Background:
On October 17, 2017, Sound Transit and Mercer Island finalized the Settlement Agreement. Changes from current bus operations were minor:
· “Bus volumes during peak periods and on a daily basis would not exceed current volumes (excluding MI-only buses)
· All pick-up/drop-off (other than MI-only buses) would be on the south side of North Mercer Way.
· Bus layovers limited to no more than 15 minutes, and would occur incident to the PM peak hour operation.
· Except as to buses running entirely on electrical power, no idling of buses other than during actual pick-up or drop-off times.”
There is no explicit mention of roundabouts, additional curb space for rest areas, nor bus turnarounds, implying buses from the east would continue on to Seattle.
At nearly the same time (October 13, 2017), Sound Transit transferred authority for Eastside bus service to Metro. On May 10, 2019, Metro proposed their Preferred Configuration, which uses Mercer Island for a bus turnaround and light rail transfer station. Buses would serve Issaquah, North Bend, and Sammamish. South Bellevue will serve as the transfer location for other originations, though it’s not clear where transfers will occur for originations south of I-90.
The Metro proposal violates almost all of the provisions of the Settlement Agreement:
1. Disgorge passengers on the north side of North Mercer Way, instead of the south side, as called out in the Settlement Agreement
2. Turn around at a new roundabout at the intersection of North Mercer Way and 77th Ave SE,
3. Load passengers on the south side of North Mercer Way
4. Provide driver rest stop for an unlimited number of buses for an unlimited amount of time at any time of day at the existing bus pick-up/drop-off locations, plus at an additional 145’ bay on the north side and 225’ on the south side of North Mercer Way, before returning to the cities of origination.
Metro claims using Mercer Island as the transfer point instead of South Bellevue will save buses 10 minutes during peak traffic times for traveling to/from I-90, a savings that may disappear from the additional time to travel to Mercer Island and to negotiate the gridlock Metro created on North Mercer Way. The real reason Metro prefers Mercer Island over Bellevue South P&R is because Bellevue doesn’t want any bus turnaround impacts when the dominant passenger origination or destination isn’t Bellevue, and because Bellevue has votes at the Sound Transit Board, while Mercer Island does not.
Analysis:
Metro claims the total number of buses from off-Island will reduce from a current maximum of 30 buses per hour to 20, even though they proposed 36 before the Settlement Agreement, which allows 30 per hour. However, only a few passengers embark or disembark today, while the 20 buses per hour will empty completely on Mercer Island, creating up to 3000 pedestrians per hour (150 passengers/bus: 64 seated, 86 standing) and up to 14,000 per day crossing North Mercer Way to the south. Metro bases their lower estimate of 1040 pedestrians from buses during the peak hour with all seats filled, but none standing, on eight 40’ and twelve 60’ buses, but Sound Transit forecasts a 1/3 growth in passengers in ten years; it is likely all buses arriving at Mercer Island will be 60’; a peak of 30 buses per hour would grow the maximum number of pedestrians offloaded to 4500 per hour, or 113 pedestrians per 90 second light cycle. The light cycle will have to increase.
The high pedestrian volume will not be provided rest rooms and will significantly increase the workload on MIPD, EMS, and Parks cleaning crews. Single occupant vehicles, forced out of the Island Crest on-ramp to I-90 westbound and buses seeking to enter I-90 from North Mercer Way will be inhibited from turning left on North Mercer Way from 80th Ave SE while pedestrians are in the crosswalk.
The roundabout will remove two existing houses on the north side on Island Crest Way, but will only have one lane; buses seeking to use the roundabout will have to yield to traffic taking left turns on North Mercer Way from 77th Ave SE; backups east of the roundabout may occur. North Mercer Way crosswalks are no longer feasible at the intersection and will have to relocate further east, presumably with a traffic light. Buses will be challenged to negotiate the tight turning radius of the roundabout and to not block the relocated crosswalk.
Vehicle backups on North Mercer Way will get much worse with the Metro proposed changes, occurring at the:
· I-90 on-ramp;
· Roundabout;
· Relocated 77th Ave SE crosswalk;
· 80th Ave SE crosswalk and traffic light;
· Traffic light at Island Crest Way, where backups today almost reach I-90.
Driving time for Mercer Island commuters, who have been forced out of the Island Crest off-ramp, will be adversely impacted. Islanders will figure out they can get to the North Mercer Way I-90 off-ramp more quickly by entering the roundabout from 77th Ave SE, thus exacerbating the backup at the roundabout from the east.
Metro wants to remove parking strips and associated trees, sidewalks, and landscaping along North Mercer Way to provide bus driver rest areas. It’s not understood why the rest areas cannot be distributed to the cities of origin. If the rest requirement is for every 2 hours, round trips to Issaquah can be accomplished in less than that. If that 370’ of curbside is not valued for its current use, it could be used to park 18 cars. The Sound Transit Settlement Agreement values parking stalls at $46K each, or $828K total.
Recommendations:
Metro has presented misleading data and proposed changes that have significant negative impact on Mercer Island residents with no benefits. Mercer Island City Council should deny Metro’s changes and follow Bellevue’s example by proposing a Preferred Configuration for Mercer Island residents:
· If there is to be a turnaround, eliminate bus rest areas in favor of distributing them to the cities of origin and have buses load and unload on the existing south curbside location on North Mercer Way. This greatly reduces the pedestrian traffic. The existing north curbside can be used for private loading and unloading, and for local bus service (if it’s ever restored), or
· Lid the freeway between 77th and 80th and perform the turnaround and rest areas on the lid, or
· Eliminate the turnaround by moving bus-rail transfers to:
o South Bellevue, which allows better passenger access to NE Bellevue and direct access to SeaTac (via bus #260) without going trough Seattle, and/or
o Seattle, including the existing Mt. Baker turnaround and light rail station, which allows faster commute times from the Eastside and/or
o Redmond, at the terminus of the rail line, which I don’t believe has been considered before.
The proposed Guiding Values Staff is seeking from City Council today should include:
1. Focus on the Preferred for Mercer Island residents, not for King County Metro.
2. Don’t compromise personal safety.
3. No Bus turnaround on Mercer Island unless passengers are dominantly beginning or ending on Mercer Island.
4. No reduction in Level of Service that would impact travel time for Islanders
5. Charge full impact fees
· Maintain Level of Service for Islanders
· Loss of existing or potential parking
· Police
· Emergency Aide
· Parks
· Cleanup
Sources of data:
1. “Mercer Island and Sound Transit Finalize Settlement Agreement”, City of Mercer Island News 10/19/2017
2. King County Metro letter to Sound Transit, Bill Bryant to Jemae Hoffman, May 10, 2019
3. Metro FAQs/Mercer Island Transit Interchange/Let’s Talk Mercer Island
4. Agenda Bill, Business of the City Council, City of Mercer Island, WA, AB 5585, July 16, 2019
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