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Metro's RapidRide plan could bring some business casualties

Metro's RapidRide plan could bring some business casualties

Metro's RapidRide plan could bring some business casualties

by LINDA BRILL / KING 5 News

KING5.com

Posted on May 29, 2011 at 3:10 PM

Updated Tuesday, May 31 at 3:15 PM

SEATTLE - Metro is moving fast to develop its RapidRide lanes as a way of making current service more efficient, but in West Seattle there's a price - precious parking spots will disappear.

"They're going to take 35 parking spots away from us, which is basically the east side of the street,” said John Bennett, owner of the Luna Park Café.

Bennett fears his business is about to take a dive.

"I’m really scared of what it could do to us. It could put us out of business," he said.

Metro is cutting parking on the northbound, east side of Avalon Way to accommodate a rapid bus lane. Most Luna Park customers park across the street, where the spaces will be lost.

"Nobody wants to walk a block or two blocks, especially up and down a hill," said customer Luc Boileau.

But with looming Metro budget losses and service cuts, Mayor Mike McGinn says the city must give buses more right of way.

"How do we allocate right of way? How do we give priority to buses and transit in town? You get more service that way,” he said.

In the fall, service will be increased on Route 54., Metro spokeswoman Linda Thielke said. Parking spaces are being eliminated toward the end of summer/early fall this year to accommodate the increased service. In 2012, the RapidRide C Line replaces the Route 54.

Buses will come more often.

"It would be nice to have them come more frequently because if you miss one the it’s a 15-minute wait,” said one bus rider.

In a compromise, Metro has agreed to eliminate only the Avalon parking spots during morning rush hour.

That doesn’t help the folks at Java Bean Coffee, where morning rules.

"There’s not even going to be a stop here for us, so literally people are going to drive by and they’re going to wave as they go by,” said Tony Hoyt of Java Bean.

West Seattle is the third of six planned rapid ride lines in King County. Metro says the line operating in Federal Way has already increased ridership by 25 percent.

The Rapid Ride program is funded by a transit initiative voters passed five years ago.

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Comments: Displaying 1 - 13 of 13

dd22 said on June 4, 2011 at 12:40 PM

This article is incorrect and terribly misleading. There is absolutely no plan to remove 35 parking spaces from in front of the Luna Park Cafe. That is a lie that John Bennett has been spewing to halt the removal of something more like 10 spots. I don't have the exact number but someone at King 5 better take the time to call the city of Seattle DOT and figure out the facts. The truth is that Metro has bent over backwards to accommodate businesses and their concerns about parking and access. RapidRide in West Seattle has made concessions right and left. The real victims are the bus riders who have almost no voice in this process. John Bennett has had far more than his fare share of input on the design already. This article needs to be corrected or retracted immediately.

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useyourhead99 said on May 30, 2011 at 7:50 PM

tootoo you are an idiot, you think business' need a contingency plan when parking that has been on the street since the street was made in the event the parking goes away. I know, lets turn the parking in front of your house into a bike lane only...Oh wait a minute, I bet you would like that cause you probably do not drive. I bet you are are Mayor in disguise, did you (Mcginn) live in Huston?

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tootoo said on May 30, 2011 at 5:01 PM

First off, the parking spots on the street are NOT a right, they are a privilege. Second, if you base your business model on street spots that could go away at anytime, with no backup plan, your business model was a failure to begin with. And when someone says they can't park a "block or two blocks, especially up and down a hill," I chuckle to myself and think of Houston, where people refuse to walk 20 feet, and they are all very portly.

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drcyclops said on May 30, 2011 at 11:19 AM

This is what Metro wants, Less parking = More riders, this is also why the light-rail has insufficient parking, just so we will have to rely more on the crappy busing/light-rail to get us around, it's more money for Metro, and why is King county is just going along with whatever Metro wants. King county wants a ghost town, that's what they'll get, as it's residents will just move out of KC, that's all.

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waynecrankshaft0 said on May 30, 2011 at 1:50 AM

They did similar traffic / parking reconfigurations in the "U" District awhile back, and all it's done is turn the business district in that area into ghost town. More closed businesses than open, more empty spaces than occupied store fronts. This was done for bus stop islands, taking 60 or so parking spaces out of the "U" district, I used to shop there often, living 2 miles away, now you can never find a parking spot and many of the place to shop are gone. If it weren't for the "U of W" being there, with it's student base, the area would be dead. IF YOU KILL THE BUSINESSES, THERE WILL BE NO BUS RIDERS GOING THERE, AND NO NEED FOR BUSES AT ALL !!

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collegeguy said on May 29, 2011 at 9:58 PM

The comparison to Rapid ride on Hwy 99 between Sea-tac Airport and Fed Way to this is vastly different in impact because in the Southend, few if any parking spots were compromised. Most businesses on Pac Hwy already had most if not all their parking in the back and only lost one or two spots at the worst case scenario. Busses should not take precidence over established businesses.

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c8lsonics said on May 29, 2011 at 8:54 PM

Liberalism killing capitalism?! There's a shocker.

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useyourhead99 said on May 29, 2011 at 8:26 PM

It's all about getting out of our cars and nothing else matters to this Mayor. Look at some of these buses, nobody is on them, transfer those resources to routes that have better community support. "The Rapid Ride program is funded by a transit initiative voters passed five years ago" do you think it would have been voted for had it been announced that some business will no longer get customers and become a "casualty" because their parking will be eliminated? This is so riders do not have to wait longer than 15 minutes for the next bus, you've got to be kidding. Another one of those benefits that helps the few and negatively impacts the many...Go figure! Also probably going to lose a lane of traffic to the buses....more casualties.

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monocytogenes said on May 29, 2011 at 6:52 PM

I would be ecstatic if I only had to wait fifteen minutes for another bus - in my neighborhood, it's half an hour. Or after 7PM, an hour. That being said, I find it difficult not to hate our mayor. I struggle with it every day, or anytime he opens his mouth.

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Trojan22 said on May 29, 2011 at 6:49 PM

This is a very good story, Linda Brill... As for me, I have always been willing to walk 3 or 4 blocks to get down into the Luna Park Cafe area. One time I was riding a mountain bike down and slammed into concrete wall and scraped the side of my face. The bike was badly damaged. So now I walk down there. I lost 8 pounds!

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intrepid1 said on May 29, 2011 at 4:27 PM

... or this could increase business as people won't have to drive and park to get their coffee or grab a bite to eat ... these business owners should lobby for a stop be place where the parking is going away ...

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Thumper said on May 29, 2011 at 4:09 PM

Drat the horribleness of having to wait for 15 whole minutes if you miss your bus the first time around. I guess you'll just have to suck it up and arrive a couple minutes earlier so you don't miss it the first time. If I want a bus where I live it's a one hour wait between busses, so gee, my heart bleeds for you. That's as bad as all the fools who wait 'til the last minute to leave home and then drive like mainacs so they aren't late for work. And you know who you are too...

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firesoul said on May 29, 2011 at 3:46 PM

"It would be nice to have them come more frequently because if you miss one the it’s a 15-minute wait." Oh boohoo! If I miss either of my buses, it's a 30-45 minute wait for each. Adding in another lane to avoid a 15 minute wait when so many other bus routes have much longer wait times doesn't sound like a good idea to me, especially since it's going to hurt businesses. If people need to go someplace, they'll find a way, 15 minute wait or not. On the other hand, taking away from small businesses in this economy is a poor idea. Not to mention that when I'm waiting for my bus downtown, I will see THREE 54 buses go by in less than 10 minutes. I also loved the "nobody wants to walk" line...heaven forbid someone get a bit of exercise before downing their 500 calorie coffee!

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