I haven’t taken a look at the exact stops yet but I wanted to add a couple quick comments on how this has gone in the past. Metro is going through this process to improve reliability and save money. They are facing major budget issues and the alternative is cutting out routes entirely in some cases. They’ve also done this successfully (depending on your point of view, of course) on other routes in the past and they’ve been very responsive to feedback. I know they made changes to their plans for other north-end routes based on the feedback they received. In some cases they changed which stops were being cut and in others they just cut less stops I think.
That being said, this will involve a lot of stops through the Pinehurst neighborhood. So please take a look at the proposed changes and submit your comments.
Metro is planning to close some bus stops for Routes 41 and 73 beginning April 30
Metro is planning to reduce the number of closely spaced bus stops on the Route 41 and 73 corridors, affecting some stops that also serve routes 48, 242, 243, 71, 72, 73, 77, 79, 83, 347, 348, and 373. The changes will help buses move faster and operate on a more reliable schedule, reduce energy consumption and emissions, and reduce Metro’s operating and maintenance costs.
Route 41 has 43 bus stops north of Northgate Transit Center. Metro plans to remove 12 of these stops, increasing the spacing between stops from about 785 feet to about 1,110 feet.
Route 73 has 85 bus stops north of NE 50th Street, and the plan will remove 33 to increase the average spacing between stops from about 715 feet to 1,180 feet. This total includes 14 of the bus stops on 15th Avenue NE that were closed in February 2010 and are not planned to reopen.
As a result of the changes, about 16 percent of Route 41 riders who board north of Northgate Transit Center and Route 73 riders who board north of NE 50th Street will have to catch their bus at a different stop. When the project is completed, all riders should have a faster, more reliable trip.
To learn more, view an interactive map of the stops, or submit comments, visit http://metro.kingcounty.gov/up/sc/plans/2011/41_73/index.html
Interactive Map (Click the link above for it to actually be interactive):
