September 2012 is a long time away, but Metro is engaging the public regarding service changes which will coincide with the start of the Aurora and Ballard “Rapid Ride” bus lines. The relevant changes to our neighborhood are:
- The 18 will now longer serve Downtown to Ballard, but will instead run between Fremont, Ballard, Crown Hill, and Northgate.
- The 75 will terminate at Northgate Transit Center instead of heading to Ballard; service to Ballard to be replaced with the new 18.
- The 5 will not serve Northgate, as it does now on some trips.
- The 16 will not run around the mall in a loop on Northgate Way and 5th, but will instead go from N. Seattle Community College to Northgate Transit Center directly using 92nd and 1st.
Metro has the full information on its “Have a Say” web site, but I recommend the Seattle Transit Blog’s article.
You’re only mentioning the the cons, and not the pros of the plan. The 5 will run more frequently, the 18 will run every 15 minutes most of the day (which it doesn’t now), and will finally connect Ballard and Freemont, and the 16 will run more frequently.
I wasn’t criticizing the plan. I actually think the changes are really good.