King County Council adopts route for south King County’s second RapidRide line

The Metropolitan King County Council today gave its unanimous approval to the proposed alignments and stations for Metro Transit’s two RapidRide lines that will begin operating in 2013.

One of the two routes will travel between Burien and Renton, making it the second RapidRide route to provide service to riders in south King County. RapidRide route F will begin service in the fall of 2013. It will be joined by RapidRide route E which will connect Shoreline with downtown Seattle.

The F Line will offer a 10-mile connection between the Burien and Renton transit centers, serving major employment, commercial and retail centers in Burien, SeaTac, Tukwila and Renton.  The F Line will replace Metro Route 140.

Between the Burien Transit Center and the Tukwila Sounder Station, the F Line will follow the current Route 140 routing along South 156th Street, the Tukwila International Boulevard Link Station, Southcenter Boulevard, Westfield Mall and the surrounding commercial area.

“People have been waiting years for more transit service like this in South King County,” said Councilmember Julia Patterson, prime sponsor of the legislation and representative of the communities along the F Line. “This connection will provide an increase in east-west transit service for communities all along this route, providing options to important economic and job centers, like Southcenter, which is so desperately needed in South County.”

Running 19 hours a day seven days a week and arriving at least every 10 minutes during the weekday morning and evening commute, RapidRide buses have low floors and three doors, so people can get on and off quickly.

RapidRide was implemented in 2010 with the arrival of the A Line on Pacific Highway South between Federal Way and Tukwila International Boulevard Link Light Rail Station It was joined in 2011 by the B Line connecting downtown Bellevue with downtown Redmond via Overlake and Crossroads.

The twin centerpieces of the Fall 2012 service change will be the September 29 launch of RapidRide Line C, connecting West Seattle and downtown Seattle, and Line D, connecting Ballard with downtown Seattle.

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