A direct bus route makes perfect sense
Letters to the Editor
Thursday, May 27, 1999
FROM CAPITOL HILL TO EASTSIDE
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The P-I's article on the 520 bridge traffic bottleneck (May 20) didn't mention a simple, practical measure that will take hundreds of singly occupied vehicles off the 520 bridge each day. That measure is to run a direct bus from Capitol Hill, Seattle's most densely populated neighborhood, to Eastside office concentrations.
Metro's bus routes are designed with downtown as a hub where several routes converge. That made good sense for commuters following the traditional flow toward downtown offices. However, it makes no sense for the growing numbers who commute to the Eastside. There are thousands of Capitol Hill residents who would much rather face the horrendous 520 commute in a bus than in their cars, and have tried to do so, but given up because their commute times are nearly doubled by the inconvenient transfers at Montlake or downtown. For today's situation it makes sense to add bus routes that focus on the densely populated neighborhoods, instead of downtown.
Moreover, there is a way to implement this plan at almost no cost -- namely, to re-route some runs of the 263 bus, which runs from downtown to Overlake, (and similar routes) "over" Capitol Hill, instead of "around" it on the freeway. When compared with some of the "relatively simple" options listed in the article -- ferries, more bridge lanes, light rail -- this option is almost trivial to implement. Given the documented overwhelming demand from Capitol Hill residents, it's astonishing that Metro hasn't jumped on the opportunity, and instead spends resources trying to promote less desired alternatives such as van pools.
Anirudh Sahni
Seattle