Monthly Archives: September 2009

Upcoming events for transit types

6th annual Sustainable Ballard Festival

What: A “community fair and … showcase for the activities and initiatives our neighbors have engaged in throughout the year. The 2009 Festival will feature live music, how-to workshops, fun & educational activities, local and sustainable businesses and much more!”

If you go, don’t miss the Undriving booth–one of SB’s coolest projects.

When: September 26th & 27th, 12 PM – 5 PM
Where: Ballard Commons Park, at the corner of corner of NW 57th & 22nd NW (So glad for the new 27/17 combo!)
How much: Free!

Cities, Bicycles, and the Future of Getting Around

What: “A Panel Presentation by David Byrne [Talking Heads cofounder and author of the acclaimed Bicycle Diaries], Barbara Gray [Seattle DOT], Dave Janis [Bicycle Alliance of Washington], and Mark Hinshaw [architect for LMN and author of True Urbanism].”
When: September 28, 7:30 PM
Where: Town Hall Seattle, 1119 8th Avenue
How much: $30 (Purchase price includes a copy of the book.)

King County Transportation Town Hall

What: A public meeting, hosted by Councilmember Larry Gossett, that will “focus on the impact light rail will have on the regional transit system, and the fiscal challenges facing Metro Transit…”

The public and the committee will receive briefings from:

• Ron Tober, Deputy CEO of Sound Transit, on the opening of Link light rail July 18,
• Metro Transit’s Victor Obeso, Manager of Service Development, and Jack Lattemann, Transportation Planner, on the integration and restructuring of bus service with the arrival of light rail,
• Metro Transit General Manager Kevin Desmond, on Metro’s budget gap and the agency’s service reduction strategy in the wake of declining revenues.

Presenters will take questions from the audience and Councilmembers will take public testimony on any issue at the end of the program.

When: September 30, 6:30 PM (Informal reception begins at 6:00.)
Where: Rainier Vista Boys and Girls Club, 4520 Martin Luther King Jr. Way S. (You can take Link!)
How much: Free

Also note: This is the last weekend to take the bus to the Puyallup Fair. We (that is, Chicklet, Nerd and I) did it last year, and it was easy and fun (and cheap!).

A whole new world

There was lots of shakeup talk on the buses today: rider-to-rider chatter, cell phone conversations, bus-wide discussions, and endless questions for drivers.

The new 48
Metro’s less-heavy weight

I have to say, as much as I loathe change (and as much as I will surely miss hopping the 48 for all my southbound needs), the New Bus Order actually seems to be working in my favor. Some examples of the goodness:

• The 8 now runs in my neighborhood on weekends. Folks, I have been dreaming of this day for most of my car-free life (six-and-a-half years and counting), and I cannot believe it’s actually happened. Capitol Hill (specifically, the north end of 15th Ave) will be seeing at lot more of me on Saturday afternoons.
• The 27 now connects with the 17 instead of the 25. I love this for several reasons, the most important of which is that my brother Jeremy recently moved to Ballard, and Metro now provides what amounts to a door-to-door ride from my place to his. (Much beloved) brother aside, I have a lot more reasons to go to Ballard than I do to go to Laurelhurst.* And honestly, the connection just seems to make more sense. While the 27/17 combo eliminates an already necessary transfer between the Central District and Ballard, the 27/25 combo is slower and less direct than the two-bus options (48+75 and 48+30) between the CD and Laurelhurst.**
• Now that the 14 stops at Mount Baker Station, I have four ways to connect with Link: 27 to DSTT, 4 to DSTT, 48 to Mount Baker Station, and 14 to Mount Baker Station. I don’t go to the airport all that often, but when I do, I’ll have more control of when I come and go.

I’m sure I’ll discover more things to like (and not) as I ride more.

Your turn. How have Metro’s latest changes affected you?

* No offense to all my former school buddies who lived there back in the day–I do miss our excursions to the Mr. Peepers-era U Village–or to the very alt-commute friendly Children’s Hospital.
** Really, though, there’s no fast way to get from where I live to Laurelhurst, despite the fact that it’s not all that far.

9/19: Putting the “shake” back in shake-up (or, RIP, 42)

Big (big!) bus changes take effect tomorrow. It’s a rather odd mix of light rail-related service reductions and tweaks (48 no longer runs south of McClellan*; south end of the 8 route operates on weekends (!); 14, 48, and other south-end routes now stop at the Mount Baker light rail station) and Transit Now implementations (2 and 13 have added a few daily trips).

You can find the details here.

Service changes start Saturday
Two friendly Metro types spreading the word about the changes at 3rd & Union

I am still confused about one thing: The page that lists the changes doesn’t include the 194. Does that mean it will continue to operate to the airport until the Link line is completed? I’m definitely not complaining (though, to be fair, we tried the Tukwlila Station shuttle–with Chicklet and luggage–and it was pretty painless)–just wondering.

*Guess I’ll be riding Link a little more than I originally planned. Of course, the 8 also runs south now and also stops right in front of my house; I’ll have to see what the new route is like.

Deja 2…and 3, and 4, and (alas!) 27

Folks, I wrote about this phenomenon in ’07 and am still struggling to understand.

If you were looking forward to several months free of Howyoudoin?s, Whatsyourname?s, and Youmarried?s, prepare to be disappointed. You will, in fact, continue to be propositioned — both by members of that group of discerning gentlemen who don’t bother to look at the women they’re chatting up, and by an even more disturbing group: men who are actually attracted to pregnant women. Listen, don’t say I didn’t warn you.

Should I be concerned (not for myself so much as for all of humanity) that I get more play* when waddling around town with child (and wearing a wedding ring) than I did back when I was a single bus chick?

*Interestingly (or perhaps not), I am rarely bothered (pregnant or not) when I travel with Chicklet.

Eastbound 14 (et al) stop, 5th & Jackson

A 60-ish, somewhat disheveled man approaches and addresses me in several languages (Amharic, Spanish, Italian) trying to figure out which I speak. We finally settle on a mix of French and English, and (thanks to my growing belly) immediately start talking parenthood. He tells me I remind him of his daughter, who was recently married. “It was in the New York Times,” he says, fishing a crumpled piece of newsprint out of his wallet.

He points to some text under the photo of the handsome, smiling couple, the part that tells about the bride’s family in Seattle, then pulls out his license to show me that his name matches the name of the father listed in the announcement.

“See? That’s me,” he says. “Me.”

We talk for a few minutes longer, about Chicklet, and my due date, and how I am feeling.

Abruptly, he pulls a wilted, slightly blackened red rose from his coat pocket, thrusts it into my hand, and prepares to leave.

“Take care of the babies,” he says, smiling. “Take care of your precious babies.”

His eyes are filled with tears.