Ballard families looking to skip the Golden Gardens parking lot in August have a new option: a direct bus running every 30 minutes from Market Street to the beach, with free rides for anyone 18 and under.
Golden Gardens Direct, a pilot summer service from King County Metro and the City of Seattle, picks up passengers at Route 44 stops along Market Street and drops them at new stops on Seaview Avenue and at Golden Gardens Park.
The service runs daily from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. through Sunday, August 30. Adult fare is $3, the same as any Metro bus ride.
City Councilmember Dan Strauss, King County Councilmember Jorge Baron, and Mayor Katie Wilson appeared together on one of the buses at the service's June launch. The pilot is funded through the Seattle Transit Measure.
Denny Way bus lane opens in August
Queen Anne and Lower Queen Anne riders who depend on Route 8 are getting relief, too. The final phase of the Denny Way Bus Reliability Project launched Saturday, August 1, bringing a new bus-only lane to the corridor near Interstate 5.
Route 8 carries about 7,000 riders daily and ranks among Metro's top 10 routes by ridership, but heavy traffic on Denny Way has also made it one of the system's least reliable lines.
During a prior construction closure that previewed the new lane configuration, eastbound travel times on Denny Way improved by up to 15%.
King County Metro is adding 50 bus trips per week to Route 8 on top of more than 75 trips added last year, meaning more frequent service on nights, middays, and weekends. The bus-lane project is funded by the Seattle Transportation Levy; the added trips come from the Seattle Transit Measure.
Drivers who previously merged onto I-5 southbound from eastbound Denny Way via Yale Avenue must now turn right on Boren Avenue and left on Howell Street to reach the on-ramp.
Route 40 construction nearing finish in Fremont and Ballard
The Route 40 Transit-Plus Multimodal Corridor project is in its final stretch in both Fremont and Ballard, according to SDOT's latest travel advisory. A new concrete-protected bike lane on Fremont Avenue just north of the Fremont Bridge was installed earlier this year as part of the work.
SDOT has not published a completion date for the remaining Ballard and Fremont segments. Residents can check the Route 40 project page on SDOT's website for block-by-block construction details.
Getting around without a car in August
Between the I-5 Ship Canal Bridge lane reductions (two northbound lanes through year's end) and the Harvard Avenue on-ramp closure through mid-October, driving through north Seattle remains slow. The Golden Gardens Direct shuttle, the free Waterfront Shuttle connecting Seattle Center to Pioneer Square and the Chinatown-International District (running through Monday, September 7), and the added Route 8 trips all offer alternatives funded by the same transit measure voters approved.
Golden Gardens Direct boards at Route 44 stops on Market Street in Ballard. Last bus leaves the park at 9 p.m.
