King County Metro Transit – RapidRide H Line
King County Metro Transit – RapidRide H Line
Involving bus riders and neighbors in the planning and design of new bus rapid transit
Involving bus riders and neighbors in the planning and design of new bus rapid transit
Location:
Burien and White Center, WA
Client:
King County Metro
Services:
Project Description:
RapidRide is Metro’s fastest, most reliable bus service, adapting elements from the best bus rapid transit systems around the world. The H Line is one of 13 new lines being added to the RapidRide 2025 service network and will connect downtown Seattle with West Seattle, White Center, and Burien neighborhoods. To effectively reach community members, transit users, and historically underserved populations in the project area, S&A worked with King County to design and execute a multi-faceted communications plan that not only provided information but also empowered riders and neighbors to inform the development of the project.
The project is now in construction, and S&A is leading construction communications to keep the public informed and minimize impacts.
Results:
Faced with a project corridor that passes through municipal boundaries and some of King County’s most diverse neighborhoods, S&A designed an extensive and inclusive outreach process. Residents, businesses, and transit users were informed, involved, and consulted throughout the project’s planning and design phases. Thousands of comments were collected and analyzed and, ultimately, used to inform decisions related to routing, station locations, and access to transit improvements. By the numbers, the project has included:
- 4-day transit rider survey that collected 400+ surveys
- 2 online open houses through InfoCommunity.org
- 10,000+ comments received, reviewed, and summarized
- 300 businesses visited door-to-door
- 4 open houses, with materials translated and interpreters provided in 5 languages
- 308,000 impressions through ethnic and online media ads