Metro 'crowns' Aurora bus stops
Artwork caps off multi-year, inter-agency project to
improve bus service on corridor
King County Metro Transit is giving an eight-mile stretch of Aurora Avenue North a new look this week, as transit crews install “crowns” on 17 bus shelters between North 46th Street in Seattle and North 192nd Street in Shoreline.
The crowns are actually blue metal sculptures designed by local artist Steve Gardner. The crowns cap off a bus shelter enhancement program along Aurora that complements significant improvements in bus service along the corridor.
Metro has been working with the cities of Seattle and Shoreline to improve transit service along Aurora for the past several years. Projects include: signal priority for buses at congested intersections; removal of on-street parking in some locations to speed up bus travel; more frequent bus service; and better bus shelters with improved locations, lighting inside the shelters, benches, and the new crowns. Additional crowns will be installed in 2005, as other bus zone improvement projects are completed along the corridor.
”Metro collaborated with the city of Seattle, the city of Shoreline and artist Steve Gardner to come up with a low-tech, low-cost design that give the bus stops an integrated look along the Aurora corridor,” said Metro General Manager Kevin Desmond. “The ‘water, mountain, nature’ theme of the artwork speaks to the idea that taking the bus is an environmentally friendly way to travel and as natural as rainwater in the Northwest. It is also a fitting way to ‘crown’ all our hard work to improve this transit corridor.”
One of the first steps that made the Aurora corridor more transit friendly was the installation of Transit Signal Priority (TSP) technology at 19 intersections, a project that was completed in 2002. TSP allows specially equipped buses to communicate with an approaching traffic signal and ask it to provide additional green light time for the bus.
Then in 2003, the Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) [external link] and Metro worked closely with businesses and the surrounding neighborhoods to address congestion between North 85th and North 105th streets. Parking was restricted for approximately 10 blocks to help ease congestion, resulting in better transit and traffic flow and access to businesses. A southbound Business Access and Transit (BAT) lane was installed to provide a dedicated travel lane during the morning commute for buses from North 50th Street to North 40th Street. Seattle also has plans to redevelop its section of Aurora between North 110th and North 145th streets. The city has selected a consultant to initiate the design and environmental phase of the project.
In September 2003, Metro significantly increased service on Route 358, which supplies most of the transit service on Aurora Avenue North. The route now runs, at minimum, every 15 minutes in both directions Monday through Saturday, and every 20 minutes on Sundays. The schedule improvements attracted 1,000 additional daily riders in the first year they were implemented.
Shoreline is currently working on plans to redevelop its section of Aurora. Phase 1 [external link] is the section between North 145th and North 165th streets. Construction will begin in 2005, and include: new curb, gutter and sidewalk on both sides of the street; new stormwater drainage system; transit right-turn-only curb lanes in both directions; new signals and related communication systems; upgraded bus stops; improved street lighting; and new access management measures to improve safety.
Overall, the busiest sections of Aurora Avenue North carry more than 40,000 cars and 7,200 bus riders daily. The city of Seattle has estimated that Aurora will experience a 35 percent increase in traffic over the next 15 years. Plus, the Route 358 is among Metro’s top five transit routes in all of King County, with more than 2.5 million passenger trips per year. Ridership on the 358 has increased 20 percent in the past several years.
|
