Metro’s busiest bus stop is being split to make room for more buses

The Seattle Department of Transportation is working with King County Metro Transit to add a new bus stop on Third Avenue between Union and Pike streets. Bus service now using the stop on Third Avenue between Pike and Pine will be split between the two stops beginning November 23.

The Pike/Pine stop on Third Avenue is Metro’s busiest bus stop — about 25,000 people get on and off the bus at this stop each day. The new stop will add room for more buses to accommodate the recent increase in service to existing routes, and for the additional service planned when Rapid Ride C and D lines are expanded next spring, both made possible by the transit ballot measure approved by voters in 2014.

SDOT crews have already begun moving signs and will work this weekend on the sidewalk on Third in preparation for the new stop, weather permitting. Metro will install transit stop elements the weekend of November 21st.

The new bus stop is an element of SDOT and Metro’s Third Avenue Transit Corridor Project which will make significant pedestrian and transit improvements in the corridor in 2017. This element is being implemented now to help with the increased bus service and also to support the Seattle Police Department’s ongoing work to improve safety in this area.

The Seattle Police Department continues to partner with downtown residents, businesses, and service providers to enhance public safety in the downtown core through the 9 1/2 Block program. As a result of the program and feedback from the community, the department has increased foot and bicycle patrols around the high-traffic transit corridor on Third Avenue, and worked with city and county officials to make environmental safety improvements in the area.