newrainiervista.com

According to the Sound Transit Central Link email alerts:

Starting Monday, Dec. 7 and lasting until Dec. 30, Central Link light rail will operate every 15 – 20 minutes between 7 p.m. and 1 a.m. due to track maintenance. Maintenance will also temporarily close some platforms on one side of the track. If your normal boarding location is closed, please board both northbound and southbound Link trains at the opposite platform.

We apologize for the inconvenience. Thank you for riding.

This shouldn’t affect anyone who is riding during the day. Evening socialites, late commuters or off-business-hours folk will likely have a longer wait for their train.

Now that the Link trains are running, there will likely be some adjustments to Metro bus service. Read on for updates. See especially section 5 below regarding the comments period for adjustments to the Route 7.

1. Expanded Downtown Seattle Transit Tunnel hours
Metro and Sound Transit buses and Link light rail now operate together in the Downtown Seattle Transit Tunnel. The tunnel is now open according to the following schedule:
Weekdays and Saturdays: 5 a.m.-1 a.m.
Sundays: 6 a.m.-midnight

2. Many existing bus routes connect with Link light rail
Metro bus routes help connect passengers to Link. Below is a list of current Metro bus connections to the five Link stations that serve the southeast Seattle area. Metro will make routing and schedule changes for many of these bus routes beginning Sept. 19 (see below).

• Beacon Hill Station (17th Avenue S & S McClellan Street): Currently served by Metro routes 36, 38, and 60.
• Mount Baker Station (2415 S McClellan St.): Currently served by Metro routes 7, 7 Express, 8, 9, 34 Express, 38, 42, 42 Express, and 48.
• Columbia City Station (4818 Martin Luther King Jr. Way S): Currently served by Metro routes 39, 42, 42 Express, and 48.
• Othello Station (7100 MLK Jr. Way S): Currently served by Metro routes 42, 42 Express, 48, and 106.
• Rainier Beach Station (9132 MLK Jr. Way S): Currently served by Metro routes 36, 42*, 42 Express*, and 48. (*Routes 42 and 42 Express connect one block away on Renton Avenue South.)

For questions about current bus schedules and routing, contact Metro Customer Service at 206-553-3000 or visit Metro Online at www.kingcounty.gov/metro.

3. Metro bus route changes will begin Sept. 19
Metro will change most bus routes in the southeast Seattle area beginning Sept. 19.
For detailed information, visit http://metro.kingcounty.gov/up/sc/planning.html. Metro will make additional changes in February 2010.

Detailed scheduling information will be available on approximately Sept. 11 from Metro Customer Service, 206-553-3000, and on Metro Online, www.kingcounty.gov/metro.

4. ORCA: the new way to pay fares for bus and light rail
Customers who currently pay cash for Metro bus rides and plan on using Link light rail as well will benefit from buying an ORCA card. Link will not accept Metro bus transfers after Link light rail’s introductory period, which runs through December 31, 2009. After that, the ORCA card will save passengers money when they transfer between Metro buses and Link light rail.

The ORCA card works like cash or a pass, automatically tracking the value of different fares and transfers. For detailed information, visit www.orcacard.com.

Regional Reduced Fare Permits (with a valid Metro fare sticker) will be honored on Link light rail as proof of full fare payment. For more information, call Sound Transit at 206-398-5000 or visit Sound Transit’s Web site at www.soundtransit.org/x131.xml.

You may request the following materials by calling Sound Transit at 206-398-5000:

• Quick reference cards on “How to Ride Link/ How to use ORCA”
• ORCA cards (no fare loaded) with ORCA Guide cardholder
• Link fare payment information sheets in the following languages: English, Amharic, Vietnamese, Chinese (traditional), Tagrinya, Tagalog, Spanish, Somali, Russian, Oromo, Laotian, and Cambodian.

5. Proposed changes to Route 7 bus stops: Metro requests community feedback by July 31
Metro is planning to streamline Route 7 service by reducing the number of stops in the Rainier Valley. For information about this project and a list of bus stops that are proposed for closure, visit http://metro.kingcounty.gov/up/sc/plans/2009/062009-rt7-improve.html.

Metro is requesting public input on this project by July 31. There are several ways to submit questions and comments:

• Send an e-mail to community.relations@kingcounty.gov.
• Complete an online questionnaire at http://metro.kingcounty.gov/up/sc/planning.html.
• Call Metro to record your comments or questions
  • 206-296-4511 - English
  • 206-263-5001 - (Chinese)
  • 206-263-5003 - Español (Spanish)
  • 206-263-5005 - (Vietnamese)
  • 206-205-9185 - Soomaali (Somali)
  • 206-684-1955 - (Amharic)
• Send a letter to Barbara de Michele, King County Transportation Communications, 201 S Jackson, KSC-TR-0832, Seattle, WA 98104.

Metro staff members will review all comments, adjust the stop closure proposal if necessary, and present a final plan that will be posted in early September at http://metro.kingcounty.gov/up/sc/planning.html.

If you still don’t have your Zone 29 RPZ permit or guest pass, SDOT will be at the Neighborhood House lobby on Thursday, July 30, from 3pm to 5pm. Bring your current Washington State Vehicle Registration (copy ok) and proof of residency (current bill with name and address).

Enforcement of the RPZ begins next week!

The enforcement for our Residential Parking Zone (RPZ) starts July 20th. SDOT has reported that the enforcement officers will be focusing on “education rather than citation” at first, and it sounds as if SDOT folks will be in the neighborhood this week leaving flyers on vehicles without Zone 29 permits.

Consider this your reminder to get your free permit and/or to get the permit you have attached to your car. If you don’t have a permit yet, review previous posts to find out how.

The Seattle City Council’s Transportation Committee will hold a public hearing next week on Council’s proposed changes to the Restricted Parking Zone program.

When: Wednesday, May 27th at 5:30 p.m.
Where: City Hall, 600 4th Avenue in City Council Chambers, 2nd floor
What: The committee will take public comment on their proposed amendments to the Residential Parking Zone program. The Council’s amendments would:

1. Manage parking demand by limiting permit sales to 4 per household with the exception for adult family homes, assisted living facilities, domestic violence shelters, and permitted congregate residences
2. Modify the business pilot to explicitly limit it to the seven Central Link Light Rail Stations and not allow its expansion to other RPZs; to establish a trigger point beyond which permits for non-residents would cease to be issued in order to keep parking demand from exceeding available on-street parking spaces in residential areas; and to set a time frame for evaluating and deciding whether or not to continue the pilot
3. Change the threshold for establishing an RPZ to 35% non-resident vehicles to favor parking for residents while still allowing for an increase in visitor parking
4. Not approve the Executive’s limit on major institution support for RPZ permits costs for affected households; instead leave in place determination of level of major institution support for RPZ permits to negotiations as part of the master plan update process
5. Modify the Executive’s proposal to include additional public involvement approaches
6. Add a requirement for a public hearing prior to decisions on RPZs by the Seattle Department of Transportation Director; and clarify that appeals process applies to establishing, modifying, or dissolving an RPZ
7. Create a new Resolution stating Council’s intent to have the Seattle Department of Transportation report back to City Council on January 1, 2011 on how the changes to the RPZ program have affected neighborhoods and what additional tools are available to manage RPZ permits

For more information in this legislation, please go to: http://www.seattle.gov/council/Drago/rpzpermits.htm.

Come to the Neighborhood House Community Room on Monday, June 1, at 6:30pm, to learn about important transportation changes coming to the Rainier Valley. Sound Transit and Seattle Department of Transportation staff will discuss:

• Link Light Rail – Grand Opening
• Link Light Rail Safety
• ORCA smart card / Fares
• Neighborhood Parking

All community members are welcome! Join us and have your questions answered. Interpretation will be provided in Vietnamese, Chinese, Cambodian, Somali, Amharic, Tigrinya and Oromo. Refreshments will be served.

For more information, please contact Naomi Chang (Rainier Vista) at 206-722-4010 ext. 2, or Keith Hall (Sound Transit) at 206-398-5468.

This might be a repeat of older information, but at least this download is available. This map shows the areas currently slated for inclusion in our Residential Parking Zone.

Seattle Mayor Nickels announced last week that, to ease the transition to new parking regulations, each household and business located within the Link light rail RPZs will be eligible for up to two no-cost permits and one-no cost guest permit for the first two years of the new parking regulations. Additional permits currently cost $45 per vehicle for two years. Low income permits are available for $10.

What You Need to Know Now

• Sign installation around the Columbia City light rail station will begin in mid-May
• Enforcement of signs does not begin until light rail service begins in July
• If your address is located within the zone, you will receive a door hanger with more information within the next two weeks
• If you live within 1/2 mile of the station, you will receive a flyer in the mail this month
• RPZ applications will be mailed to residents starting in early May - please return the completed application by June 1
• SDOT expects to mail RPZ applications to businesses in June, pending City Council approval of a pilot program for employee permits

From the NRV Traffic & Safety Committee:

ALL of NRV will be in the new Restricted Parking Zone (RPZ) being set up by the City to prevent our neighborhood from being a de facto parking lot for the light rail’s Edmunds Street Station. Right by the Neighborhood House, the parking limit will be for 4 hours. In all other parts of NRV, parking will be limited to 2 hours unless the vehicle has a permit. This is in response to all the input from our community! Good work, and thanks everyone. The City listened.

Also, thanks to work by our neighbors closer to Othello Station, RPZ permits will be free for the first two years, and each household will get two. You will be able to purchase guest passes.

The zone will be in force during the day on weekdays. There will be monitoring to see if it will also be needed on weekends when there are games down at the stadiums.

Signs about the RPZ will go up in May, but enforcement won’t start until the light rail is running, which now is projected to be around July 9.

We should be seeing mail from SDOT about the RPZ and how to get permits in the next few weeks.

Stay tuned: More details to come from SDOT and NRV’s Traffic & Safety Committee.

In the summer of 2009, Sound Transit’s Link light rail trains will begin carrying riders between downtown Seattle and Tukwila. By late 2009, service will extend all the way to SeaTac Airport. But before service begins, Sound Transit must decide how much passengers will pay.

Sound Transit is proposing a distance-based fare for Link, with discounts for youth, seniors and persons with disabilities. Under that system, Link passengers will pay a base price for a ride, with the cost increasing the farther you go. Complete details can be found online at www.soundtransit.org/linkfares.

If you can’t make the public hearing on the subject (Feb. 5, noon, 401 S Jackson St), email your comments and suggestions to linkfares@soundtransit.org or call 206-398-5404.