Metro Connects
Service Quality Investments
fund, design and build these improvements and encourage people-friendly street designs near transit. Safe Routes to Transit Metro’s Safe Routes to Transit (SR2T) program helps cities design and build safer, more convenient ways for people to walk, roll, and bicycle to transit services. The program contributes to improvements like safer pedestrian crossings, ADA ramps, new or improved sidewalks, pedestrian-scale lighting, signal treatments, traffic calming, and improved bicycle facilities. Potential project sites are evaluated for equity, ridership, proximity to key destinations, community feedback, and other factors. Between 2017 and 2020, the program contributed to 33 projects in 11 jurisdictions.
Parking and mobility hubs analysis Metro provides service to 130 park-and-rides across the county that have a combined total of more than 25,000 parking spaces. Metro and other transportation agencies own or lease these facilities. In lower density areas (such as Zones 3 and 4 in Figure 24), park-and-rides provide auto access to transit. They concentrate rider demand, allowing Metro to serve these areas more efficiently. Moderate and higher density areas (Zones 1 and 2 in Figure 24) have a growing need to accommodate additional access mode options, and present opportunities to re-imagine existing park-and-rides as multi-modal mobility hubs. Metro Connects will introduce fully managed parking, deliver new parking access, enhance lots to accommodate multimodal access, and integrate technology. This will improve efficiency and the customer experience getting to the transit system. It will also ensure climate and equity goals are advanced through the design and prioritization of access and the management of auto parking. As demand for mobility grows, Metro Connects envisions tailoring access investments to meet the needs of specific communities. To assess these needs, Metro will consider:
Areas of the county with the greatest needs
The level of transit service
Population and jobs
Bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure
Availability of multimodal options such as micromobility or on-demand services
Existing and future parking inventory, including the new parking facilities Sound Transit plans to build by 2050
Parking and mobility hub strategies will be prioritized as follows:
Manage parking to meet customer and community needs
Increase efficiency by promoting carpools and real-time ridesharing, marketing underutilized lots, or employing other strategies
Implement permits and payment for parking, making it easier for customers to find spaces
King County Metro Long Range Plan
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