Transit offers relief for gridlock

By Theresa Goffredo

Herald Writer

EVERETT – It’s a painful reminder but here goes: The southbound bridge over Highway 529 will be closed at the Steamboat Slough from late April until late summer.

And speaking of painful reminders: Remember when the state Department of Transportation closed Highway 529 last summer

Ouch. Gridlock so bad it would have been faster to commute from Everett to Marysville on foot.

But Community Transit officials have suggestions about improving your commute when bridge construction begins – share the ride into Everett. The transit company and transportation officials have made the ridesharing easier this time with added bus service, a temporary park and ride lot and vanpools and carpools.

Here are the details:

A temporary park-and-ride will be set up at the south end of Marysville and will provide 100 parking spaces for commuters who are carpooling, vanpooling or taking the bus. The park and ride lot is south of First Street, behind an auto parts store on the west side of State Avenue.

The lot will be served by bus Route 210 and the peak hour shuttle service between Marysville and Everett. Temporary bus stops will be located on the north side of First Street, across from the lot.

Also, people who want to jump into the carpool or vanpool scene can find partners by visiting www.rideshareonline.com or call 1-888-814-1300 and Community Transit staff will help match them up with an existing shared-ride program

Commuters can also try the new shuttle. Funded by the transportation agency, additional peak hour bus service has been added between the temporary Marysville park-and-ride and downtown Everett on weekdays. In addition to the regularly scheduled Route 210 trips, which will serve the park-and-ride as part of their revised route, the shuttle will depart Marysville at 5:50 a.m., 6:30 a.m., 7 a.m., 7:30 a.m. and 8 a.m. and leave the Everett Station every half hour in the afternoon from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m.

Other changes include:

Revising Route 210 which will travel on I-5 directly to Everett southbound and depart Everett on I-5 via Everett Avenue northbound. Buses will continue to serve downtown Everett. All Marysville stops will also be served, with the exception of the northbound stop at State Avenue and First Street.

Route 222 to Tulalip will also be rerouted in Marysville during the construction.

Route 210 will not serve north Broadway during the closure. Passengers with destinations in north Everett, such as Everett Community College, Providence Hospital and the Department of Social and Health Services, can transfer to Everett Transit Route 7 North Broadway. To transfer to Route 7, get off Route 210 on Everett Avenue at Broadway and cross the street to the northbound stop on Broadway.

You can call Herald Writer Theresa Goffredo at 425-339-3097

or send e-mail to goffredo@heraldnet.com.