Ride Metro to maximize your summer fun - This Week in Transportation

Ride Metro to maximize your summer fun

Metro can take the whole family to a number of local beaches and pools -- a perfect trip on a warm summer day.

July is the peak time for summer fun in the Puget Sound area, as people flock to fairs, festivals and fireworks. But battling traffic can suck the fun out of any event, which is why King County Metro Transit provides regular and special bus service to some favorite summertime venues.

The month kicks off with a bevy of Fourth of July celebrations. This year's Independence Day events are scattered from Saturday, July 3 through Monday, July 5 (an extra holiday for many people). Here is a partial list of what's happening during the holiday weekend, and how Metro can get you within a half-mile of these locations. Be sure to check bus schedules ahead of time, because not all service may operate late enough to accommodate those returning home from fireworks shows:

• Emerald Downs fireworks, Saturday, July 3 – Regular Saturday night service via Metro Route 150 to the nearby Auburn Park-and-Ride;

• Bellevue Family Fourth, Sunday, July 4 (6 p.m. to 11 p.m. at Bellevue Downtown Park) – Sunday schedules on Metro routes 222, 230, 271 and Sound Transit Route 550;

• Bothell's Freedom Festival, Sunday, July 4 (noon to 4 p.m. at Bothell Landing) – Sunday schedules to the Bothell Park-and-Ride on Metro routes 238, Sound Transit routes 522 and 535, and Community Transit routes 106 and 120;

• Issaquah Down-Home Fourth of July, Sunday, July 4 (11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Memorial Field) – Sunday schedule on Metro Route 271;

• Celebrate Kirkland, Sunday, July 4 (11 a.m. to 11 p.m.) – Sunday schedules on Metro routes 230, 236, 238, 245, 254, 255 and Sound Transit 540;

• Tukwila Family Fourth– Sunday, July 4 (4 p.m. to 11 p.m. at Fort Dent Park) – Sunday schedule on Metro Route 150;

• Woodinville Fireworks Celebration– Sunday, July 4 (6 p.m. to midnight at J.B. Instant Lawn) – Free Metro shuttles to and from the fireworks viewing area at J.B. Instant Lawn and stops at: Woodinville Park-and-Ride; Brickyard Park-and-Ride; Woodmoor Elementary School; and Northshore Junior High.

• Seattle Family Fourth at Gasworks Park on Lake Union – Sunday, July 4 (noon to 11 p.m.) – Sunday schedule on Metro Route 26;

• Seattle Fourth of Jul-Ivars at Myrtle Edwards Park – Sunday, July 4 (noon to 11 p.m.) – Free trips all day on the George Benson Waterfront Streetcar (Metro Route 99), plus Sunday schedules on Metro routes 1, 2, 3, 4, 8, 13, 15, 16, 18, 21, 22, 24, 33, 36, 56, 74, 136, and 137. There will also be extra evening trips on the Elliott Bay Water Taxi, which will be free after 7 p.m.

Beyond the Independence Day holiday, there is special Metro service to the following events in July:

• Emerald Downs “Pony Express” service on weekends and Monday, July 5:

• Seattle Mariners home games June 28-July 1 and July 15-25;

• Vashon Strawberry Festival, July 10-11, shuttles at the Vashon Ferry dock and the Ober P&R take festival-goers to and from the event;

• Bite of Seattle, July 17-18, with service to the Seattle Center from the Northgate Park-and-Ride, plus regular service on more than a dozen routes;

• Bellevue Arts & Crafts Fair, July 23-25, with a shuttle circulating downtown all three days and weekend shuttles from the park-and-rides at South Bellevue, Houghton and South Kirkland;

• Seafair Torchlight Parade, July 31, served by extra buses on key regular routes traveling to downtown Seattle.

Metro's extensive system of regular routes can also be used to travel to the multitude of Seafair events between July 8–Aug. 7, and the community festivals in Covington, Des Moines, Kent, Kirkland, Mercer Island, Redmond, Renton and Tukwila.

And, for those truly lazy days of summer when you just want to sun at the beach or take the shade in the park, check out the list of popular recreational destinations on Metro Online.

The easiest way to plan trips to any of these events or destinations is to use Metro's convenient online trip planner. Just plug in the appropriate day and your starting and ending locations, and you're on your way to a day of summer fun.

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Holiday schedule for Metro on July 4 and 5

Metro Transit routes will be operating on a Sunday schedule both Sunday, July 4 and Monday, July 5. That means many commuter bus routes will not be operating on July 5. Passengers should be sure to check the schedule for their individual routes in advance of the long holiday weekend.

The Elliott Bay Water Taxi will operate on a Saturday schedule for July 4 and on its regular weekday schedule for Monday, July 5.

Holiday/Sunday fares are in effect on all Metro routes both July 4 and 5. Regional Day Passes are available from drivers for $2.50. Family fares are available for Metro routes only. For more detailed fare information, visit Metro Online.

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Printable timetables are a big hit

Metro Transit first introduced customized printable timetables at the beginning of last summer, and the option has proven to be a big hit with Metro customers over the past 12 months.

Timetables for all Metro routes are displayed in Metro Online, but prior to June 2003 you could not customize the information for printing. Metro technical staff worked to develop an application that allows Metro Online visitors to customize the web-formatted timetables in a printer-friendly way.

Today, visitors to Metro Online may select the “Custom Print” option at the top of any timetable to print a customized version. Viewers can create a timetable for a route traveling in one direction with specific schedule times for up to five locations.

Since the debut of this program a year ago, Metro Online visitors have printed more than 97,000 customized timetables. That number is projected to top 100,000 by the end of June. Feedback from customers has been overwhelmingly positive.

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Safety work set for eastern section of Novelty Hill Road

The King County Road Services Division is advising residents and motorists that a section of Novelty Hill Road between 243 rd Avenue Northeast and West Snoqualmie Valley Road will close for a four-week period beginning Monday, July 12 to allow for the construction of safety improvements. The county is requiring the Quadrant Corporation, developer of the Redmond Ridge and Trilogy communities, to construct the project, which will provide added safety for motorists while helping to stabilize the slide-prone hillside.

During the construction period, the project developer will construct a five to eight-foot shoulder along the north side of the busy, winding roadway. Given that this stretch of Novelty Hill Road is considered a high-accident corridor, the addition of a one-half mile road shoulder will provide more maneuverability while enhancing sight distance and visibility.

In an effort to fulfill the county's requirement to minimize traffic impacts, the developer will be working extended hours and weekends to complete the project as quickly as possible during the driest period of the year, a necessity given the type of work that will be performed. Due to the steep and winding configuration of Novelty Hill Road, it was determined that work could not safely be performed if the road remained open to one lane of traffic. Night work was also ruled out because it would not be possible to provide enough light for the length of the work zone to ensure the safety of the construction workers.

Uniformed officers will be used as necessary, and traffic engineers will work to synchronize traffic signals at certain locations to improve traffic flow. King County will also defer small-scale maintenance projects it had planned to construct in the lower Snoqualmie Valley until after the completion of this project to further minimize disruptions. Motorists are additionally encouraged to visit the county's My Commute Website to view selected traffic cameras in the Snoqualmie Valley to plan their commute.

During the construction period, motorists should use State Route 203 and Woodinville-Duvall Road as a detour route. Alternate routes include Trilogy Parkway, Northeast 133 rd Street, Redmond Ridge Drive and Union Hill Road. Duvall area businesses will remain open throughout the construction period.

The road closure will run from 5 a.m., Monday, July 12 through midnight, Friday, Aug. 6. For more information about the Novelty Hill Road safety project, call Quadrant's project information hotline at (425) 452-0330.

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Roadwork ahead:

Graphic: Road closed ahead sign Bridge over Cherry Creek closes July 6
King County will close the Kelly Road/Cherry Creek Bridge for repairs from Tuesday, July 6 until Friday, Aug. 27. The bridge is located on Kelly Road Northeast over Cherry Creek, approximately 4.6 miles east of Duvall. During the two-month repair, motorists should detour via Big Rock Road, State Route 203, and Cherry Valley Road.

The bridge is a timber structure originally built in 1947 and rebuilt in 1966. It is vulnerable to earthquake damage and does not meet the requirements for carrying today's larger trucks. The county will replace the bridge's timbers, replace the bridge deck, install guardrails that meet current safety standards, and seismically retrofit the bridge supports. When the project is completed, the repaired bridge will no longer be load restricted.

Expect NE 124th Street closures Thursday and Friday
Old bridge girders will be removed over the Sammamish River on Northeast 124th Street this week. The removal operation will necessitate some temporary road closures lasting 10 to15 minutes on Thursday and Friday, July 1 and 2. Flaggers will be in place to control traffic. The road must be closed while the girders are placed onto large trucks, because it would be too dangerous to have other traffic close to the trucks and the moving girders.

Here is a list of other King County Department of Transportation projects that may disrupt traffic and travel in the coming weeks:

Juanita Drive, north of Kirkland– The county is installing sidewalk, curb and gutter on the west side of Juanita Drive between Northeast 122nd Place and Northeast 124th Street. There could be intermittent lane closures until the project is completed in mid-July.

Duvall Bridge – Crews will be working on a seismic upgrade of the Duvall Bridge on the Woodinville-Duvall Road through September. Most of the work will occur underneath the bridge. Full road or bridge closures are not expected, but flaggers will be controlling truck and equipment traffic.

Wyanco Bridge, east of Auburn – The Wynaco Bridge on 168th Way Southeast is closed through September for repairs and upgrades. Motorists should detour to Auburn-Black Diamond Road and Kent-Black Diamond Road.

Edgewick Bridge, east of North Bend - The Edgewick Bridge on 468th Avenue Southeast remains closed, and traffic has been diverted to a temporary one-lane bridge. The project is expected to last through mid-October.

South 277th Street, between Auburn and Kent – There will be no lane closures, but motorists may experience periodic traffic disruptions on South 277th Street between the West Valley Highway and 72nd Avenue South through October 2005 as a result of this major reconstruction project.

124th Avenue Northeast, in Kingsgate – Private utility relocation is underway, and will be followed by street improvements along 124th Avenue Northeast between Northeast 132nd Street and Northeast 146th Place.

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STOP — there's more...

Holiday schedule on July 4 and 5
Printable timetables area big hit
Safety work set for eastern section of Novelty Hill Road
Roadwork ahead

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