Route 7 - Transit-Plus Multimodal Corridor
Updated: October 7, 2020
Keeping buses moving and improving transit access on Rainier Ave S
What’s happening now?
- Due the significant revenue reductions related to COVID 19, the Route 7 Transit Plus project is proposing to cut $1 million from our approximately $9 million budget. This means we're focusing on the transit safety and access improvements and no longer have funding for sidewalk repair along Rainier Ave S. However, if additional funding becomes available, we may be able to add sidewalk repair back to our list of improvements.
- We had been studying adding a northbound bus lane on Rainier Ave S between College and Grand streets that would have removed the center turn lane from that section and added new traffic signals at College and Grand. After considering the impacts to neighborhood access and other parts of Rainier, we decided to allow for continued analysis of transit priority treatments in this section in collaboration with King County Metro.
Project Overview
We are coordinating with King County Metro to improve transit speed and reliability on Rainier Ave S. King County Metro is planning to upgrade Metro Route 7 to the RapidRide R Line in 2024. SDOT is making street improvements on Rainier by 2022 which could include the key features below.
SDOT Route 7 Transit-Plus key features
Building off the input we received last year in 2018 and 2019, our design team is approaching final design on project improvements based on cost, benefits, and feasibility. Key features include:
- Bus Improvements: Bus-only lanes to separate the bus from traffic (depending on the location, bus lanes may replace parking lanes or travel lanes)
- Walking and Biking Improvements: Improvements to crossings and connections to neighborhood greenways to help people access transit safely
- Signal Upgrades: Signals that prioritize transit with queue jumps that give buses a head start and "smart signals" that activate or extend green lights for buses
- Safety Improvements: Changes to address crashes and improve safety
Project Background
The Route 7 is one of the highest-ridership routes in Seattle, serving over 11,000 daily riders to a wide variety of destinations including schools, community centers, grocery stores, homes, and parks. And while Route 7 buses are scheduled to come every 10 minutes or better throughout most of the day, street conditions can cause delay.
The community around Route 7 and Rainier Ave S is growing, and many of the people who live along the corridor depend on the 7 to get to where they're going. A key goal is to keep what people already love about the 7, while also providing new and better connections to Link light rail and improved connections for people walking and biking.
Timeline changes
RapidRide Rainier was included in the 2015 Levy to Move Seattle and evaluated in the 2016 Transit Master Plan Update and the 2017 Metro Connects Long-Range Plan.
During early program planning, SDOT and King County Metro anticipated upgrading the Route 7 to the RapidRide R Line as soon as 2021. Based on an assessment of the Levy to Move Seattle and King County Metro’s proposed Capital Improvement Program (CIP), SDOT is making improvements to the street and signals to improve bus reliability and access by 2022.
See more on the RapidRide program update.
See more on the comprehensive assessment of the Levy to Move Seattle.
Other Projects along Rainier
Our project team is in close coordination with following projects:
- Rainier Improvements - Phase 2
- Accessible Mt Baker
- Safe Routes to School
- Sound Transit Judkins Park Station
- Metro RapidRide R Line
Timeline - All major projects on Rainier Ave S
| 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 |
|
Vision Zero safety and bus improvements between Kenny/ Henderson Study Route 7 Transit-Plus design concepts |
Vision Zero bus lanes between Kenny/Henderson STBD (Seattle Transportation Benefit District) transit spot improvements Finalize Route 7 Transit-Plus design concepts |
Route 7 Transit-Plus builds bus and safety improvements throughout Rainier Ave S | Sound Transit opens Judkins Park Light Rail station (planned) |
Accessible Mt Baker builds near term access improvements by 2024 |
|
Community Outreach
| When | What | Details |
|---|---|---|
| 2017 | Early planning outreach | Shared the initial RapidRide plans and timeline in partnership with other SE Seattle projects (included a mailer, open house, community conversations, and social media) |
| March 19-April 14, 2018 | Online open house | Online open house and survey to collect input on detailed concept options; Notifications included a mailer to 40,000 addresses, listserv emails, media, and emails and phone calls to community groups; Online and paper surveys translated into Spanish, Chinese, Vietnamese, Tagalog, Somali, Amharic, Khmer, Omoro, and Tigrinya. |
| March-April 2018 | In-person surveys |
|
| March-April 2018 | Stakeholder briefings |
|
| May 2019 | Stakeholder briefing | Seattle Transit Advisory Board |
| June 2019 | Stakeholder briefing | Move Seattle Levy Oversight Committee |
| July 2019 | In-person surveys | Conducted surveys with the businesses on and near Rainier Ave S between S Massachusetts St and S Bayview St to learn more about delivery and customer access to help inform potential bus lanes on Rainier. |
| Early 2020 | Metro Open houses | Participated in open houses in coordination with King County Metro RapidRide R Line |
We're always interested in meeting with community and neighborhood groups that want to learn more about the project and provide input. You can request a briefing by emailing 7TransitPlus@Seattle.gov or calling 206-900-8724.
.JPG "SE Seattle Open House")
Materials
October 2020
- Final design phase: Updated Route 7 Transit-Plus Improvements Map
March 2020
- Early design phase: Route 7 Transit-Plus Potential Improvements Map
November 2019
October 2019
- Planning phase: Route 7 Transit-Plus Potential Improvements Map
August 2019
May 2019
May 2018
- Public Health Assessment of the RapidRide Project
- University of Washington School of Public Health and College of Built Environments prepared a health assessment of the RapidRide Rainier Project. They examined five topics through a public health and equity lens: health and human services, mobility, infrastructure, community and development and environmental conditions. The report includes expected positive and negative health impacts of the project for each of the focus areas, along with their respective magnitudes of impact and distribution.
April 2018
March 2018
- Concept Maps*
March 2017
*Materials shared before summer 2018 reflect previous RapidRide Rainier Line timeline.
Funding
This project is funded by the 9-year Levy to Move Seattle, approved by voters in 2015. We are also partnering with other projects along Rainier to deliver pieces of the project sooner and more efficiently.
Translation
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