Seattle Transit Tour

Seattle from the I-90 Bus lane.

Glen the Lake Boren Carp (short for carpool) was telling me about the transit system and how you can get everywhere. He said the busses and carpools get to use the diamond lanes. Sounded interesting. So I decided to give it a try.

Years ago, before diamond lanes, I rode the bus to work in Everett. The project I was working on went to mandatory overtime. That bus was a special that got you to work at starting time and left for Bellevue at quitting time. No overtime bus so I had to quit riding. Within a month my knees stopped hurting.

Eastgate Park and Ride in Bellevue.

All those oldies have been replaced due to scientific advancements. Now they use a diesel engine rather than steam. The driver doesn’t have to crank it to start. The wood spoke wheels have been updated.

Busses to Seattle come in two flavors. Express and even slower. The express stops fewer times.
We left the Eastgate Park and Ride and entered the diamond lane on I-90 at the fish ladder. These fish are bronze.

Eastgate Fish Ladder Salmon

It was express and we stopped at Mercer Island. Did you know people live there? I was amazed. They even have a Park and Ride. I thought it was just land fill but apparently some folks built houses on it. Scary.

We got back on I-90 for the white knuckle ride on the floating bridge diamond lane. It’s sandwiched between the east and west lanes of I-90 and reverses every morning and afternoon.
After the open sky of the bridge we dove into the Mt. Baker Tunnel. It’s nowhere near Mt. Baker but people call it that. Makes you think there’s a mountain above. Nobody was fooled.

Once on the Seattle side of Lake Washington (man, people really live on Mercer Island – I can’t get over it) we leave the freeway and use a special bus diamond lane into the downtown transit tunnel. You have to get on the right bus to get the tunnel ride. Selecting the right bus is among the challenges of bus riding. You don’t want to risk accidently going to Renton!

The bus tunnel is a nasty piece of work. When you enter there’s a very tight kink in the roadway that tests the hinge in the middle of the bus. It’s at this same point that the tracks for the Link Light Rail enter the tunnel. All very ceremonial.

Looking out the window you can see all kinds of utility conduits and bare cement, fences, and barricades. They don’t want anybody without a bus in there and they don’t care how it looks.
The first station in the tunnel is all artsy and fixed up. They have fancy tile and big wide walkways with artwork on the walls. Not at all like the entry. This is where some people get off. Maybe those people who live on Mercer Island.

Sign at Entrance to Westlake Center from Bus Tunnel.

This pattern repeats; utility tunnel all dirty and narrow followed by another station all artsy and tiled. Maybe they don’t think anyone looks out the window while the bus is moving.

After several stops the bus reaches Westlake Center and lots of us leftovers get off. About half the people have iPod buds in their ears. I don’t blame them.

Westlake Center is not by a lake. It’s in the midst of the city. When you get out there are several ways to exit the station that usually get you into the lower part of shopping venues. For example you can go into Macy’s or Coldwater Creek. I went to Westlake Center which has many shops.

The first thing you notice is one of the escalators is all torn apart and a couple of guys in work overalls are talking about how many weeks it’ll be before the repair parts arrive. Downtown Seattle requires a good pair of shoes and a willingness to take the stairs.

South Lake Union from Space Needle.

Westlake Center has a food court on level three. Also level three is where you can catch the Monorail. The plaza outside is humming with activity. People want you to give them money, sign petitions, and listen to their conversations with imaginary pals on the other end of the phone. I saw a few who didn’t have a phone or headset but were still managing to have a conversation with some unseen entity.

SLUT Arrives at Downtown Stop.

Outside on 5th Avenue level you can cross a couple streets and find the South Lake Union Streetcar (SLUT) stop. I carefully read the instructions for getting a ticket and then figured out where to stand. I got on and sat down but nobody asked to see a ticket. I think they have a hole in their fare collection system.

This is how you buy a ticket for the trolley. Takes a bit of investigation.

The SLUT runs on the street and uses an overhead wire for power. It’s fairly quiet except when the recorded message announces the stop. It also announces who sponsors the stop. What? The stops have sponsors? Wow.

Not real crowded on the SLUT.

Paul Allen and the gang are making a real impact on the area with several square blocks under construction. It was impressive. Mostly digging at this point. Someday the area will be very nice (according to the information graciously provided by the same people who are paying for all the work).

The SLUT makes its final stop at the Fred Hutchinson Medical Center. The “Hutch,” as it’s called, is by Lake Union near where the old Ford plant is. They used to build Model T’s, or was it Model A’s? I don’t know. The building is still there and it’s been used for many things over the years but they still call it the old Ford plant.

The SLUT returns to Westlake Center. Some people on board seem to be transit and train buffs. I talked to a retired transit person from Bellingham.


The Blue Monorail arrives at Westlake Center.

Back at Westlake I found my way to level three and boarded the Monorail. It’s a museum train from 1962 when Seattle had the World’s Fair. It’s still the same route and still the same trainsets as back then. Several years before I was born. Umm, well anyway a long time ago.

The Blue Monorail arrives at Seattle Center emerging from EMP.

The site of the Fair is now called Seattle Center. It’s not in the “center” of Seattle, kind of like Westlake is not by a lake. The Space Needle sits there along with the Pacific Science Center and the Experience Music Project. Lots of places in Seattle get the name “Center.” And they don’t seem to care if it’s the center of anything.

Base of the Space Needle.

Since this was a transportation day I took the elevator to the top of the Space Needle. The elevator is open on one side and as you ride to the top seagulls and crows fly up and beg for handouts.

Space Needle from ground level.

The observation deck provides views of many mountains, including Mt. Baker of tunnel fame. Today the Olympics and Mt. Rainier were shining in the distance. Many days in Seattle you can barely see across the street so this was good.

Experience Music Project from above.

Amazingly you can see Mercer Island from there. It’s huge. Maybe it really is big enough for people to live on. Hard to imagine.

After that I rode the Monorail back to Westlake Center – it runs Center to Center (?). The escalator was still broken so I took the stairs back down to the bus tunnel. I wonder if they’ve named it yet. “The West Lake Boren Transit Tunnel Center” seems like a good name.

The diamond lane return trip to the Eastgate Park and Ride took longer because of that “getting on the wrong bus” thing. Gotta be careful. I ended up in downtown Bellevue and had to find a bus heading for Eastgate. It took some back streets and at one point it looked like Renton might be in the plan. But we avoided that disaster and made it to Eastgate OK. I’ve never seen the gate its east of but at least it’s not called Eastgate Center.

Al