30 Ave NE Paving & Bus Improvements
Updated March 4, 2025
What's Happening Now?
Project Overview
King County Metro is adding a new bus route to help people get to Sound Transit’s future Pinehurst Station (formerly the NE 130th St Infill Station). The new Route 77 will connect people in the Haller Lake, Pinehurst, Victory Heights, Olympic Hills, Jackson Park, and Lake City neighborhoods to the station and help them get around their neighborhoods.
To prepare for this new bus service, we are making improvements on 30th Ave NE between NE 125th St and Lake City Way NE. The following improvements will make it safer and easier for people to walk, bike, roll, and take the bus:
- Repaving the street to address poor pavement conditions and ensure it can support bus weights
- New sidewalk on the east side of 30th Ave NE with a planting strip and street trees
- New bus stops for westbound and eastbound buses near the intersection of 30th Ave NE and Lake City Way NE
- New ADA-accessible curb ramps
- Upgraded crossings for people walking and rolling at the intersections of NE 125th St and Lake City Way NE
- Drainage improvements
To support bus movements, we need to remove the existing street parking on the west side of the street. We will install new loading zones and parallel street parking on the east side of the street adjacent to the new sidewalk.
Project Design
Project Background
King County Metro (Metro) developed the future Route 77 as part of the Lynnwood Link Connections plan. Through 3 phases of community engagement, Metro identified the need for a new route that would serve Lake City Way NE and connect the heart of Lake City to Sound Transit’s future Pinehurst Station (formerly the NE 130th St Infill Station).
SDOT worked with Metro to evaluate 4 potential options to connect Route 77 between NE 125th St and Lake City Way NE. Our evaluation included a pavement quality review, assessment of available unimproved right of way space (shoulder) to install walking and rolling facilities, and a review of street types to ensure the proposed options could support bus routing.
The following options were reviewed by SDOT and Metro:
Option 1: This option uses NE 127th St and 30th Ave NE to make the connection between NE 125th St and Lake City Way NE. Westbound buses would turn left onto NE 127th St from Lake City Way NE then turn left onto 30th Ave NE before turning right onto westbound NE 125th St. Eastbound buses would follow the same route in reverse. This option was not selected because it would increase bus travel time and requires reconstructing a larger section of the street.
Option 2 (selected option): This option uses 30th Ave NE to make a direct connection between NE 125th St and Lake City Way NE. This option was chosen because it supports bus travel times with a more direct connection and requires less paving work. It also creates an opportunity to build a sidewalk on the east side of 30th Ave NE between NE 125th St and Lake City Way NE.
Option 3: This option makes a direct westbound connection between Lake City Way NE and NE 125th St. It was not selected because it would require a full redesign of the NE 125th St and Lake City Way NE intersection. To support westbound bus movements between Lake City Way NE and NE 125th St, we would need to remove sections of the existing planted median on Lake City Way to create a left turn lane. For eastbound buses, we would need to route buses onto 30th Ave NE because there is not enough room for buses to turn directly onto Lake City Way NE without a major redesign of the intersection.
Option 4: This option makes the same westbound connection to NE 125th St as Option 3 but uses the curbside lane and a transit-only left turn signal. Westbound buses would get a turn arrow to turn in front of northbound traffic. For eastbound buses, we would need to route buses onto 30th Ave NE because there is not enough room for buses to turn directly onto Lake City Way NE without a major redesign of the intersection. In addition to the issues noted for Option 3, this option also presented safety concerns for buses turning in front of northbound traffic.
Schedule
Design (in progress): We started outreach on our project design in late 2024 and will share project details, answer questions, and take feedback through mid-2025.
Construction: We expect to start construction in fall 2025 and finish by spring 2026. Before construction starts, we will work with the community to understand their needs during construction and share the construction schedule.
Funding
This project is funded by the Seattle Transit Measure and King County Metro.
Project Materials
We'll post project materials such as factsheets here when they are available.