King County Metro Transit is working with the city of Seattle to increase transit service in the Delridge and Highland Park neighborhoods. One of the proposals being considered would restrict parking during rush hour along several blocks of Delridge Way Southwest to help keep buses traveling efficiently on the corridor.

Before completing its final proposal, Metro Transit is collecting comments on the potential parking restrictions from residents in the area and transit riders in the local community. These comments will be considered in developing a final plan with the Seattle Department of Transportation.

A public meeting will be held Tuesday, March 30 from 6:30-7:30 p.m. at the Delridge Community Center, 4501 Delridge Way SW. Comments are being accepted on the proposal through Friday, April 16.

Metro has completed a traffic and parking study along Delridge Way, and is proposing that the city prohibit parking only in the peak-travel direction between Southwest Oregon Street and Southwest Andover Street. If approved by the city, there would be no parking in that section of Delridge Way and all lanes would be open to all traffic – northbound from 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. and southbound from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m.

"Metro's overall goal is to minimize transit delays for buses trying to re-enter traffic from bus stops," said Ellen Bevington, Metro supervisor of speed and reliability projects. "When the Delridge corridor is congested, buses at stops have difficulty merging back into traffic flow. Restricting parking during rush hour to open up another lane of traffic will help a great deal."

Bevington said Metro and the city are also interested in hearing about any other ideas for achieving better traffic flow, while still maintaining the current on-street parking.

As part of the overall project, Metro is proposing a major improvement for transit service running the length of Delridge Way with a new bus route that would increase the amount of transit service currently operating on Delridge. The new route would also provide:

• Faster service to downtown Seattle via the West Seattle Bridge and the Alaskan Way Viaduct;
• Direct service along Delridge Way Southwest and Ambaum Boulevard Southwest to the Burien Transit Center;
• More frequent service during peak-commute hours and midday hours on weekdays; and
• Increased late-night service.