Metro is streamlining Route 7

In order to provide more reliable and efficient service, Metro is planning to reduce the number of stops made by Route 7 buses in the Rainier Valley, from a total of 107 stops to 76.

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• Why is this being done?
• Which stops are proposed for closure?
• The comment period ended July 31, 2009.
• What happens next

Why is this being done?

• To streamline Route 7 and shorten your ride
• To improve schedule reliability
• So that when Metro adds amenities like bus shelters, benches, and lighting at the remaining bus stops they are serving more people

Many stops along Route 7 are only one or two blocks apart, and the average distance between stops is around 800 feet. Metro prefers bus stops spaced about every quarter mile, or about every 1,320 feet. After the bus stop spacing project is completed, Route 7 stops would be three to four blocks apart, with an average distance of about 1,200 feet between them.

Rider Alert signs will be posted by June 22 at stops that are proposed for closure (see list of stops below). Bus riders whose stops are closed may have to walk farther to their new bus stops. However, in most cases the extra distance will be relatively short an average of one block, or about 500 feet.

Streamlining Route 7 service will also support several changes that Metro is planning to make to bus service in southeast Seattle in the summer and fall of 2009. The main factors driving these changes are the need to connect neighborhoods to Link light rail stations, to avoid duplication of service between Metro Transit bus service and Sound Transit's Link light rail service, and to improve bus service in southeast Seattle.

Rainier Valley residents support fewer bus stops

Results from a 2004 Metro Transit survey that went to 60,000 Rainier Valley residents indicated that most respondents support fewer bus stops and quicker bus trips in the Rainier Valley. When asked what they thought of changing the stop spacing from every one or two blocks to every three or four blocks, 93 percent said they liked that proposed change or could live with it.

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Which stops are proposed for closure?

Metro plans to close stops in two phases, with most closing on Sept. 19, 2009. Those stops indicated with (2010) in the table below will close during the Spring or Summer of 2010, after other planned bus stop and roadway improvements are completed by Metro and the Seattle Department of Transportation.

Northbound stops

Southbound stops

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How to comment

The comment period ended July 31, 2009.

What happens next

Metro staff members will review all comments, adjust the stop closure proposal if necessary, and present a final plan in August 2009. The final plan will be posted on this Web site in early September 2009. We appreciate your participation and interest in this project.

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