Bus service needs land for Highway 99 route

Published 11:04 pm Monday, September 29, 2008

EVERETT — Community Transit is trying to buy portions of properties owned by businesses along Highway 99 to build new bus stations.

A public hearing on the issue is set for Thursday. Community Transit needs to secure 22 property easements to build 25 new bus stations along its 17-mile route along the highway between Everett Station and Aurora Village Transit Center in Shoreline.

The agency already reached agreement with some property owners, said Marysville Mayor Dennis Kendall, chairman of the Community Transit board of directors.

It wants to work with other property owners, but if needed, it may use eminent domain, Kendall said.

“In a situation like this, it’s vital to our economy,” Kendall said. “It’s vital to transportation issues. Our goal is to move people in an effective way.”

Community Transit, a bus service provider in Snohomish County, has seen its ridership soar this year due to high gas prices. The agency aims to build the new bus stations by late 2009; buses are expected to stop at the stations every 10 minutes to provide fast transit service.

Building the new stations is part of the agency’s $12.6 million project called Swift Bus Rapid Transit Corridor. The money includes state grants, said Tom Pearce, a spokesman for Community Transit.

“There is a tremendous demand for service on that corridor,” Pearce said.

In 2007, about 1.5 million people used the agency’s bus service along Highway 99, and the number is likely to go up this year, Pearce said.

Community Transit also plans to do surveys to check bus rider habits and characteristics before implementing the project.

The project should help people cut down time traveling along the highway, Kendall said.

“It’s going to be more convenient and more consistent,” he said.

Reporter Yoshiaki Nohara: 425-339-3029 or ynohara@heraldnet.com.