Cameron October 24th, 2008
The Seattle Police Department reports that it will now begin to ticket drivers violating the use of Business Access/Transit Lanes on 15th Avenue and Elliot Way.
The Transit lanes run each direction down 15th avenue to accommodate bicyclists and the increased number of buses during peak hours of traffic from 4-6pm. Other drivers can only use the curb lanes for making right hand turns during restricted hours, and during non-peak hours it is available for parking and/or cruising.
Insider tip: don’t try to continuously cruise with your right turn signal on… it doesn’t work.
Kendra September 7th, 2008
Last week I wrote a post about the fact that the Ballard bus lines, already dealing with increased ridership due to the “Ballard Boom” is also being hit with the double whammy of the influx of students with the start of the school year. Adults have been left standing at bus stops unable to board the bus in either direction when commuting due to the overcrowding. Excited to see the headline in today’s Sunday Seattle Times, “Region’s buses overflow, squeezing riders, system” I was fully expecting to see Ballard commutes sited in the article, particularly in a sidebar called “Where riders get passed by.” However, Ballard routes #15 and #18 failed to nab a place in the Hall of Shame. Has anyone from Metro ever ridden these routes at rush hour? Do the good folks at Metro not pull reports, which can be produced by the swiping of bus passes, which would detail the ridership woes from these routes?
The only time Ballard’s bus routes were mentioned in the article was in the following statement, “But it’s not clear if Metro can provide everything it promised voters in Transit Now, including new bus rapid transit lines serving Overlake, West Seattle, Ballard, Aurora and Federal Way by the early 2010’s.” Does this mean when I purchase something I will get a refund of the portion of my sales tax that goes to Transit Now if they will not be fulfilling the transit needs promised?
It’s interesting that this week’s Ballard District Council Meeting …
Kendra September 3rd, 2008
When I stepped onto the #15 bus today I was confused that all the seats up front were taken. I take the same bus at the same time every day. At the stop where I get on there is usually plenty of room. It took me a moment to register all the faces and realize that most of the seat occupants were teenagers. That’s when it struck me that today was the first day back to school and I was back to bus hell.
Over the years as condos have been put up at dizzying rates the Ballard buses have gotten more and more crowded. Then add in the increased price for gas over the past few years and the Ballard routes were already at maximum capacity. However, last year when the Ballard School District decided to stop providing school bus service forcing students to take Metro buses to get to school, it pushed an already overburdened route to the breaking point. People like me who use the #15 to commute to jobs were not given any warning about the impact to us by this poorly planned decision. Last year I suddenly found myself being told that I couldn’t board the bus as there wasn’t even standing room left. Adult riders who depend on the bus to get to their jobs were suddenly left stranded. When I found out the …
Cameron July 9th, 2008
Chili-man, Mike Semandiris, contacted Ballardblog and asked us to inform our loyal readers that the Chili Parlor will be closed this week due to intense construction interference, but will be up and ready to cater to your chili and beer desires by Friday night (July 11th) and onward.
And to make up for the temporary closure, the Parlor will offer a “Construction Special” all next week: $1.00 Miller High Life Pints 4pm-7pm Monday through Friday.
Thanks, Mike! We will see you soon..
