Metro mechanics tops in international competition
Metro mechanics Leonard Emry, Ryan Stringfellow and Larry
Fitzpatrick troubleshoot an air brake board during competition at the
International Roadeo
Three mechanics from King County Metro Transit have once again taken first
place in the International Transit Maintenance Roadeo - the second straight
year the same trio has won the event.
The American Public Transportation Association (APTA) International Roadeo was
held earlier this month in Atlanta. There were 49 teams of mechanics competing
in the maintenance team event representing the "best of the best" from the
United States and Canada. Metro's team of Ryan Stringfellow, Leonard Emry, and
Larry Fitzpatrick finished first overall with a score of 1,337, and also had
the top score in two of six individual events.
The competition is a timed, troubleshooting event that pits the mechanics
against different parts of a bus that have been intentionally "bugged" with
the kinds of problems vehicle maintenance workers might encounter on the job.
Only for the competition, the problems are designed to be more difficult than
normal to detect and fix.
For the international competition, Metro's team faced five events with two
different drivetrain systems, vehicle air brake components, an air
conditioning module, and a coach inspection. The team also took a written
knowledge test. The combined score of these events determined the winners.
In addition to the mechanics, Metro bus driver Michael Grady finished 47h out
of 79 contestants in the driving competition. With the combined operator and
maintenance team score of 1,790 points, Metro finished 12th in the overall
transit agency competition.
Top
King County Metro Transit
has "supersized" service in Burien, White Center and southwest Seattle
with two new routes.
The initial ridership on routes 120 and 125 has been strong, as
passengers take advantage of new easy and quick service to downtown
Seattle from their communities. Students at both South Seattle
Community College and Seattle Central Community College particularly
like the new link that the Route 125 provides between their two
campuses.
Local residents should watch their mailboxes for details about these
new routes, and a special incentive to "Ride Metro!"Top
The Association of Commuter Transportation's prestigious
"Outstanding Service Award" for Public/Private Partnerships was
recently presented to Metro's Rideshare Operations staff for the
innovative and successful
VanShare Program.
This award is presented to an organization that develops a service to
meet identified commuter needs and concerns. Rideshare Operations
developed commuter pools using retired transit vans to provide the
missing link between worksites and transportation terminals such as
ferry docks, train stations, and major transit hubs.
Since the spring of 2001, more than 100 VanShare groups have formed.
An audit of the service revealed that all these riders are either new
to public transportation or have returned to public transportation due
to the VanShare option. Top
Another milestone was reached last week on the
Northeast 124th Street project north of Redmond.
New traffic signals were activated at the revamped intersection of
124th and State Route 202. The only work remaining at the intersection
is the final pouring of the concrete sidewalks and some guardrail
installation.
At the other end of the project, near Willows Road, the county has
completed about 70 percent of the work on replacing the north bridge
over the Sammamish River.The entire project involves both the
intersection improvements at SR202, and a larger project to improve
and widen Northeast 124th Street as it crosses the Sammamish Valley.
All the work is on schedule to be done in November.
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Roadwork Ahead:
 Here is a list of King County Department of Transportation projects that may disrupt traffic and travel in the coming weeks:
124th Avenue Northeast, in Kingsgate - Work is ongoing for
street improvements along
124th Avenue Northeast between Northeast 132nd Street and
Northeast 146th Place. This section of road is expected to reopen
late this week.
Edgewick Bridge, east of North Bend - The
Edgewick Bridge on 468th Avenue Southeast should be open to
two-way traffic by the end of this week. The project should be
entirely completed by the end of December.
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.
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DOT Dash