Downtown Circulation Study

See the Center City Circulation Report, December 2003 for more recent study and recommendations.

Downtown Circulation Advisory Group Recommendation
November 1998

Project Team

Jeff Bender, Project Manager, Downtown Circulation Study, Seattle Department of Transportation

Noelle Million, Assistant Transportation Planner, Seattle Department of Transportation

Judith Pearce, Graphics Designer, Executive Services Department

Funding for this project provided by the Federal Transit Administration

Helen Knoll, Regional Administrator

Introduction | Background | Recommendations |
Key Strategies | Footnotes | Appendix |
Maps

November 4, 1998

I am pleased to present the report of the Seattle Department of Transportation's Downtown Circulation Study Advisory Group. Our recommendations balance a diverse set of concerns and issues while providing the promise of a more efficient and useful transit network in Seattle's downtown.

The group determined almost immediately that the current downtown transit network is extremely difficult to understand and use. Our assessment is somewhat surprising given that downtown Seattle consumes over 30% of King County Metro Transit's total operating hours. Annually, more than $68 million is spent for operating expenses alone within our study area. This is equal to the cost of over half of all the transit service allocated to the entire City of Seattle.

We can create a better network and get more transit service for our tax dollars. Our recommendations will not only make transit work for people traveling around and transferring buses downtown, we believe that it will save money. Transit will be more attractive for the people who live, work, play and shop within downtown Seattle. Downtown bus traffic, which is expected to grow, will help improve downtown circulation instead of making it worse. Hopefully, suburban and local service hours will be freed up for reallocation to other parts of Seattle and King County once our recommendations are implemented.

Regardless of how good our recommendations are, or how much work went into them, we have not yet crossed the threshold of making a difference. Crafting wonderful plans with great promise is not enough. The Advisory Group specifically requests that our recommendations as a whole be incorporated into the King County Metro Six-Year Plan, the Seattle Transit Initiative, and the Sound Transit Central Corridor Plan for additional analysis and refinement.

We look forward to assisting these efforts in any way necessary.

Sincerely,

Tom Albro
Chairman, Downtown Circulation Advisory Group


Introduction

In summer 1997, the City of Seattle Department of Transportation initiated a Downtown Circulation Study to determine ways to improve transit, pedestrian, and bicycle circulation within downtown Seattle (study area is shown in MAP 1). To help develop its recommendations, SDOT convened the Downtown Circulation Advisory Group, representing downtown residents, employers, government agencies, and special interests to identify downtown circulation needs and advise SDOT on how it should address those needs (see APPENDIX).

Our group met on a monthly basis to develop recommendations for improving downtown circulation. During our initial meetings, the following major downtown circulation needs and issues were identified:

· Transit moves too slowly within the downtown area, especially during peak travel periods and special events.

· Service does not run often enough through any one corridor, especially during off-peak travel periods.

· Transit routing is too confusing to know where to wait for a bus.

· Better east-west transit service and pedestrian connections to help people travel steep downtown street grades.

· Lack of transit service to Coleman Ferry Dock Terminal and along the waterfront.

· More neighborhood circulator service.

· Inadequate transit security on buses and at transit stops, especially at night and during other off-peak hours.

· Better fare collection methods to optimize ridership, revenue, and operations.

· Better transit, bicycle, and pedestrian access between central downtown and surrounding regional destinations, such as the south downtown stadium area, Seattle Center and the downtown waterfront.

· Poor signage for directing people to/from transit transfer points and major regional passenger facilities, such as the downtown transit tunnel entrances and Coleman Ferry Dock Terminal.

· Better transit maps and schedules.

· Incomplete downtown bicycle network.

· Better taxi and limousine service.

Given the above needs list, we focused most of our attention on developing recommendations for improving downtown's transit system. Less time was spent on making pedestrian and bicycle circulation improvement recommendations.


Background

Downtown Seattle is the Puget Sound region's largest activity center. There were 12,193 people living in the Downtown Urban Center in 1990 and 165,199 working there in 1996. By the year 2014, the urban center's population is expected to increase to 39,142 (a 221 percent jump) and employment is expected to increase to 227,819 jobs (a 38 percent increase). (Footnote 1)

Some of this growth will be accommodated by 4 million square feet of office space and 1,600 dwelling units that are under construction or scheduled for construction and proposed development of 600,000 square feet of office space and 1,600 more dwelling units. (Footnote 2)

In addition to residents and employees, downtown Seattle is a major tourist destination. It currently has about 7,000 hotel rooms (averaging about a 78 percent occupancy rate) the Kingdome, and other cultural facilities, such as Seattle Center, Benaroya Symphony Hall, Seattle Aquarium. (Footnote 3) Over the next few years the Mariner's new ballpark and the Seahawk's new stadium will replace the Kingdome.

The Downtown Urban Center (bordered by Denny Way to the north, Interstate 5 and Rainier Avenue S. to the east, S. Royal Brougham to south and Elliott Bay to the west) is surrounded by three other major activity centers: Seattle Center Urban Center, First Hill/Capitol Hill Urban Center, and the Duwamish Manufacturing/Industrial Area. These areas are expected to grow by 8,252 residents and 15,000 jobs over the next sixteen years. (Footnote 4)

Downtown Seattle is also a major transportation hub. It is served by a public transportation system that includes 134 Metro Transit bus routes, a Waterfront Streetcar, six Pierce Transit Seattle Express bus routes, eleven Community Transit bus routes, Amtrak, Washington State Ferries, the Monorail, intercity transit (Greyhound and Trailways), taxicabs (645 licensed by the City and 197 licensed by King County), limousines, and jitneys. (Footnote 5) Figure 1 shows the annual downtown ridership of these major service providers. (Footnote 6)

Downtown Seattle will soon be served by Sound Transit's new regional transit system that includes light rail, commuter rail, and regional bus service. Light rail will operate in the downtown Seattle transit tunnel, connecting stations along Third Avenue at S. Jackson Street, James Street, University Street, Westlake Mall and possibly a station at or near Convention Place. It is expected to carry up to 100,000 daily passengers by the year 2006. Commuter rail will serve King Street Station and possibly a station north of downtown. By the year 2000, there could be up to 17,000 people per day passing through the King Street station once commuter rail starts operating. (Footnote 7)

As downtown Seattle grows, more people will be looking for attractive travel options to the automobile. In 1990, 63 percent of the people living within the Downtown Urban Center did not own a motor vehicle while 46 percent of downtown residents used transit to get to work and 33 percent of the people working in downtown Seattle came by transit. (Footnote 8)

The focus of our recommendations is to provide good downtown transit circulation. If the City is going to achieve the Comprehensive Plan's aggressive mode split goals, i.e. increasing transit's mode split from 16 percent in 1990 to 27 percent by 2010 (Footnote 9), it must make transit more attractive to downtown Seattle residents, workers, and visitors.


Recommendations

Last October we held a half-day workshop that produced four alternative downtown circulation concepts to address downtown circulation needs and issues. The first two concepts were based on a grid transit network for downtown, one assumed a limited budget and the other assumed an unlimited budget. The third and fourth concepts were based on a circulator transit service concept, again; one assumed a limited budget and the other assumed an unlimited budget.

Evaluation criteria were used to identify preferred circulation improvements from the alternative concepts. The following three criteria were selected as being the most important:

1. Simplicity, e.g. creating a basic grid or neighborhood circulator system,

2. Improving connections between important downtown Seattle destinations, i.e. "filling the gaps", and

3. Political and economic feasibility, i.e. cost-effectiveness and a good balance between downtown travel modes.

Using the above criteria, we were able to achieve consensus on a draft downtown circulation concept. It was presented to over 50 downtown Seattle area stakeholders, e.g., neighborhood planning groups, business improvement associations, local elected officials, and representatives from affected transportation agencies (see APPENDIX). Our final recommendations reflect the input we received from our extensive public outreach effort. They fall under six key strategies:


Key Strategies

Six Key Strategies for Improving Downtown Seattle Circulation

1. Simplify downtown transit circulation by consolidating local routes into key corridors and scheduling service to provide even headways between buses.

2. Improve transit speed and reliability, especially in key local transit corridors to maximize transit service efficiency and effectiveness.

3. Establish a downtown wayfinding system.

4. Increase transit customer safety, comfort, and convenience.

5. Provide and maintain pedestrian friendly streets, walkways, and, in some cases, alleyways.

6. Complete the downtown bicycle network in a way that minimizes conflict between bicyclists and pedestrians and bicyclists and transit.

Strategy 1:

Develop a simple transit network with high frequency service that improves connections between important downtown Seattle neighborhood destinations.

As previously mentioned, there are 134 Metro Transit, 6 Pierce Transit, and 11 Community Transit routes serving downtown Seattle. Metro's downtown transit service (Seattle and suburban routes) represents about 880,000 annual service hours, which costs about $68 million. This represents about 30 percent of the countywide annual service hour investment and a little over 50 percent of Seattle's annual service investment. (Footnote 10) With all of the buses operating downtown, it seems like people would be satisfied with downtown transit service. This is not the case.

People are unhappy with downtown transit service, or circulation, because the current system is not user-friendly for trips internal to downtown. It has a complicated structure that spreads transit service over many of downtown's north-south arterials and some of its east-west arterials. This provides downtown with service coverage but poor corridor service frequency, especially during the off-peak hours.

Many transit routes turn several times within the downtown area. This negatively impacts transit travel times and confuses riders who expect to be carried along the entire length of a corridor. It creates a downtown transit network that is so confusing that Metro does not map it. MAP 2 provides an example of what Metro's service might look like if it was mapped.

We recommend that downtown Seattle be provided a local transit network like the one shown in MAP 1. It improves connections between important destinations within the downtown area, e.g. Seattle Center-Central Downtown-South Downtown, Central Waterfront-Central Downtown-First Hill. It is affordable and cost-effective because it (except the circulator route) is mainly achieved through a restructure of Metro's existing routes, e.g. through routing and consolidation, and adding some trolley wire. More efficient routing combined with transit speed and reliability improvements (Strategy 2) could free up Metro's service resources for reinvestment elsewhere in Seattle and the rest of King County. Finally, the network is easy to map, which will make it easier for people to understand and use; this will attract new riders.

The primary function of the downtown circulator is to provide all-day, high frequency service along the central waterfront while improving connections between the downtown waterfront and surrounding neighborhoods. It provides the Denny Regrade with better east-west transit service and strengthens the Coleman Ferry Dock's connections between north, central, and south downtown. Circulator service will be in both directions except on Fourth Avenue (northbound) and Fifth Avenue (southbound) which are one-way streets.

The downtown circulator can be implemented faster and at less cost compared to other alternatives. To improve waterfront streetcar service frequency, passing tracks or a double track must be added. This will take time to construct and will require additional right-of-way. If the waterfront streetcar is extended to Seattle Center, an overpass will be needed to provide an acceptable grade for the streetcar to climb. This improvement will also take time and money to construct.

Tourists and visitors will find the downtown circulator, which runs near the Convention Center and many downtown hotels, easy to understand.

The downtown circulator route assumes that there will be adequate capacity on Fourth Avenue following closure of the downtown Seattle transit tunnel and operation of light rail. It will require a four-block section of Wall Street and a one-block section of Jackson Street to be converted from one-way to two-way operation.

The rest of the recommended network follows the existing trolley system and is designed to provide downtown Seattle good local transit coverage given its hilly topography, one-way street system, and numerous non-through streets. With Third Avenue and Pine Street as two of its corridors, the network will be well integrated with the downtown Seattle transit tunnel where light rail will be operating in the near future. The First Avenue Corridor will strengthen connections between South Downtown, the stadiums, Pike Place Market, and the Seattle Center/Lower Queen Anne neighborhoods while improving ferry riders' service connections to these areas and to neighborhoods even farther north and south of downtown. The Pike/Pine and Madison/Marion corridors will simplify the east-west route structure, providing the Pine Street area with better shuttle service and ferry passengers at the Coleman Ferry Dock with better service up downtown's steep street grades.

An important element of the recommended network is high service frequency in two directions. The local transit corridors shown in MAP 1 need to have five to seven minute service frequency during most of the day, seven days a week. High service frequency will make transit schedules unnecessary except during the late evening or very early morning hours.

Other recommendations for the downtown transit network:

· Suburban and intercounty transit service should continue to be focused on Second and Fourth Avenues.

· The downtown Seattle transit tunnel should operate until 11 p.m., seven days a week until closed for construction. Due to the speed and reliability offered by its exclusive right-of-way, Sound Transit or King County Metro should operate bus service in the tunnel following light rail construction, if joint operation is feasible.

· Evaluate Bell Street within the Denny Regrade as a station location for Elevated Transportation Company proposals affecting the Denny Regrade.

· Do not add a Denny Regrade station on the existing Monorail as recommended by the 1995 Downtown Land Use and Transportation Plan.

Strategy 2:

Improve transit speed and reliability, especially in key local transit corridors to maximize transit service efficiency and effectiveness.

If transit service is not fast and reliable, a simplified transit network with high service frequency will have a more difficult time attracting riders. Therefore, we recommend that the City support the following changes within the corridors shown in MAP 1:

a) Improve bus scheduling by maintaining even spacing between buses, i.e. discontinue "start time/quit time" scheduling practice.

b) Assess current downtown transit stop spacing and develop a downtown Seattle transit stop location policy and/or process to optimize stop locations.

c) Use low-floor buses to reduce time loading and unloading riders with wheelchairs and those that have difficulty using stairs.

d) Perform transit speed and reliability corridor analyses for all Local Transit Corridors. Preference will be for low-cost Transportation Systems Management (TSM) strategies that can be implemented within six years.

e) Determine transit speed and reliability impacts of proposed neighborhood traffic and parking management strategies.

f) Implement Metro Transit's Madison St. Corridor Analysis recommendations, such as, readjust signal timing at Boren and Madison, restrict on-street parking in both directions along Madison during both a.m. and p.m. peak periods, optimize signal timing along the length of the corridor, and expedite existing work orders with Seattle City Light, consistent with Seattle Transit Initiative and neighborhood planning recommendations.

g) Optimize traffic signal network by modifying the signal network to balance the needs of all its users: transit, automobile, pedestrians, and bicyclists. Consider signal timing, which maximizes person throughput.

Provide transit priority traffic signals within the corridors shown in MAP 1 as well as the above mentioned regional transit corridors.

h) Implement transit fare collection methods which decrease dwell times and speed service. Achieve regional fare coordination, perhaps through implementation of the "smart" card. Study the ridership, operations, and cost/revenue impacts of changing the ride free area, e.g. expansion or elimination.

i) Develop and implement coordinated special event management strategies that will keep special event automobile traffic from clogging downtown transit corridors by restricting access and maintaining transit priority. Provide special event park-and-ride service, e.g. Husky game day service, to major stadium and Seattle Center events.

Strategy 3:

Establish a downtown wayfinding system.

Downtown Seattle must have a wayfinding system. Many people traveling within the downtown area are unfamiliar with the transportation system and do not know the exact location of their destination. For this reason, it is extremely important that downtown Seattle have a downtown wayfinding system that includes the following features:

a) A cohesive system of directional signs, maps, and informational kiosks that inform pedestrians how to travel between major regional destinations, parks, historic sites, neighborhood attractions and key transit stop locations,

b) A color-coded and icon system to explain downtown transit circulation consistent with the recommended transit circulation concept.

c) A downtown walking map for downtown business sponsorship and distribution.

Strategy 4:

Improve customer safety, comfort, and convenience.

Downtown circulation will be improved if more people find transit to be a safe, comfortable and convenient alternative to the single occupant vehicle. The following recommendations will help the City, Metro, Sound Transit, and other public and private partners implement this strategy.

a) Improve downtown transit stops by providing and maintaining:

· transit shelters or awnings, benches, litter receptacles, lighting, signage, maps and schedule information at all downtown transit stop locations, if needed,

· safe and clean transit stops and transit vehicles, and

· a transit transfer point at Western and Marion, under the Alaskan Way Viaduct, to serve Colman Ferry Dock,

b) Support private vendor participation in the provision of transit shelters and kiosks consistent with City off-site sign regulations and neighborhood planning recommendations.

b) Continue to seek ways to simplify the downtown transit network by studying the feasibility/impacts of converting one-way downtown streets to two-way operation.

c) Improve rider information by providing neighborhood information maps at neighborhood transit shelters and inside transit vehicles. Provide a color-coding and icon system for downtown local transit network, coordinated with recommended downtown wayfinding system (see wayfinding recommendation).

d) Reduce transit noise and air pollution by supporting use of electric trolley buses or alternative fuel vehicles that reduce noise and air pollution, including greenhouse gas emissions.

e) Complement transit system with taxi, limousine, and jitney services:

· Provide high quality taxi service at an affordable fare while maintaining good downtown circulation and supporting economic development,

· Consider increasing the number of taxis; thereby, reducing the response time for service,

· Coordinate downtown transportation and land use planning efforts e.g. Neighborhood Planning, Seattle Transit Initiative, with the City's Taxicab Task Force effort to provide additional taxicab stands,

· Coordinate City and County taxi regulations with State limousine regulations.

· Work closely with the County to achieve similar City and County taxicab industry regulations,

· Include taxicab policies and map of existing taxi stand locations in the Appendix of the City's Comprehensive Plan or the City's Transportation Strategic Plan, and

· Study the impacts of requiring taxis to meet American with Disabilities Act (ADA) requirements.

Strategy 5:

Provide and maintain pedestrian friendly streets, walkways, and, in some cases, alley ways.

For many people, walking, or rolling by wheelchair, is the best way to travel around downtown Seattle. The following recommendations are intended to make walking and wheelchair use more attractive not only for short trips but for longer trips too.

a) Improve pedestrian connections between the downtown Seattle's waterfront and the surrounding neighborhoods:

· Expand capacity of Marion Street overpass. Possibly providing a "Y" configuration to connect both sides of Marion Street, at First Avenue, and

· Provide a covered escalator at Alaskan Way and Seneca Street.

b) Assess pedestrian level-of-service at all transit stop locations within downtown every two years, similiar to methods used for assessing vehicle level-of-service. Give pedestrian improvements high priority.

c) All downtown sidewalks should be expected to have high pedestrian activity and be wide enough to meet this demand.

d) Inventory downtown pedestrian needs such as, restrooms, phones, furniture, kiosks, trashcans, lighting, etc. Provide and maintain needed amenities.

e) Reassess and improve, if necessary, pedestrian and bicycle connections to future light rail stations.

f) Provide adequate pedestrian capacity at all downtown light rail and commuter rail station locations.

Strategy 6:

Complete the downtown bicycle network in a way that minimizes conflict between bicyclists and pedestrians and bicyclists and transit.

No actions are recommended for this strategy because the advisory group did not have time to develop them.


MAPS:

Map 1: Downtown Circulation Advisory Group - Recommended Downtown Circulation Concept:

PDF format *

Map 2: Downtown Circulation Study - Current Metro Transit Routes:

PDF format *

If you need printed copies of the maps, can contact Jeff Bender at (206) 684-8837 or Noelle Million at (206) 684-0800.

* To view PDF format documents, you need to download the Adobe Acrobat Reader.


Footnotes:

1  Seattle Comprehensive Plan (1994) and PSRC Urban Centers Baseline Report (1996)

2  Downtown Seattle Association

3  City of Seattle, Office of Intergovernmental Relations, May 1998, Quick Facts, and Urban Land Institute Market Profile, Seattle Metropolitan Area, 1997

4  Seattle Comprehensive Plan (1994) and PSRC Urban Centers Baseline Report (1996)

5  PSRC Urban Centers Baseline Report (1996)

6  King County Metro, Community Transit, Pierce Transit, Washington State Ferries, Amtrack, and Seattle Monorail

7  Seattle Intermodal Environmental Impact Statement

8  1990 U.S. Census

9  Seattle Comprehensive Plan (1994)

10  Based on Metro Transit Fall 1996 Annualized Service


Appendix

Downtown Circulation Advisory Group

Members

Tim King/Ray Deardorf
    Washington State Ferries

Kathy Rossi
    Metropolitan King County, Transportation Planning

Kate Joncas
    Downtown Seattle Association

Mark Hewitt
    Waterfront Busniess Improvement Association (BIA)

Tim Brakke
    Community Transit

David Natali
    Victoria Clipper

Michael Woodland
    Seattle Aquarium

Tom Gaylord
    Transit Rider

Eugene Wasserman
    Neighborhood Business Council

Shireen Deboo
    Pike/Pine Neighborhood

Margo Polley
    Seattle Center

Bob Hester
    Seattle Central Community College

Terry Aldrich
    Seattle Bicycle Advisory Board

Paul Dunn
    Landmarks Board, Resident

Jerry Arbes
    Seattle Pedestrian Advisory Board

Rod Keefe
    Kidder, Mathews

Maria Gonzalez
    Seattle Planning Commission

Donald Weissinger
    Ferry Rider

Tom Albro
    Seattle Monorail, Chair of the Advisory Group

Bea Kumasaka
    Downtown Urban Center Planning Group (DUCPG)

Caroline Geise
    DUCPG-Denny Regrade

Steve Elmer
    Port of Seattle

Renee Tanner
    DUCPG-Pioneer Square

Eric Tweit
    City of Seattle, Strategic Planning Office

Edgar Yang
    DUCPG-International District

Catherine Stanford
    DUCPG-Pike Place Market

Jack Whisner
    Metropolitan King County, Transit

Chuck Kirchner
    Public Facilities District

Mike Williams
    Regional Transit Authority

Jim Kelley
    First and Goal

Sherry Greaves
    Fred Hutchison/South Lake Union Business Association

Gil Cerise
    Pierce Transit

Marilee Amendola
    Seattle-King County Convention & Visitors Bureau

Philip Grega
    Denny Regrade Resident

Scott Species
    Denny Triangle


Community Outreach

Downtown Urban Center Planning Group

King County Metro Transit - Rick Walsh, General Manager

South Lake Union Planning Committee

King County Councilmember Phillips' Assistant

Denny Triangle Planning Committee

King County Metro Transit - Jim Jacobson

Pike Place Market Public Development Authority

Elevated Transportation Company

King County Conventions and Visitors Bureau

South Downtown Stakeholders Group

Queen Anne Neighborhood Planning Council

Manufacturing Industrial Council

King County Councilmember Chris Vance

King County Councilmember Jane Hague

First and Second Avenue BIA

King County Councilmember Dwight Pelz

Seattle City Council Transportation Committee

King County Councilmember Greg Nickels

First and Goal

King County Regional Transit Coordinator

Pike and Pine Task Force

King County Councilmember Louise Miller

Aubrey Davis, Washington State Transportation Commissioner

Chinatown/International District BIA

South Lake Union Planning Committee

King County Councilmember Cynthia Sullivan

Public Facilities District - Baseball Stadium

King County Councilmember Larry Gossett

Waterfront BIA

King County Councilmember Maggi Fimia

South Downtown Network Group

City of Seattle Design Commission

Capitol Hill Planning Committee

King County Metro Transit

Downtown Retail Core BIA

Denny Regrade Human Services Council

Sound Transit

King County Councilmember Rob McKenna

Seattle Center

Greater Seattle Chamber of Commerce Public Affairs Council

Pike/Pine Planning Committee

King County Council Staff

Denny Regrade Planning Committee

Seattle Transportation Choices Advocates

Puget Sound Regional Council - Ralph Cipriani

Federal Transit Administration - Helen Knoll

Pioneer Square Planning Committee

South Lake Union Business Association

Pioneer Square BIA

International District Special Review District