Route 44 - Transit-Plus Multimodal Corridor

Updated: September 25, 2023

Improving transit reliability, access, and safety

Project overview

In partnership with King County Metro, we improved transit reliability, reduced transit travel times, and enhanced pedestrian safety and access along the Route 44 corridor. In 2019 we worked to identify the improvement projects that ultimately moved forward into design. We began by studying a variety of possible improvements, and we held neighborhood drop-in sessions in fall 2019 to better understand community priorities along the corridor. We also received more than 800 responses to our community survey. (See our Fall 2019 Outreach Summary for more information.) In September 2020, we conducted a survey and hosted an online presentation to get feedback on the design of these improvement concepts at the 30% design milestone. (See our 30% Design Outreach Report for more information.) In 2022 we began construction throughout the project area. Construction has concluded as of September 2023. 

Improvements made as part of the Transit-Plus Multimodal Corridor project will include:

• Dedicated bus lanes: Business Access and Transit (BAT) lanes that separate buses from traffic and improve transit travel times and reliability while maintaining access to businesses
• Signal upgrades or optimization: Transit signal priority extends or activates green lights to reduce waiting times for buses at signals 
• Channelization changes or turn restrictions:Changes to roadway channelization and limiting certain turns that can allow buses to move faster, avoid conflicts, and improve safety
• Safety improvements: Improvements to crossings and transit connections to help people get to bus stops more easily and safely
• Sidewalk upgrades: Repaved sidewalks and upgraded ADA-accessible curb ramps in key locations

Route 44 background

Route 44 is one of the highest-ridership routes in Seattle, serving over 9,300 daily weekday riders. It is a 10.7 mile east-west trolley route in North Seattle that serves the Ballard, Fremont, Wallingford, and University District neighborhoods, including the University of Washington and University of Washington Medical Center. It also provides important connections to several current and future major north-south transit routes. Over 35,000 people live within a quarter mile of the corridor and over 32,000 people work within a quarter mile of the corridor.

While Route 44 is scheduled to arrive every 10 minutes or better, buses on this route can be slow and unreliable. This project has identified and implemented improvements that have provided faster, more reliable transit service for Route 44.

Key transit connections

Route 44 connects with two RapidRide routes: the E Line at Aurora Ave/SR 99 and N 46th St and the D Line at 15th Ave NW and NW Market St. These RapidRide routes are the top 2 King County Metro routes by ridership. Additionally, Route 44 connects to the current terminus of the Sound Transit's University of Washington Station serving Link light rail. Now that the Link light rail extension is completed, Route 44 also connects with the U District Station. 

See more on the RapidRide program update.

See more on the comprehensive assessment of the Levy to Move Seattle.

Project map

Sidewalk work 

As a part of this project, we repaired more than 3,970 linear feet of sidewalk near bus stops and upgraded more than 78 curb ramps to meet current ADA standards to improve access and mobility along the transit corridor. The sections of the corridor where we made these sidewalk upgrades are shown on the map above.

Project materials

To view a PDF of project-related materials, please click on the links provided below. 

Project Completion

• Project Video (September 2023)
• Project Report (September 2023)

Construction Phase

• Construction flyer (June 2022)
• Project Map (June 2022)

Design Phase

• 100% design (July 2021)
• Early implementation flyer (July 2021)
• 60% concept designs (April 2021)
  • U District segment
  • Phinney/Wallingford segment
  • Ballard segment
• 30% design outreach report (October 2020)
• Prerecorded presentation on 30% concept designs (September 2020)
• Prerecorded presentation transcript in English and Chinese 
• 30% concept designs (June 2020)

 Planning Phase

• Drop-in Summary (December 2019)
• Drop-in session display boards (November 2019)
• Level 1 draft concepts (November 2019)
• Project fact sheet (November 2019)
• Route 44 Speed and Reliability Needs Report (November 2019)

Funding

This project is being funded by a combination of Local and State funds.  The source of the local funding is  the 9-year Levy to Move Seattle, approved by voters in 2015, and the source of the state funding is a Washington State Regional Mobility Grant.

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