Construction is underway of roadway improvements at the north end of the RapidRide D Line that will enable the D Line to better access its existing terminal on NW 100th Place by way of Holman Road.
Since launching in September 2012, the D Line has traveled a temporary path at the north end of the route via NW 85th Street and Eighth Avenue NW. Construction on the new path will last several months, and riders will see buses shift to a new path in February 2014.
Ridership continues to grow, and the D Line carries more than 8,800 riders each weekday – up 16 percent from the 7,600 riders on the previous service.
Crews started this week with work on Seventh Avenue NW. During construction, riders might see bus stops on 8th Avenue NW, NW 100th Street and NW 100th Place temporarily relocated slightly. Notices for bus stop changes will be posted at the stops.
Key dates on the horizon for construction include:
- Saturday and Sunday, Oct. 5-6: Eighth Avenue NW will temporarily close to general purpose traffic at the NW 100th ST intersection between 7 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Buses will be guided through the construction zone.
- Monday, Oct. 14, through February 2014: Work planned on Seventh Avenue NW will close a lane on Holman Road NW on weekdays for a few weeks. As construction progresses in the area, crews will close various road segments and bus stops, but alternative routes and bus stops will be provided.
Through the course of the project, crews will be building:
1. A new left turn pocket on Holman Road NW at Seventh Avenue NW for northeast bound traffic.
2. Improvements on Seventh Avenue NW, which will be converted to one-way northbound travel, completely rebuilding the street as a concrete roadway. New curb and sidewalk will be constructed on the west side between Holman Road NW and NW 100th Street. Parking on the west side of Seventh Avenue NW will be prohibited; the east side of Seventh Avenue NW will have access for truck deliveries to adjacent businesses and parking at the back side of the Carkeek Plaza Shopping Center.
3. NW 100th Street between Seventh Avenue NW and NW 100th Place will be realigned and rebuilt with a concrete roadway, providing two-way access to the Carkeek Plaza Shopping Center. New curb and sidewalk on the south side of NW 100th Street will be added.
4. To better connect riders to the D line stop on NW 100th Place, pedestrian crossing improvements and roadway repairs will be made at the intersections of NW 100th Street, NW 100th Place, NW 100th Street and Eighth Avenue NW. The existing northbound slip lane that connects Eighth Avenue NW and NW 100th Place will be removed and all traffic will use the 4-way stop at the Eighth Avenue NW and NW 100th Street intersection. New sidewalk will be built on the south side of NW 100th Street.
5. Curb improvements will be made at the intersection of NW 100th Street and NW 100th Place to enable the westbound to northbound right-turn movement of Metro buses; the reconfiguration of this intersection will greatly reduce the crossing distance for pedestrians.
I could never understand why this route doesn’t go to Greenwood avenue and connect with Route 5.
Or better yet go over 85th to Greenwood ave and then to QFC.
As a frequent pedestrian and bus rider in the area, I am looking forward to the disappearance of the “slip lane” and regularization of the 8th and 100th intersection. There is presently no safe way to cross from Crown Hill to the shopping center or to the Southbound D stop.
This is an exciting development for our area, given that our regular northbound service on the 28 has also been destroyed by the inability to implement the D route plan. The high speed morning commute traffic on 7th Avenue south of Holman has been reduced by the construction, and we hope that you will be prohibiting left turns from the southwest bound Holman traffic onto the residential part of 7th as part of your effort to ensure a safe pocket for the D busses. We also hope that you are considering the effect on 7th and NW 95th if the “slip” lane for afternoon commuters (from 8th to 100th) is eliminated.
How much would it cost to extend the D Line to Northgate, in place of the 40?
Aleks –
Thank you for your interest in Metro’s RapidRide system. As Metro began implementing the RapidRide as defined by the Transit Now initiative, we held a two-stage public process: first, to define the alignments of the C and D lines; and second, the network of routes around them. During this process, the public helped refine the current C and D lines. Additionally, the available service funding and RapidRide branded buses limited this discussion to an interlined operation (single bus running from the C Line terminal to the D Line terminal) connecting West Seattle (C Line) with Ballard (D Line) via downtown Seattle and Uptown.
During the planning process, we looked at the routes serving Ballard, Greenwood, and Northgate. At that time the routes serving this connection were the 5 and 75. It was determined to revise routes 5 and 75 and create a new Route 40 which provides complementary service to the D Line, connecting downtown and the Northgate Transit Center via South Lake Union, Fremont, Ballard, and North Seattle Community College.
The RapidRide capital program is partially grant funded and the available resources for facilities and buses would not be enough to serve Northgate.