Changes proposed for Metro may affect Fremont transit service. At the FNC Annual Meeting Monday night, FNC President Stephanie Pure talked about the “proposed route changes in Fremont.” She said:
In short, Metro is looking to align its service with the UW Sound Transit station coming online in March 2016. (That UW station means getting from the U-district to downtown in 6-8 minutes.) This means that there will be likely changes to the whole grid in NE Seattle, Capitol Hill, and the Eastside to best take advantage of this new asset.
During the month of March, Metro and Sound Transit sought feedback on two alternative concepts for how transit could be coordinated with light rail. (The comment period for those alternatives ended on March 31.) Alternative 1 included changes to service in Fremont, whereas Alternative 2 did not. Changes to Fremont service in Alternative 1 included the following:
- Route 16: Revised to connect Fremont, South Lake Union and Downtown Seattle via Dexter Avenue North (replacing service currently provided by Routes 26 and 28); service levels improved to match the combined level of service provided by Routes 26 and 28 today; northern portion of the route revised to provide a new east-west connection between Roosevelt and Sand Point via NE 65th Street.
- Routes 26 and 26X: Combined into a single pattern operating on Aurora Avenue North. Route extended to Northgate Transit Center.
- Routes 28 and 28X: Combined into a single pattern operating on North 39th Street and Aurora Avenue North.
- Routes 31 and 32: Routes revised to operate on Wallingford Avenue North (replacing service currently provided by Route 26; revised Route 16 would operate on Stone Way North)
The feedback [Metro] received in March will inform the development of a network proposal. [Metro] will be sharing and seeking feedback on the proposal in May. In the meantime, information about the two network alternatives [Metro] shared in March is still available on the project website: http://metro.kingcounty.gov/programs-projects/link-connections/ (You can look at routes in detail under the “alternatives” tab.)
A representative from Metro will be joining us for our May 18 meeting to go over this process further.
She emphasized that Alternative A makes a number of changes while Alternative B does not.
In other FNC action, all FNC’s officers were re-elected for 2015. Minutes of the meeting will be posted on this website after approval at the May 18 meeting.
The new alignment for the 16 bus would finally provide a bus linking N 45th in the center of Wallingford to N 34th in downtown Fremont. Been pushing for that for years! Click on route number at this link to see descriptions of changes and maps for specific routes.
http://metro.kingcounty.gov/programs-projects/link-connections/alternatives.html#explore
This seems to be a huge step backwards for service to “downtown Fremont” at the exact time when it is increasingly a transit destination. Is Metro trying to convert me back to driving a single occupancy car instead of taking transit to work?
With new “multi-use” apartments and condos springing up in Fremont and Ballard. This definitely seems like a step backwards. Dependency upon the 40 as the only local bus from Ballard through Fremont to Downtown seems ludicrous, especially since both areas have become holding tanks for the Amazombies and construction in SLU has become a major factor in delays.
Definitely a step backwards, given the fact that between 7:30 – 8:30 all routes (28/40/26) are packed, and on occasion, the drivers can’t pick up people north of Nickerson, due to the fact that people are jammed into the aisles.
What’s next, sit on someone’s lap or ride on the roof… we’re definitely heading toward 3rd world transport solutions.
I’m inclined to agree with these comments, updates to routes 16 and 40 notwithstanding. Moving routes that have long served central Fremont five blocks uphill to the northeast might seem like retention of Fremont service TO METRO, but those actually affected by the changes may beg to differ. It smacks of the “in order to serve you better, we’ll be serving you less” mentality.