King County Metro wants public feedback about its South Link Connections mobility project to connect buses to light rail as Sound Transit extends the system nearly 8 miles in 2026 between SeaTac and Federal Way.
The project includes three new stations at Kent Des Moines, Star Lake in Kent and in Federal Way.
Earlier this year, Metro engaged riders in South King County— Algona, Auburn, Burien, Des Moines, Federal Way, Kent, Normandy Park, Pacific, SeaTac, Tukwila and parts of unincorporated King County—to learn more about transit needs in the South Link Connections project area, according to a Dec. 4 Metro news release.
Riders responded that they want faster, all-day bus service that serves more areas, improved east-west connections, and more early morning, late night and weekend bus trips.
People are invited to learn more about these proposed changes and take Metro’s survey by Feb. 28.
The proposed improvements include:
• Adding new bus connections to future Link light rail stations.
• Adding service throughout the day and week, including more early morning, midday, late-night, and weekend trips.
• New bus service on Saturdays and Sundays in Burien.
• New bus service on Sundays between Kent and Federal Way.
• Providing frequent service on important east-west connections across the area.
• Launching two new Metro Flex on-demand pilot services in Federal Way and Auburn that take people to any destination in the service areas and provide connections to major transit centers.
• Updating bus routes between West Federal Way and Downtown Federal Way to make connections quicker, more direct, and easier to navigate.
• Removing some commuting routes between south King County and Downtown Seattle to avoid overlap with light rail and to invest those resources into enhancing all-day services.
These proposals are part of a collaborative process that includes feedback from community, project stakeholders and other partners, according to Metro. This feedback helps develop proposed changes to Metro service that meet residents’ transportation needs when new light rail stations open as early as 2026.
As Metro prepares its next steps for improving the transit network in South King County, public input will be used by the agency about these potential changes to create a final transit service proposal for community review.
Online open houses are set for noon to 1:30 p.m. Tuesday Jan. 7; 10-11:30 a.m. Saturday, Jan. 25 and 6 to 7:30 p.m. Monday, Feb. 10.
For more information, go to https://king-county-south-link.webflow.io/?lng=en.
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