Mayor Nickels Unveils New Plan for Easy Transit
Keeping Seattle moving with safe, reliable transit connections

SEATTLE- Mayor Nickels today unveiled his plan for creating transit hubs throughout Seattle that will provide easy transit service every 15 minutes, 18 hours a day, seven-days-a-week.

“Seattle is a city full of growing neighborhoods where people live, work and play,” said Nickels, “This plan will provide the service we need to accommodate growth, keep our neighborhoods livable and get Seattle moving.”

Working with the region’s transit providers, the plan creates a connected, reliable, frequent transit system out of existing and proposed Metro bus, light rail, streetcars and other transportation services in all parts of the city.

A more integrated, expanded transportation system is needed to support the additional 47,000 households and 84,000 new jobs expected by 2024. The plan presents a phased approach for connecting 41 urban villages. The first phase would add 15 minute service, 18 hours a day, seven-days-a-week to 24 major transportation corridors through street upgrades that keep transit out of congestion. With funding, as many as 53 corridors could be improved by 2030.

Specifically, Nickels’ plan will create reliable, frequent transit services that connect Seattle’s neighborhoods by:

• Improving streets that make bus travel times competitive with cars.
• Developing neighborhood service connections, or transit hubs, to offer seamless connections for pedestrians, bicycle riders and transit users.
• Identifying key corridors to prioritize transit and street investments
• Supporting light rail, streetcar and other transit construction through permitting and other resources
• Partnering with other agencies to identify new funding sources for the additional service (up to 40 percent more than today).
• Advancing the Center City strategy to create a livable downtown core.
• Promoting transit-oriented development to create transportation services where people live and work.
• Monitoring streets on key bus routes to ensure buses move easily.

“Today is the time to start planning for the future,” Nickels said. “We want people in North Seattle, Ballard and the University District to be able to choose transit over driving to reach the Center City, Southeast and West Seattle neighborhoods.”

The Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) will present the mayor’s plan at the City Council Transportation Committee on Tuesday, July 26.

Get the mayor’s inside view on initiatives to promote transportation, public safety, economic opportunity and healthy communities by signing up for The Nickels Newsletter at www.seattle.gov/mayor/newsletter_signup.htm.

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Office of the Mayor