Issaquah transit riders curious, concerned about link to light rail

Published 1:12 pm Friday, August 15, 2014

The East Link extension is almost a decade from completion and neither Sound Transit or King County Metro yet know, specifically, how buses from the greater Eastside will connect to light rail stations in Bellevue or Mercer Island.

But dozens of bus riders converged on the Hilton Garden Inn on Monday to learn more about the plan so far — and give transit officials their druthers on every subject from travel times to bathroom availability. Attitudes ran the gamut from inquisitive, to apprehensive, to hostile — as was the case of one citizen upset about Sound Transit’s design of the Mt. Baker light rail station, where a road divides the station and bus stops. The layout created risk and inconvenience for bus riders crossing over to the station on foot, he said.

Central to the discussion is Sound Transit’s light rail system extension to the north, south and east of Seattle. The light rail extensions are a preparative response to expected population increases in the Greater Seattle Metro area — increases of an expected 1 million additional people to the region by 2040 — and resulting traffic congestion.

“Road congestion is going to increase with or without light rail,” Sound Transit spokesperson Geoff Patrick said. “It’s a matter of maximizing the number of people who are off the road and on transit to ease (congestion).”

Genna Nashem rides the bus from the Issaquah Highlands to Downtown Seattle and back every day. At the open house, she questioned transit representatives intently, particularly about King County bus connections to the South Bellevue and Mercer Island light rail stations.

Neither Sound Transit nor King County Metro have worked out particulars on which routes will connect to light rail and how. But they have some early ideas.

For example, King County Metro might “reinvest” more routes into the greater Eastside once the East Link extension starts bringing riders into Seattle in 2023, deputy project director Don Billen said.

Travel time into the city is expected to go down, even with transfer time between a bus and light rail. Sound Transit promoted a peak hours estimate of 24 minutes from Eastgate to Downtown Seattle, versus a current 30 minutes on a single bus.

But Nashem wasn’t sold on the faster time.

“I’m more concerned (after learning more),” she said. “For me getting on a bus and riding just that bus on a straight shot to Downtown Seattle is efficient.”

Bellevue College student and Issaquah resident Nefi Clark said she currently takes one-to-two, to two-to-three buses to travel to and from campus, depending on the hour.

She said she was highly concerned and curious about any issue that might affect bus access. She relies on it to go to school, or venture into Seattle for fun, and said she knows many other students and elderly rely on the bus.

“I don’t necessarily see myself being here and using the bus a decade from now,” she said. “But there will be other people like me, so why not think ahead for everybody else?”

County government relations officer Chris Arkills, who was at the open house representing Executive Dow Constantine, said he hoped all parties would be able to make the post-extension transit system so reliable riders wouldn’t have to think about it.

“In cities that have subway systems, the riders don’t stress about their transfers working,” he said. “New Yorkers don’t worry if they just miss a subway because they know another one’s coming in 10 minutes.”