More parking at the Northgate Transit Center, new morning trips between Lake City and the U District, and reroutes near Duvall are some of the improvements and changes bus riders can expect from King County Metro Transit starting this Saturday, June 8.

Three times a year Metro adjusts its service to better serve customers and respond to changes in the region's transportation network. The service change beginning this weekend is not extensive, but should help passengers make better connections throughout the system.

The biggest changes are occurring in North Seattle. Metro has added 500 parking stalls at the Northgate Transit Center. In the new parking area on the east side of the transit center, 75 stalls are reserved for weekday morning carpool use. Those stalls may be used for general purpose parking if they are still vacant after 10 a.m.

Metro is also providing more commute-time bus service to Northgate. On weekdays, there are four new morning trips and four new afternoon trips on Route 41 between Northgate and downtown Seattle. In addition, Route 315 will be streamlined to operate on Fifth Avenue Northeast instead of on First Avenue Northeast — a change that should save passengers several minutes.

In East King County, summer construction is affecting routes serving Duvall. Starting in late June and going into September, King County Road Services will close the Woodinville-Duvall Bridge to all traffic so upgrades can be made.

During the closure, Metro routes 232, 311 and 929 will be rerouted via the Carnation-Duvall Road, Northeast 124th Street and West Snoqualmie Valley Road Northeast. Also, stops in Duvall on Main Street north of Ring Street and stops on the Woodinville-Duvall Road between Main Street and West Snoqualmie Valley Road Northeast will not be served during the closure. In downtown Duvall, use the temporary bus stop on Brown Avenue at Richardson Street.

In other areas, the June service changes include:

• Route 32 from Rainier Beach will make a new stop at South Columbian Way and South Spokane Street;
• There will be one new evening trip on Route 48 leaving Loyal Heights at 5:45 p.m. via the U-District to Columbia City;
• Route 64 to Lake City now serves the freeway stop on I-5 at 7^th Avenue Northeast and Northeast 45^th Street;
• Route 75 will have two new weekday morning trips added between Lake City and the University of Washington;
• On Route 154, the 6:50 a.m. morning trip is adjusted to serve the Sounder Tukwila Train Station;
• New routing for Route 200 in Issaquah to avoid traffic congestion on the west end of Gilman Boulevard;
• Schedule times have been adjusted on Route 216 for stops in Sammamish and Issaquah, arrival and departure times in Seattle remain the same;
• Route 302 has revised routing between Northwest Hospital and Four Freedoms House.

For detailed information about all route and schedule changes, pick up new green timetables and a Rider Alert brochure on buses and at timetable outlets.

Starting Friday, June 7, new information will also be available on Metro Online at http://transit.metrokc.gov/. Use Metro Online to link to Trip Planner, a web-based service that allows riders to personalize bus trip plans. Trip Planner has information about changes happening June 8, just be sure to enter the correct day and date for your trip.