By Shannon Sessions
For the Herald
LYNNWOOD — Some residents here are starting a petition drive to have Community Transit establish a high-frequency, circular-route shuttle that would service Alderwood Mall and its satellite businesses.
"The proposed Alderwood shuttle petition campaign was born out of necessity," states the petition handout. "There is a lack of public transportation linking Alderwood Mall and adjacent shops and services."
The group wants the shuttle to run seven days a week. It would take about 15 minutes to travel the circular route.
The route would go from the James Village Shopping Center at Highway 99 and 196th Street SW to 188th Street SW, around the mall past the stores on Alderwood Mall Parkway, back down to 196th Street to the Lynnwood Park and Ride and James Village.
The citizens group seeks volunteers to spread the message and collect signatures. In the meantime, representatives from the group have met with CT officials.
"Whenever someone makes a proposal for service, it’s something we’ll examine very carefully," CT spokesman Tom Pearce said.
He said it was CT’s goal to establish quicker routes such as this one before Initiative 695, the $30 car tab measure, lead to a loss of revenue.
"But with the loss of that (motor vehicle excise tax) funding, we lost the opportunity," he said.
Citizens petitioning for the Alderwood Mall shuttle want CT to pay for it with money from the transit tax increase that Snohomish County voters approved last fall.
"We think this little, yet essential, shuttle route can fit into this tax increase," said Robert Crowe, co-chairman of the petition campaign.
The route would connect residents to 150 stores and restaurants in Alderwood Mall and another 120 stores restaurants and services adjacent to the mall, the petition handout states.
Pearce said Community Transit provides Lynnwood with routes that connect all major arterials. But for the petitioners, those routes aren’t efficient enough for those who live, work and shop in Lynnwood on a regular basis. It takes a half-hour to get from James Village at 196th Street SW and Highway 99 to Alderwood Mall.
The idea is not new. Similar plans have been discussed by the Lynnwood City Council and the South Snohomish County Chamber of Commerce.
"We don’t want to wait two or three years; we see a need now," Crowe said. "We would like to see this new route in place before Christmas."
For more information or to volunteer, contact the citizens group at P.O. Box 2308, Lynnwood, WA 98036-2308, or e-mail co-chairman Kirk Gardner at kirkgardner@earthlink .net.
Shannon Sessions is the editor for the Lynnwood and Mountlake Terrace Enterprise newspapers. You can call her at 425-673-6531 or e-mail sessions@heraldnet.com.
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