Pleasantly surprised to see such local news from The Urbanist on here. I agree with the article that this is good news, but progress is extremely slow-moving. The constant complaint about lack of...
Pleasantly surprised to see such local news from The Urbanist on here. I agree with the article that this is good news, but progress is extremely slow-moving. The constant complaint about lack of labor is frustrating to me because it doesn't really appear to me that KC Metro is really ramping up their recruitment efforts effectively. Other locales such as LA County have documented extremely successful recruitment drives. Instead, KC Metro rests on their laurels while bus lines are cut or canceled completely.
It's not like ATU 587 doesn't have ideas for recruitment. KC Metro simply aren't willing to implement them.
With more and more workers returning to in-person work, adding spot improvements that get transit riders past traffic backups is becoming incredibly urgent, but the number of miles of new dedicated bus corridors that the city has been able to add recently has been very limited.
King County Metro has announced a plan to cut bus service by 4% in the fall due to its labor shortage, but unfortunately little seems to be in the works to get more out of the service hours we do have. An aggressive rollout of bus lanes could stem the bleeding from service cuts.
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SDOT will make permanent changes that were piloted around Third Avenue and Yesler Way last year, when lanes were narrowed to reduce crossing distances for people walking.
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Additionally, the City plans to repave the bike lane along Dilling Way, which saw a quick-build bike lane installed in 2021 but is still a bit of a bumpy ride. SDOT is hoping to use this as an opportunity to add street trees, improve wayfinding in the area, and potentially add opportunities for art. These Third Ave and Yesler Way improvements are heading toward final design this year and are set to go into place in the first half of 2024.
Pleasantly surprised to see such local news from The Urbanist on here. I agree with the article that this is good news, but progress is extremely slow-moving. The constant complaint about lack of labor is frustrating to me because it doesn't really appear to me that KC Metro is really ramping up their recruitment efforts effectively. Other locales such as LA County have documented extremely successful recruitment drives. Instead, KC Metro rests on their laurels while bus lines are cut or canceled completely.
It's not like ATU 587 doesn't have ideas for recruitment. KC Metro simply aren't willing to implement them.
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