LYNNWOOD – It appears residents in the northwestern part of Lynnwood and areas north will get some bus service again.
Since the passage of Initiative 695 in 1999, which took away a chunk of Community Transit’s funding, the area north of 196th Street SW and west of Highway 99 to Mukilteo has had little bus service. The one remaining route, 190, runs only during peak commute times, once an hour.
The other routes had low ridership before, making them prime candidates to cut, said Lynnwood City Councilwoman Lisa Utter, who also serves on the Community Transit board of directors.
A proposed new route, termed “119-2A,” would begin at the Lynnwood Transit Center. It would serve Alderwood mall, then follow 188th Street SW, 44th Avenue W., 176th Street SW, Olympic View Drive, 168th Street SW, 52nd Avenue W., and loop through Beverly Park Road and Picnic Point Road before turning back on 52nd Avenue W.
The route would provide service every 30 minutes during peak commute times and every hour the rest of the time and weekends, effective Sept. 25.
The route was deemed as the best choice Wednesday by a three-member subcommittee of the nine-member CT board, including Utter. The full board, which will meet Thursday to consider the change, usually adopts the committee’s recommendations, Utter said.
Public meetings on the choices were held in March.
Of the three route changes considered, 119-2A had the best combination of no disruption for other riders and lower cost, Utter said. It would cost CT an estimated $360,000 per year.
Plus, “it gives us a way to add to it” if the funds become available, Utter said.
A cheaper alternative was to detour route 118, which runs from Aurora Village to Edmonds Community College, the transit center, the mall and along Highway 99 to 148th Street SW.
The altered route would have served 176th Street SW, Olympic View Drive, 168th Street SW and 52nd Avenue W. before returning to Highway 99 at 148th Street SW. The rerouting would have cost $172,500 per year.
A rerouted 118 would connect northwest Lynnwood residents with three high schools and Edmonds Community College, said resident Robert Crowe, who lives on 196th Street SW. It also would connect his area with St. Thomas More Catholic Church in northwest Lynnwood, which Crowe attends.
“It’s the best service for the area, not just the city of Lynnwood, but the surrounding area,” Crowe said.
Taking 118 off Highway 99 would reduce service there, Utter said. Crowe said the highway is served by other routes.
The new 118 also would add 10 minutes to the ride for those who come from either end, Utter said. “It has good ridership,” she said of the current 118.
The third alternative, termed 119, would have extended 119-2A to the Mariner park-and-ride lot. That route would have cost $937,500 per year.
Gina Ball, who lives near Meadowdale High School, likes the proposed new route, and not just because it will go near her home, she said.
“It’s probably the most practical,” Ball said. “If you look at the whole route, it just seems better as a far as stops. It’s not as long.”
Reporter Bill Sheets: 425-339-3439 or sheets@heraldnet.com.
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