King County Metro, SDOT coordinate improvements to speed up Route 8
King County Metro is undertaking additional steps in an effort to increase reliability and speed up service on Route 8, which runs on Denny Way. The agency notes that while it and the city of Seattle have made several investments along the corridor over the years, this route continues to be constrained and reliability has become worse.
For instance, King County Metro and the city of Seattle have increased service and tackled travel time delays due to traffic in several phases in recent years.
Past efforts include transit-only lanes, longer green lights for buses
To improve service for Route 8 riders, King County Metro and the Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) implemented numerous solutions over the years.
In 2016, the agency split Route 8 into Route 8 and Route 38 to shorten the route and improve on-time performance. Later, Route 106 replaced Route 38 as part of a Southeast Seattle service restructure.
In 2017-2018, King County Metro and SDOT implemented a series of measures, including:
- Adding a transit-only lane from Fairview Avenue to Stewart Street.
- Implementing longer green light times where Denny Way meets Fifth and Sixth avenues.
- Conducting street channelization improvements, left-turn restrictions and parking removal.
- Installing new bus bulbs in the Capitol Hill area.
In 2021, as part of the Climate Pledge Arena street improvement requirements, transit lanes were installed on Queen Anne Avenue North and First Avenue North. Then, more weekend service was added in 2025 thanks to Seattle Transit Measure, ensuring the route runs at least every 15 minutes, seven days a week.
The current SDOT Denny Way Paving Project repaves the roadway, repairs sidewalks and builds pedestrian ramps. The project also includes consolidating two bus stops to reduce delays and improves pedestrian access to the bus. Construction is expected to conclude later in 2025.
King County Metro says that while these efforts have helped, more work is needed.
New work underway
SDOT has launched a technical evaluation to identify additional transit priority spot improvements along Denny Way, which could assess extending bus-only lanes. Results are expected later this year.
King County Metro is conducting analysis of operational and service options that could increase reliability, including evaluating changes in service levels, routing and operational management strategies. This work is underway, and initial results are expected later this year.
In addition to these efforts, King County Metro says it is actively coordinating with SDOT on strategies to manage the impacts of the upcoming Revive I-5 project.
