Councilmember Patterson listens to Jack Lattemann, lead transit planner for Metro Transit at the community meeting held on Kent's East Hill

Over 100 local residents packed the Community Room at the Scenic Vista Apartments August 29, asking for improved bus service and pedestrian safety on Kent’s East Hill. The meeting, organized by King County Councilmember Julia Patterson and activist Kathleen O’Shea, presented an opportunity for residents to relay their concerns directly to Metro transportation planners.

“The city of Kent is developing and growing rapidly,” said Patterson, vice-chair of the Council’s Transportation and Regional Transit Committees. “My job is to be your advocate and continually remind Metro that our bus service needs to keep pace with this demand.”

The community concerns underscore many of the transportation hurdles facing the City of Kent, which is expected to grow to over 100,000 people in the next few years.

Concerns raised by residents at the meeting included the distance between bus stops—speakers said for some passengers, the nearest bus stops were over 15 minutes away—and the difficulty of finding bus schedules for the Kent Shopper Shuttle. There was additional testimony on busy arterials in the community and the pedestrian safety issues that were created by the heavy traffic.

Jack Lattemann, lead transit planner for Metro, explained during the meeting that despite these challenges there will be more transit service and congestion relief for the Kent Valley in the near future. Partnership discussions between Metro staff and the City of Kent are in progress, and could include new service to the Riverview neighborhood in West Kent and additional service on Route 153.

“Additional service improvements are already underway as part of the ‘Transit Now’ initiative,” said Patterson, who led the County Council last fall in approving the measure. With the increased funding, Metro Transit is extending some routes and increasing service on Kent-area routes 164, 166, 169 and 180.

For additional information, please visit www.metrokc.gov/kcdot/transitnow