Update: The Seattle P-I published an article on this proposal.
Small and inexpensive tweaks to transportation infrastructure, as opposed to the charismatic mega-projects we hear so much about, often prove the best way to enhance the mobility of urban Cascadians (as we have argued here).
One such proposal—developed by former Microsoft employee Anirudh Sahni—suggests a small re-route of a popular Sound Transit bus linking Seattle’s downtown with Redmond’s corporate campuses. As described on this website and in this Capitol Hill Times article (free registration required), routing the ST 545 through (rather than around) Seattle’s densest urban center, Capitol Hill, would dramatically improve access to the route for more than 1,000 Redmond employees and likely result in several hundred fewer single-occupancy car trips across Lake Washington daily. Calculated over the long term, that’s a significant impact at virtually no additional cost to the taxpayer.
Sahni created the maps below to illustrate his points. The black dots represent the approximate distribution of Redmond employees’ residences in central Seattle; one dot equals ten people. The bus would be rerouted only eastbound during the morning commute and westbound during the evening commute.
You can comment on the ST 545 proposal here.
Current route (click to go to enlarged image)
Proposed route (click to go to enlarged image)
