Survey and virtual meetings this month

As Link expands to serve 12 new Eastside light rail stations in coming years, King County Metro and Sound Transit are seeking public feedback on conceptual bus changes to serve riders with faster and more frequent connections.

Current and future transit riders are invited to take an online survey through Oct. 25. (Editor’s note: The online survey was previously scheduled to run through Oct. 18, but was extended.) People interested in learning more and sharing their views can register to attend upcoming virtual open houses Sept. 18 and 29. Surveys and information in seven additional languages will be posted online later this week.

Conceptual bus changes span 19 cities and communities, and 44 bus routes. To help develop concepts, public input from across the region was reviewed and considered by a 27-member community Mobility Board composed of people who live, work and travel on the Eastside. Current and future riders asked Metro and Sound Transit to focus on several priorities when creating the new integrated transit network, including:

  • Creating more local connections
  • Making transfers
    • fast and easy for seniors and riders with disabilities,
    • frequent, safe and accessible,
    • minimized for long-distance travelers
  • Maintaining fast travel times
  • Providing more connections to locations like downtown Bellevue and Redmond, the Spring District, the Microsoft campus, Bellevue College, UW, Northgate and downtown Seattle.
  • Creating more service outside peak periods and on weekends.

Open House – Virtual community information sessions

Join Metro and Sound Transit for a discussion on the upcoming restructure of Metro and Sound Transit bus service on the Eastside as a result of the upcoming expansion of Link light rail. You will have an opportunity to preview potential route changes, talk with service planners, and provide feedback.

  • Information session 1: 10-11 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 18, 2021.
  • Information session 2: 6-7 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 29, 2021.

Register for one of these free virtual events at elc.participate.online. Both events will have Spanish translators and closed captioning/CART available. For questions, additional language translation, and/or accommodations please contact HaveASay@kingcounty.gov or leave a message at 206-263-9768. Once you register, you will be provided with the Zoom meeting link to join by computer, tablet, or smart phone and the conference call line to join by phone.

Community groups will support outreach efforts

Metro and Sound Transit are teaming up with 11 community-based organizations to support riders who want to understand and guide changes to the transit network. Those organizations are: Chinese Information and Service Center, Eastside Easy Riders (Hopelink Mobility), Eastside for All, Ethnic Chamber of Commerce Coalition, Friends of Youth, Indian American Community Coalition, Lighthouse for the Blind, Move Redmond, Muslim Association of Puget Sound, Snoqualmie Valley Mobility Coalition, Together Center, and Youth Eastside Services.

New Eastside light rail stations opening in 2023, 2024

By 2024, Sound Transit will open 12 new light rail stations connecting downtown Seattle and the Eastside. In 2023, East Link, or the 2 Line, will connect to the existing alignment, or 1 Line, at Seattle’s Chinatown/International District, and will expand to Judkins Park, across I-90 to Mercer Island and South Bellevue, and through downtown Bellevue to the Bel-Red area and the Redmond Technology Station. In 2024, the Downtown Redmond Link Extension will add two more light rail stations to the 2 Line serving the area near Marymoor Park in southeast Redmond, and the downtown Redmond residential and retail core.

Metro and Sound Transit have a proven track record of adapting and integrating past Link light rail expansions in Seattle with local and regional bus service. The updated mobility network in development through early 2022 will respond to changing mobility needs and improve mobility and access for historically underserved populations when it is implemented in coordination with Sound Transit’s 2 Line opening in 2023.

Which cities and neighborhoods are part of the expanding transit network? Bellevue, Bothell, Clyde Hill, Duvall, Hunts Point, Issaquah, Kenmore, Kirkland, Lake Forest Park, Medina, Mercer Island, Newcastle, Redmond, Renton, Sammamish, Seattle (Chinatown/International District, Central District, Mount Baker, and Rainier Valley), Shoreline, Woodinville and Yarrow Point.

What current routes are expected to be changed or improved? 8, 111, 114, 167, 200, 204, 208, 212, 214, 216, 217, 218, 219, 221, 224, 225, 226, 232, 237, 240, 241, 245, 246, 249, 250, 252, 257, 268, 269, 271, 311, 342, 541, 542, 544, 545, 550, 554, 555, 556, 630, RapidRide B Line, 930 and 931.

RELEVANT LINKS

Online survey, open house registration

Available later this week: