Tag Archives: route 8

RIP L8: City completes $4M project to unclog Route 8’s path to Capitol Hill

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(Image: Seattle Department of Transportation)

There is red paint in place to help speed up Route 8.

The final phase of the Denny Way Bus Reliability Project is now complete. Mayor Katie Wilson says the upgrades will create “irresistibly good bus service” on the route.

The second phase of transit improvements on Denny Way between 5th Ave and Stewart wrapped up over the weekend as crews installed red paint for the new eastbound Bus Only lane. Crews also installed a new westbound bus stop between Minor and Stewart and completed signal work to restrict the left turn from eastbound Denny Way onto Dexter Avenue N.

The work follows Seattle Department of Transportation changes around Denny Way earlier this month that redirected traffic with new markings and signs directing drivers headed to I-5 south from eastbound Denny to turn onto Boren instead of the previous route on Yale Ave. Continue reading →

At 12th and Union, Councilmember Rinck and advocates announce ‘Better Bus Lanes’ campaign to speed up the 8 and push for better transit routes in the city

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Rinck in a video celebrating the SDOT reversal of its reversal on E Union earlier this month.

The city’s reversal on a plan to remove a red paint bus lane from a few-block stretch of Capitol Hill has become a movement.

Wednesday, Seattle City Councilmember Alexis Mercedes Rinck was on her home neighborhood turf near the busy triple intersection of 12th, Union, and Madison to announce a “coalition-backed initiative” she says will push for improving — and, apparently, preserving — bus lanes throughout the city.

“For too long our city has missed the moment to ensure frequent and reliable bus service on some of our most used bus corridors. Now is the time to fix these longstanding issues head on,” Rinck said in the announcement. “I’m proud to stand with transportation advocates to find a new way forward for Seattle’s bus riders.”

The citywide council member was joined by representatives from Transportation Choices Coalition, Amalgamated Transit Union 587, Transit Riders Union, Aurora Reimagined Coalition, Fix the L8, and Central Seattle Greenways at a stop for the Metro Route 2 bus as traffic roared nearby the busy Capitol Hill intersection along the RapidRide G corridor.

CHS reported here earlier this month as the Seattle Department of Transportation said crews were in the process of reversing a small stretch of E Union changes made under the RapidRide G project, including removing the red-paint bus lane through the area where poor design had left Metro needing to detour the block. After advocates spoke out against the whipsaw decision, SDOT announced it was reversing the reversal and would be installing a pedestrian signal that would make the stretch of E Union safe for Metro’s Route 2 to return to the block. Continue reading →

Can they ever really fix the 8?

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By Matt Dowell

Jamie Guerriero loves and hates the 8.

“I live down in Lower Queen Anne, half a block away from the last stop,” he said about the often maligned bus route that links Seattle Center with Capitol Hill. “It’s so essential to get back up to the Hill.”

He takes the 8 up Denny two to three times per week to visit Capitol Hill friends and the farmer’s market and says the bus is either 5 minutes early or 15 minutes late all the time. And to take it during rush hour is hellish.

“For a 4:30 happy hour, I have to leave by 3:30,” he said.

Guerriero is car-less and is a big fan of the transit system in general. But the 8 has underperformed for the 13 years he’s lived in Seattle.

“It’s such a major route, but I get the feeling the Metro just doesn’t care about it.”

In fact, throughout Guerriero’s 13 years in town, King County Metro and SDOT have been working to improve the 8’s reliability. But it’s still falling short. Can it ever really be fixed?

This year, the Transit Riders Union and Central Seattle Greenways have renewed their “Fix the L8” campaign to get SDOT and Metro to address the issue.

“We’re on track for the least reliable summer we’ve ever had,” said Nick Sattele, a campaign organizer. Continue reading →