Elliott Bay Water Taxi begins season May 1 - This Week in Transportation

Elliott Bay Water Taxi begins season May 1

The Elliott Bay Water Taxi sets sail May with a new boat -- the MV Sightseer.

Starting this Saturday, May 1, King County Metro Transit's Water Taxi offers daily service between the downtown Seattle waterfront and West Seattle through Oct. 1. This year, there will also be a free West Seattle shuttle that connects the dock at Seacrest Marina Park to Alki and the West Seattle Junction.

The Water Taxi will again be operated by Argosy Cruises, but a different boat will be providing the service. Passengers will now board the “MV Sightseer,” a 149-passenger, single-hull vessel that has been a tour boat for several years. It has two decks, with both indoor and outdoor seating.

The Water Taxi will have a similar schedule as last summer, operating seven days a week across Seattle's Elliott Bay, between Pier 55 at the foot of Madison Street on the downtown waterfront and Seacrest Dock in West Seattle. The larger boat will take approximately 12 minutes – a few minutes longer than in past years – to make the crossing in good weather.

On weekdays, the boat sets sail about every 20 minutes during commute hours and hourly during the middle of the day. Weekend service is hourly on Saturday and Sunday. On Fridays and Saturdays, night service is also provided with the last trip leaving Pier 55 at 10:30 p.m. and Seacrest at 11 p.m. There is also night service on weeknights when the Seattle Mariners play at home.

The fare is $2 for anyone over the age of 5. Passengers can also use a Puget Pass, Visitor Pass or valid Metro transfer to ride at no additional charge.

The free Route 773 shuttles will operate with 18-passenger vans between 6:30 a.m.-7:15 p.m. on weekdays, and from 8:45 a.m. to 7:10 p.m. on weekends.

There will be a community celebration for the new season on Saturday, May 8 from 10 a.m. to noon at Seacrest Dock, 1660 Harbor Ave. SW. There will be a steel drum band, kids activities, and free rides all day on the boat as part of the Seattle Maritime Festival.

More Water Taxi information is available on Metro Online, or by calling (206) 553-3000 (TTY 206-684-1739). Once the season has begun, Water Taxi passengers can receive information about the current operating status of the boat by calling (206) 205-3866.

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Women in trades celebrate at 25th annual fair

Last week, several King County Department of Transportation employees gathered at the 25th Annual “Women in Trades Fair” to hand out information, talk about their jobs, and encourage women to explore career opportunities in the trades.

King County's Suzanne Padilla and Edna Williams showed off one of Road's big rigs.

Booths and displays featured female KCDOT workers: in Road Services Division's maintenance unit; from a variety of work groups at Metro Transit, including power and facilities, design and construction, and operations; and from the operations staff at King County International Airport.

The Roads division featured displays of the equipment used every day on the job – including two huge dump trucks. Employees involved in the Roads displays included: Debra Hakinson; Don Mahoney; Edna Williams; Margaret Wong-Thomas; Darryl Reese; Sandy Trevino; Peggy Lollie-Rogers; Angela Haley; Carol Johnson; Mike Hudson; Dave Lockwood; Theresa Canfield; Kristi Olson; Cheryl Papenbrock; Machelle Gatewood; Daisy Shirley; Kevin Knuntzen; Julie Wing; and Bob Mayovsky.

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Madison-Miller 'springs into motion'

A transportation fair for residents in the Madison-Miller neighborhood on Capitol Hill this Saturday will celebrate spring and smart travel choices. There will be self-guided walks and bike rides through the neighborhood, activities for kids, and information about a new community program to encourage use of transit, bikes, and foot power.

It will be held from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, May 1 at the Miller Community Center, 330 19th Avenue East. For more information, call the project hotline at (206) 296-3455, or visit the project website. The program and event is sponsored by King County Metro Transit.

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Poetry a go-go

In 1992, King County Metro Transit initiated the Poetry Bus Project. Since then, it has become a popular annual competition. Poems from local residents are selected by a panel of professional writers. Selected poems are published on bus placards that are displayed on the interior of all King County Metro Buses for up to one year.

The 2004 selected poems will be unveiled this Wednesday, April 28 at a reception hosted by 4 Culture, a community-based cultural association. The public is welcome to attend, tour a new Poetry Bus, meet the poets, and hear them recite the poems selected for the 2004 collection. It will be held at the Seattle Art Museum, 100 University St., Seattle, from 6-8 p.m.

The selected poems will also be posted on Metro Online after the reception.

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Wynaco Bridge closed for five months

The Wynaco Bridge, east of Auburn, closed Monday, April 26 for major rehabilitation. During the five-month closure, the King County Road Services Division will be extensively upgrading the bridge.

The bridge crosses Covington Creek, and is located east of Auburn on 168th Way Southeast at the Auburn-Black Diamond Road. During the closure, the bridge will undergo a seismic retrofit and it will be repaired to carry heavier, modern-day loads.

While the bridge is closed, traffic will be detoured to Auburn-Black Diamond Road and Kent-Black Diamond Road. For more information, visit the project website.

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Roadwork ahead

Graphic: Road closed ahead sign

Here is a list of King County Department of Transportation projects that may disrupt traffic and travel this week:

Northeast 124th Street, north of Redmond – Work continues through October 2004 on Northeast 124th Street between Willows Road and State Route 202. Expect traffic delays.

Cumberland-Kanaskat Road, east of Black Diamond – A section of the Cumberland-Kanaskat Road south of Kanaskat-Kangley Road will be closed to daytime traffic from 6 a.m. to 4 p.m. through Friday, April 30 to repair a railroad overcrossing.

Edgewick Bridge, east of North Bend - Crews have closed the Edgewick Bridge on 468th Avenue Southeast, and traffic has been diverted to a temporary one-lane bridge. The project is expected to last through mid-October.

South 277th Street, between Auburn and Kent – There will be no lane closures, but motorists may experience periodic traffic disruptions on South 277th Street between the West Valley Highway and 72 nd Avenue South through October 2005 as a result of this major reconstruction project.

124th Avenue NE, in Kingsgate – Private utility relocation is underway, and will be followed by street improvements along 124th Avenue Northeast between Northeast 132nd Street and Northeast 146th Place.

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STOP — there's more...

Women in trades celebrate 25th annual fair
Madison-Miller 'springs into action'
Poetry a go-go
Wynaco Bridge closed for five months
Roadwork ahead

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