White Center Now: The blog about White Center

Last night at the White Center-South Delridge Community Safety Coalition meeting, an attendee mentioned getting a letter from Metro regarding the potential end of a program in which trash cans are provided for bus stops if someone promises to keep them empty and maintained. We checked today with Metro’s Linda Thielke to see what’s going on, and she explains:

You know the usual holiday drill – schools, most government facilities, banks closed, etc. — but in case you need to take public transit, we also wanted to let you know: Metro is running its Sunday schedule today.

First – Metro says everything’s back to normal, after the morning show and associated troubles. The news release is posted on our partner site West Seattle Blog. Second — reminder that tonight’s the night County Prosecuting Attorney Dan Satterberg guests at the White Center/South Delridge Community Safety Coalition meeting, 6 pm, St. James Place (original White Center Now report here).

A reminder from Metro:

King County Metro Transit is reminding customers that bus fares for adults will
increase by 25 cents starting Sunday, Feb 1.

A two-zone trip taken during peak-commute times will cost $2.50, a one-zone trip
$2.00, and the off-peak fare will be $1.75. New monthly passes also reflect the
increase. Youth and senior/disabled fares will not change.

This fare increase is one of several measures being undertaken by Metro to help
maintain its existing system. A weak economy, record fuel prices in mid-2008 and
falling sales tax revenues have resulted in a significant budget shortfall for the
agency. These factors have also forced Metro to cut costs.

(54 bus in trouble earlier in West Seattle)
Metro has posted its first route changes here. Among them – 21 is not operating south of Roxbury right now.

Sunday’s one last day of winter break for kids in the Highline and Seattle school districts – after a longer-than-expected vacation because of the snow. School resumes in both districts on Monday (and by the way, Metro bus service is supposed to be back to normal that day, too).

Today’s the last weekday before things start revving back up to normal on Monday – and there are two things to keep in mind today: Metro is on the “partial holiday” schedule one last day (changes listed here) and most county offices/facilities are closed because of the “furlough” day (changes listed here).

And it’s not because of the weather. Monday-Wednesday and Friday, Metro will run “partial holiday” reduced service; here’s the list of routes affected by this. (On Thursday, New Year’s Day, the Sunday schedule will be in effect.) You can find more Metro info online at metro.kingcounty.gov.

(Photo courtesy Jerry, taken at 14th SW and SW 116th)

KING COUNTY: Closures and changes updated here

METRO BUSES: Here’s today’s outlook

Here’s the official overview.

5:54 AM: The route status page was updated just a few minutes ago.

6:33 AM: The King County closures list is updated – parks and pools including Steve Cox Park and Evergreen Pool remain closed.

(photo courtesy Alison – tend to your downspouts and storm drains when you can; eventually this will all melt)
Road/bus stories to share? Please add them in comments. Meantime, as of 4 am, Metro resumed updating its list of routes that are “suspended” and/or rerouted; see that (long) list here. Also, here’s the list of county road closures. Also note, Sound Transit has suspended 560 service between Burien and West Seattle; service alerts here.

9:41 AM UPDATE: If you have business to do in Burien, city hall is open limited hours today (more at rpin.org)

Metro has now posted a list of which routes it’s canceled. See it here.

Also, Seattle Public Schools are CLOSED for Friday. Highline Public Schools ALSO closed for Friday. Holy Family School is closed too. Winter break has begun.

Spotted that new business in the works on the far south end of Delridge while out surveying the roads: Tropical fish and pets. About a mile south, we checked McLendon, which hadn’t yet received the shipment of salt and deicer they were hoping to get today. Also, thanks to Rhonda for pointing out that the county has a roads hotline; it’s also mentioned in this news release we just received:

King County Transportation crews gear up
for another round of bad winter weather

Yet another winter storm with heavy snow possible in some King County communities by Wednesday evening has road and Metro Transit crews scrambling to get ready this afternoon.

The National Weather Service has issued a storm warning for up to 6 inches or more of snow for eastern areas of the county and a trace to two inches of snow by tomorrow afternoon in the Seattle metro area. Additional snow may fall tomorrow evening. That means virtually all areas of King County could be impacted by snowfall beginning early tomorrow morning with snow showers continuing throughout the day and evening.

While we may see varying degrees of snowfall around the county, residents should take this storm seriously if they plan to travel tomorrow. Depending on the timing and location of the snow, morning and afternoon commutes could become a major headache, especially for east King County residents. Travel conditions are expected to worsen as the day progresses.

In anticipation of the storm, the King County Road Services Division, which has been operating around-the-clock since Saturday, is applying anti-icer to major arterials, bridges and arterials located on steep hills. The division will also remain on 24-hour operations to plow and sand.

But depending on the timing and severity of the storm, it will be very difficult to keep roads clear, especially during morning or afternoon commute times. Motorists should be aware of this potential and plan their trip accordingly to avoid becoming stuck or having to abandon their vehicle. Given the forecast, motorists may even want to consider postponing non-essential travel.

King County Metro Transit is planning on chaining most of its buses for the Wednesday morning commute, and warns bus riders that service could be delayed by the weather conditions throughout the day – particularly in outlying areas of East and Southeast King County.

Many buses may be on snow routing, if not for the morning commute then by midday and late afternoon. Metro may have to switch to snow routes in some locations with little notice. So, the best way to stay on top of the reroutes is to check the adverse weather information on Metro Online at www.kingcounty.gov/metro, or call the Customer Information Office at (206) 553-3000.

Bus riders are reminded to:

Be patient. Buses are not always on schedule in snowy or icy conditions. And, increased ridership during bad weather can result in crowded buses and a longer-than-usual wait on the phone for the Customer Information Office;
Dress warmly for the walk to the bus stop, expect delays, and wear appropriate footwear for the weather;
Head for bus stops on main arterials or at major transfer points such as park-and-ride lots, transit centers, or shopping centers; and
Riders should wait at bus stops at the very top or very bottom of hills, because buses are often unable to stop for passengers on inclines.

And of course, the county is again reminding motorists to be prepared for winter driving. That means: having plenty of gas in the car; driving with all season tires, chains and warm clothing; and please don’t abandon your vehicle in the middle of travel lanes.

Residents are also encouraged to report problems on roads in unincorporated King County by calling (206) 296-8100, or 1-800-KC ROADS if they live outside the greater Seattle calling area.

Here’s a link with more on the county road hotline. Meantime, another photo – this is from a couple hours ago, on SW 99th looking east across 15th SW (which was in decent shape, as was 16th SW through the business district, though both were wet and likely to reglaze tonight):

From the Metro website just minutes ago:

Another update tonight from the county – read it here. We are also keeping watch for any updates from both the Highline and Seattle school districts on potential school changes/closures for tomorrow and will post that information as soon as it’s available; you can also watch the regional closure-information site SchoolReport.org. 9:03 PM UPDATE: We have word that Holy Family School will start late tomorrow, 10 am.

We noticed earlier that there was no updated “bus problems” information on the Metro website – despite numerous reports in our West Seattle Blog snow/ice coverage about stranded buses – and sent County Executive Ron Sims a Twitter message wondering what the problem was. He replied the system was down but being fixed. Sure enough, now there’s updated information – hope it helps.

The P-I analyzed driver-attack reports on Metro routes and came up with a “top 10” list that includes Route 120, which runs through White Center (here’s the map). Even one attack is too many, of course, but do take note that the number of attacks that landed Route 120 on this list is … 6 per year.

Most of the Metro bus service changes announced by County Executive Ron Sims today don’t have a major direct impact on White Center – but there is one WC-specific change: a late-night trip is cut from Route 23. See all the changes (which take effect next Saturday), listed here.

That’s King County Executive Ron Sims and White Center/West Seattle-area County Councilmember Dow Constantine at a just-concluded media briefing in Sodo detailing a state-funded plan to add Metro bus service when major Alaskan Way Viaduct work starts next spring. Full details later; the White Center/Burien-area routes mentioned as “candidates for service enhancement” include 21, 22, 23, 60, 113, 120, 121, 122, 123, 125, 128, 131, 132, 134, 174. (West Seattle routes are listed in this report on partner site WSB.) ADDED 1:36 PM: Here’s the official news release from the county website. We’re working on getting electronic copies of the collateral (including a countywide map of potentially affected routes) that was handed out at the media event. ADDED 5:30 PM: Full report now posted on WSB, including video clips.

County Executive Ron Sims just announced this on his blog: He’s recommending a 25-cent increase this year, 25 cents more in 2010. Read his full explanation here. 6:16 PM UPDATE: Our area’s County Councilmember Dow Constantine, who also is closely involved in this issue as chair of the council’s Transportation Committee, has issued a statement about Sims’ proposal – read on: Read the rest of this entry »