On March 6, I attended the Seattle Sounders opening match. After a disappointing 1-0 loss, 40,000 fans poured out of CenturyLink Field and filled the streets of Pioneer Square. For 20 minutes I waited for the route 26 or 512 to take me home to east Wallingford, but neither bus appeared.
Just as well.
Cars were at a standstill, my bus would’ve inched along Fourth Avenue to a gridlocked Third or I-5, stuck in Seattle’s worsening traffic. So I gave up on the bus, grabbed a Pronto! bike, rode to the U District, and walked the final mile home.
This Saturday, that familiar scene of being stranded by unreliable public transit stuck in gridlocked traffic will change. For the first time since the Seattle Municipal Street Railway stopped running in 1941, commuter rail is extending north of the ship canal in Seattle. And while the trains won’t exactly drop those of us in Wallingford at our front door, the University of Washington Link light rail station will greatly increase our commuting options to and from downtown, south Seattle, and SeaTac airport. For me, Saturday is Christmas morning plus a Seahawks Super Bowl Sunday…times 1000.
Apparently I’m not alone in celebrating. Sound Transit has a grand opening party scheduled in and around the new University of Washington station on Saturday. DJs, bands, parades, dancers, food trucks and more will be there from 9:00am to 5:30pm (full schedule here). Free rides on light rail will be begin at 10:00am and last all day. The current weather forecast calls for 60 degrees, with a chance of kittens.
In an effort to align transit serving the new University of Washington station, starting on March 26 Metro is making significant changes to dozens of bus routes, many of which serve Wallingford. Detailed routes and schedules can be found on the King County website, but here’s the CliffsNotes version:
Route 16 is going away.
Route 26 is now exclusively an express route, the 26X, meaning it will no longer stop in the heart of Fremont. If you want to get to Fremont on the 26X, you’ll need to get off at Bridge Way and walk down the newly landscaped path to N 36th St (beware of trolls). To the north, the 26X runs to the Northgate Transit Center.
Route 30 is going away.
Routes 31 and 32 will use Wallingford Ave (instead of Stone Way) between 35th and 40th, and will serve stops on Stevens Way, a 5 minute walk from the University of Washington light rail station.
Route 44 will remain the same, providing central Wallingford with its most direct access to and from the University of Washington light rail station.
Route 62 is a brand new route, kind of a hybrid of the old 16 and 26 with a Sand Point bonus. This bus will run every 10 to 15 minutes along Meridian, 45th, and Stone Way, through central Fremont and downtown Seattle. It’s a very long route, so expect it to always be late.
Route 63 (the Bezos Express) is a brand new route running during peak commuting hours. It will serve Wallingford at the northbound I-5 and 45th freeway station, after making limited stops on Pill Hill and in South Lake Union.
The 66X and 72 are going away.
The 71 and 73 will no longer go downtown, terminating at the University of Washington light rail station instead.
If you use public transit, these are big changes. I am wary of some of Metro’s decisions on bus route realignment, but I will keep an open mind for now. One thing is already clear: on Saturday the transportation landscape in Seattle will change forever. And most likely for the better.
I’ve taken my daughter to a couple sports games. One was a Women’s World Cup game in Vancouver, BC. Attendance was 54,027. It took us about 20 minutes to get home on the Sky Train. Another was a Seahawks game at Century Link. Attendance was 75,593. It took us an hour to get home, and only because we bribed someone to let us squeeze seven people in his car! In each case the journey was about two miles. So, I can’t wait for this light rail either!
Thanks for the write up!
One minor correction: route 63 will only stop at I-5 & N 45th going north; southbound, it will be taking the express lanes from N 65th to Mercer, skipping all stops in between. (I really do hope we get service down Roosevelt back after the construction work is completed).
Thanks for the info, Kristin. I’ve updated the post. Metro’s information was really confusing on that route.
I’m a little concerned about the losing the 71, 72 and 73. Those 3 buses picked up people on the Ave. Husky Stadium is nowhere close. What’s the fastest way from downtown to the U-District? I don’t consider Husky Stadium the U-District.
Also, they need to rename the University Street stop downtown. I’ve seen more than one out-of-towner confused.
Finally, does anyone know if there are bike racks at Husky Stadium? Do they look like a safe place where you could leave your bike for a few hours?
Just wait, we’re going to add another University to the confusion. People leaving from the U District will get their own station, the U District station 43rd & Brooklyn. It took some browsing around on the ulink2016 site to verify that the “University” station was not this one, as I had imagined, but rather down by the stadium.
I’m glad I don’t live out in the 71/2/3 service area, though – if you’re going downtown, the price goes up (again) and I guess you still get a transfer credit if you want to deal with their payment card, but paper transfers are no good.
There is a light rail station near the Ave and 45th. That is your best bet to get downtown from the U-District.
Leaving a bike at Husky Stadium: I don’t know but I’m sure there will be plenty spaces. I doubt it will be safe. I would never leave my bike locked up outside unless it was well-secured and valued at less than $100.
The light rail station, Brooklyn 45th and the Ave will not open till about 2021. So that’s a long 5 years for the businesses on the Ave.
I too am wary of losing the 71/72/73 to downtown. I guess in an effort to mitigate that loss, Metro is adding two routes of the 74 each day, but the 74 runs only during peak hours.
And according to Sound Transit’s website, there are bike racks at the University of Washington station. Most stations also have bike lockers, but I don’t know if those are coming.
Thank you for this info. I am terribly concerned that you said there would be a slight chance of kittens. What problem are you making on those sweet little creatures? JOKE. I have always appreciated your work. I saw a new article and sadly my mental process idled into.. ” how can anyone find fault with this one”?
This is so helpful! I can’t wait for the East/West ST3 light rail route from Ballard to U-District someday soon!
Hey, we agree on something! 🙂
Doug, much obliged! I’ve been reading about the bus line changes on the 26th, but your “in a nutshell” summary had info I didn’t know about, and is much appreciated. Particularly useful to anyone planning to taking transit to the Democratic Caucus on the 26th.
I, too, am optimistic about the changes. I have some errands this Saturday downtown, and have decided to take the 44 to the light rail station, and then try out the light rail to downtown.
Am *really* looking forward to the next light rail milestone in 2021. The north University district station will make getting from central Wallingford to the light rail very simple; plus, light rail connections to Northgate (and a couple of years later, to Redmond in 2023.)
I guess I am in the minority, but I’m going to really miss the 26. Right now it provides door-to-door service for folks along Wallingford Ave and N 35th St to South Lake Union and downtown locations. This area of Wallingford will switch to the 31/32 that will force a transfer either at Stone/35th or on Fremont Ave. to get downtown.
Agreed. The loss of the local #26 is a tough one for those of us in the south Wallingford area. I worry about bus capacity if we’re transferring at Fremont, but we’ll just have to see.
On a nice day, walking up to 40th for the 26X or over to Stone Way or even to Fremont to catch a downtown route doesn’t sound so bad. In inclement weather, though, I will definitely miss the faithful #26!
i will miss the 26 and the 16! For a while, I thought the 16 was not turning west on N.45th from Meridian, but I guess it still is happening. Seems that it will take the 16 longer to get downtown from W’Ford, but I am not sure of that.
While I look forward to the addition of the link since I commute to Rainier Valley I will now have to take 2 buses and a train if I choose to use it. One bus to the train and then when I get off, one bus to my destination. It remains to be seen if it will save me any time or aggravation.
I’m confused. The 26 has a stop right in front if my house on Thackeray so does this mean thos bus stop totally disappears?
I’m pretty sure that the new 26 will essentially follow the same route as the current 26X, except for the new portion that extends from Green Lake to Northgate (which basically mimics the current 16). So the stops on Thackeray will remain the same.
Thanks for this post Doug, very informative!
Apparently there’s no place to park at Husky, which is too bad. it would have been nice to park there and take it to SeaTac and save the expense and hassle of parking the car at the airport for a few days. I’m not sure how attractive an option it would be to schlep all our luggage on the bus from Wallingford to the station.
Seems to me the bus system is essentially for commuters. Any other user who’s just like a commuter is welcome to climb aboard, but it will take some kind of revolution before they sacrifice optimum sardine packing to accommodate people with stuff.
I would suggest you grab a $5 ride share down to the station but, they didn’t design any pick up or drop off locations. So that combined with the lack of parking and the cancellation of the neighborhood bus lines might give a more cynical person the impression that delivering convenient and efficient mass transit to the people that need it on a daily basis rather than fans that attend a few sporting events a year, may not be the primary objective. At least the structure is beautiful with some nice overhangs to provide cover for the homeless people sheltering there.
I had the impression the #62 will travel along 65th to and from Greenlake. How and Where does it travel from there ?
I believe it’s the old route to 40th and Stone, thence south to 35th Street where it will follow the old 26 to Fremont and then down Dexter to Bell to 3rd.