Pl to W Armour St to 7 – 9 AM and 3 – 7 PM in both the northbound and southbound directions.
- We want to know more about your experience traveling on Elliott Ave W and 15th Ave W, your experience riding the bus, and what would make you want to ride the bus more in this area.
- We encourage you to take our survey now through November 13 to share your thoughts.
- This project is made possible thanks to 80 percent of Seattle voters who passed the Seattle Transit Measure (Proposition 1) in November 2020.
We’re working in partnership with King County Metro to improve transit reliability on 15th Ave W and Elliott Ave W. These streets provide frequent bus service for King County Metro routes 24, 32, 33, and the RapidRide D Line.
Today, the curb lane on Elliott Ave W and 15th Ave W in Interbay operates as a bus lane at certain times of the day. These times vary along different sections of the street. When the curb lane is not restricted to buses, it is used for parking and loading access. To help improve transit reliability and provide more consistency in how people can use the curb lane, we’re evaluating changing the bus-only hours to 7 – 9 AM and 3 – 7 PM in both the northbound and southbound directions.
Benefits:
Bus lanes help buses move more efficiently by separating them from other vehicles. Especially in heavy traffic, bus lanes can reduce travel times for people riding transit. They also help provide more consistent and reliable bus travel times.
It currently takes a vehicle just under 3 minutes to drive through this area in Interbay. It takes buses about 30 seconds to 1 minute longer to travel through the same area when the bus-only hours are not in effect. By extending the bus lane hours, people riding the bus should experience a 10 percent time savings during the morning and evening peak hours.
The change would also improve the transit network in the area to better serve people who rely on transit, both now and in the future. We expect the demand for reliable transit service to continue to increase with future growth and development in this area.
How to participate:
We want to hear what you think about the extended the bus lane hours, learn more about your experience traveling on 15th Ave W and Elliott Ave W, and hear how your experience taking the bus can be improved in this area. Please take our survey and share your experience riding the bus on Elliott and 15th avenues and how expanding the bus lanes hours may impact you.
If you live or work on Elliott Ave W or 15th Ave W, we also want to know how you use the curb lane before making this change. We have another survey specifically for residents and businesses in this area to tell us how you use the curb lane for parking and loading access.
Both surveys will be available through November 13.
Learn more about this project:
- Visit the 15th Ave W and Elliott Ave W Bus Lane project website, available in multiple languages
- Sign up to receive email updates about the project
- Email us: TransitLanes@seattle.gov
- Leave a voicemail in your preferred language and we will call you back: (206)257-2201
Thank you for your time and interest!