University of Washington Station (at Husky Stadium) is scheduled to open in early 2016. This is welcome news to many in Ravenna and Northeast Seattle who are seeking better transportation options to Capitol Hill, Downtown, Sea-Tac and other places currently served by Central LINK. Transit time from the station to Downtown will be six (6!) minutes. In addition to being an effective peak-hour connection to downtown, University link will dramatically impact off-peak transit quality from the neighborhood to Capitol Hill and Downtown Seattle.
While the Burke Gilman Trail provides a good bike and pedestrian connection to the station from parts of Ravenna-Bryant, there is no current plan for a direct transit connection from RBCA-land to the station. MT Route 372, which runs along 25th Ave NE from Lake City to Campus Parkway via Stevens Way, is currently the closest to a direct connection, but it is about a quarter-mile walk from closest stop on Stevens Way to the station entrance. Despite the lack of currently planned or funded transit connections, County Executive Dow Constantine has signed an executive order intended to improve cooperation between King County Metro Transit and Sound Transit, and a plan for improved bus connections from Northeast Seattle to the UW Husky Stadium Station may be in the works. RBCA has sent the letter below to King County, King County Metro, Sound Transit, and the City of Seattle in support of this policy direction and potential planning effort.
October 5, 2013
Mr. Kevin Desmond, General Manager
King County Metro
201 S Jackson St, Room 415
Seattle, WA 98104-3856
Mr. Jeff Munnoch, DECM Community Outreach Director
Sound Transit
401 S. Jackson St.
Seattle, WA 98104
RE: Transit Connection to UW HUSKY STADIUM LINK Station from Northeast Seattle
Dear Mr. Desmond and Mr. Munnoch:
On behalf of the Ravenna-Bryant Community Association (RBCA), I would like to offer comments with respect to our desire to have a reliable, direct transit connection to the future University of Washington (Husky Stadium) LINK station from Northeast Seattle neighborhoods. This letter builds upon the content of our November 4, 2013 letter to you.
Recently, we were very encouraged to learn of County Executive Constantine’s executive order intended to improve cooperation between King County Metro and Sound Transit, and believe that our desire for an effective transit connection to the LINK station is in complete alignment with that policy direction.
Recognizing that Metro’s funding situation is in flux, we believe that a direct connection to the Husky Stadium LINK station could be made in a revenue-neutral manner. The 372 and the 74 bus routes would be the two most obvious existing bus lines to re-route to the station. Regardless of the exact strategy, the goal is to achieve frequent, direct, reliable route(s) from our neighborhood and others in Northeast Seattle to the station, with the most seamless connection possible given the limitations of the station design and peak-hour southbound congestion along Montlake Boulevard.
While there are many current transit riders in our neighborhood, we believe that the opening of Husky Stadium LINK Station will uncover massive latent demand for rapid transit if a direct, efficient connection to the stadium can be created. We would be happy to work with you on any stakeholder outreach that may be needed to support this effort.
Thank you for your consideration.
Sincerely,
Tony Provine
President
Ravenna-Bryant Community Association
Cc: Dow Constantine, King County Executive
Tom Rasmussen, Seattle City Council, Transportation Committee Chair
Rod Dembowski, King County Council, Transportation, Economy & Environment Committee Chair
Reagan Dunn, King County Council, Regional Transit Committee Chair
Marshall Foster, Seattle DPD, Planning Director
Scott Kubly, Seattle Department of Transportation Director
Victor Obeso, King County Metro, Service Development Manager
doesn’t the 68 go through this area as well? and the 65?
What would it take for the UW to allow a bus route run through the Husky stadium north parking lot, around the back of the stadium and right to the new station? As we all know, Mountlake Blvd is no place to run a bus during rush hour, nor does a peak hour bus from Ravenna/Bryant gain any efficiency by running down the Ave or 15th. I’m thinking the #68 route could be modified to enter the UW parking at Walla Walla Rd (just east of the driving range). The #65 may be able to make it into the parking lot via Mary Gates/ Clark Rd.