Transportation
Last week, the Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) announced that - thanks to the voter-approved Bridging the Gap Transportation Levy - the City of Seattle is helping to fund 14,800 new hours of King County Metro Transit bus service, including an increase in service on south-end routes 7 and 60. The city is using $1.5 million in levy funds to purchase additional bus hours for Seattle residents through the county's Transit Now program. The program will continue for the next five years. Locally, the revisions to Metro routes serving the Rainier Valley include: Route 7 - About 80 trips per week will be added to improve frequency to every 15 minutes during weekday evenings and weekend mornings. Route 36 - Route 36 will return to its regular routing between Beacon Avenue South and South Myrtle Street, and South Myrtle Street and 39th Avenue South. It will no longer operate on Beacon Avenue South between Myrtle Street and Othello Street. The Route 36 shuttle will be discontinued.Route 38 - All service before 9 a.m. will be discontinued.Route 39 - Route 39 will return to regular routing between South Othello Street and 38th Avenue South and South Myrtle Street. It will no longer operate on Martin Luther King Jr. Way South and Renton Ave South between South Othello Street and South Henderson Street.