Op-Ed: Neighbors Feel Loss of Deleted Route 20 Bus

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

King County Metro terminated the Route 20 bus on September 14th without providing replacement bus service to the south half of the route, through Licton Springs, Green Lake, and East Wallingford. This cut in bus service has adversely affected hundreds of students, workers without cars, seniors, and disabled individuals.

We became aware of the adverse impacts of this Route 20 termination when we conducted community outreach for six weeks starting in May. We put up posters with a QR code at bus stops along the south half of the Route 20 route. More than 1,300 Route 20 riders added their names, and over 900 added their personal stories about how this Route 20 service is essential.

Riders left with worse service

For example, many University of Washington students, staff and faculty must now walk over half a mile to access Route 44 or Route 45, raising safety concerns for those returning late at night. North Seattle College students, staff and faculty report facing a 90-minute daily journey to/from school; with Route 20, it was a 30-minute daily commute to/from the college.



Many disabled residents in Licton Springs, Green Lake, and East Wallingford are now without regular bus transit. Seniors at the Hearthstone or Willis House in South Green Lake or elsewhere along the route no longer have direct access to health care, shopping or libraries at Northgate, Green Lake, or the University District. Connecting to Link Light Rail is no longer possible for many unable to walk long distances, for many with luggage or grocery bags, and for many with children in tow.

https://www.theurbanist.org/2024/11/07/op-ed-neighbors-feel-loss-of-deleted-route-20-bus/

[LisaM]

1. I could have told you this. Every time they open a new ST station

they cut Metro routes. They expect women, the disabled, and the elderly to walk a half mile at night and wait at dark stations. It feels completely unsafe.

They just opened four new routes on ST. They cut one of the buses from Northgate to Shoreline (which also was one of the buses that goes to the local QFC) and mucked up the other stops around Northgate.

I took the light rail to Shoreline the other day and then transferred to another bus (7:00 pm, so dark). I had to wait at an almost unmarked bus bay with little signage, no seating, and no shelters at all. Luckily it wasn't raining, but it was extremely isolated and unpleasant.