Monday, December 31, 2007

Another Metro Complaint

From yesterday's P-I column on transportation in Seattle:

Question: Stephen Jones says that at least a couple of times a week, the No. 306 or the No. 312 bus from Lake City to downtown get too full to pick up more riders.

"Sometimes the (bus) driver calls someone -- the supervisor, I assume -- to say that they had to leave people stranded at the last stops, but that rarely happens," Jones says.

He wonders why there aren't more buses to serve such busy routes.

"Does Metro consider ridership in route schedules?" he asks.

Answer: David Hull, Metro's service planning supervisor, says the farebox tracks how many riders get on at each stop, and Metro changes routes three times a year, in February, June and September.

But Metro ridership has grown by 15 percent over the past several years, he says. That's just under 50,000 more riders each weekday.

Metro doesn't have enough buses, so he says planners have to balance several things. The 306 and 312 buses, for instance, come every seven to 10 minutes during rush hour.

Putting even more buses on the routes means taking them from someplace else. "Waiting for another 306/312 bus, although frustrating, is less of a problem than not being able to get on a bus that operates only every 30 minutes," he says.

Instead of adding more buses, Hull says Metro has been putting its largest buses -- with 64 seats each -- on the two routes.

To comment on service, call 206-553-3060 or e-mail customer.comments@kingcounty.gov.


To me, the gist of the reader's question is this: Does Metro tally up the numbers of riders who get passed by because buses are too full to pick them up, and does Metro then use these numbers to help determine future bus scheduling? Maybe because I don't work for a government agency, this seems like such an obvious question that it shouldn't even need to be asked.

I love Metro's answers:

"The farebox tracks how many riders get on at each stop." Yes, we could have figured that part out ourselves, but the reader's question was specifically about the people who can't get on the bus at a stop.

And this: "Putting even more buses on the routes means taking them from someplace else." Thanks for the explanation -- I've been needing a first-grade math class refresher.

The spokesperson ignores the real comment/question. The system obviously sucks -- what's it going to take for us to get more buses?

Around the Yard on the Last Day of the Year

The viburnum's doing well.

IMG_3063

My beloved smoke tree.

IMG_3064

The sedum are filling in, bless their little hearts.

IMG_3086

IMG_3066

The moss is slower, but it's coming along too.

IMG_3067

The ceanothus is blooming just a little bit.

IMG_3069

The moles are digging the soft soil.

IMG_3071

IMG_3082

The grass is full of moss. I'm OK with that.

IMG_3080

I'm not sure this cryptomeria is going to make it.

IMG_3075

The others are looking a bit better.

IMG_3076

IMG_3077

IMG_3078

IMG_3079

I've heard they don't transplant well, but this strawberry tree seems to be doing just fine so far.

IMG_3085

Wednesday, December 26, 2007

The Night Before Christmas in Georgetown

The Paper Noose wrote a Georgetown Christmas poem.

I hung out on Bainbridge Island and ate way too many cookies.

IMG_3010

Saturday, December 22, 2007

Beacon Hill News, Georgetown News

Beacon Hill: Amazon.com will be leaving Beacon Hill for South Lake Union. They'll be taking their dogs with them.

Georgetown: Hangar Cafe is now serving Stumptown Coffee, yum!

Wednesday, December 19, 2007

Year in Pictures in Review: Part 2 (August Through December)

AUGUST

My little neighborhood held its first block party.

IMG_8006

IMG_8032

I suspected Little & Lewis my have my very favorite private garden in the area.

IMG_8081

IMG_8098

I took a lot of evening walks.

IMG_8425

And drank a lot of French white wine, sometimes in my handmade Rubaiyat shoes.

IMG_8428

IMG_8497

IMG_8511

Our plum tree produced an abundance of fruit.

IMG_8513

IMG_8516

And I made many ginger plum crisps.

IMG_8533

I started planting the rock wall with sedums and heathers.

IMG_8778

IMG_8783

I visited Ciscoe's yard toward the end of its glory.

IMG_8790

IMG_8806

And found some awesome porn in the attic.

IMG_9067

SEPTEMBER

We went to the Bridge Motel party.

IMG_0249

IMG_0106

IMG_0165

IMG_0206

IMG_0219

IMG_0245

We found a sign in our attic.

IMG_0263

And I watched this Joan Jett video a lot.



OCTOBER

I got a new camera!

IMG_1170

IMG_1178

I take more, better photos inside the Brew House.

IMG_1454_rcs_cropped

IMG_1499_rcs

IMG_1609_rcs

And of course I did the Halloween tour of Georgetown.

IMG_1949

IMG_2013

NOVEMBER

I take a lot fewer photos when the days get short.

The Great Stuff antique shop in Georgetown.

IMG_2327

Kubota Gardens.

IMG_2594

IMG_2665

IMG_2688

DECEMBER

It snowed.

IMG_2698

I ate a crepe at Hangar Cafe. I'm thinking about it still.

IMG_2754_1

We went to the Georgetown Holiday Art Walk.

IMG_2791

I got these.

IMG_2841_1

And I think I might be just about done with photos for the year.