Station agents, crisis teams, cleaner conditions among improvements planned by Sound Transit

SEATTLE — The CEO of Sound Transit says enhancements are deliberate for its Hyperlink gentle rail system to deal with riders’ considerations.

That features ongoing drug use on trains. In February, a driver on the Angle Lake station was overcome by fentanyl smoke.

Final month, Sound Transit mentioned it employed 4 new safety firms to divvy up the work.

“The previous few years haven’t at all times been straightforward for our riders, and we recognize your endurance. We would like you to know that we now have heard your considerations and are taking steps to deal with them,” Sound Transit CEO Julie Timm mentioned in a weblog submit Wednesday.

Riders ought to begin to see extra safety officers within the coming months.

Elevated safety isn’t the one enchancment Sound Transit has deliberate.

Station brokers will probably be launched on the Northgate and Westlake stations as a part of a 1-year pilot program. A station agent has been on the SeaTac/Airport station for a number of years and at Sounder Stations since that service began.

The brokers will cowl stations 16 hours a day, answering questions, giving instructions and serving to riders as wanted.

Different enhancements deliberate this yr are:

• New rubbish cans and extra frequent energy washing on the platform degree of downtown Seattle tunnel stations.
• Disaster response groups on trains.
• Downtown Seattle stations will probably be checked for individuals who might must be related to assets.
• New seating made with supplies which might be simpler to wash and extra sturdy will probably be examined on 1 Line Hyperlink trains, which serve 19 stations from Northgate to Angle Lake.
• Vitality-saving lighting will change authentic fixtures at stations in Seattle’s Rainier Valley.

Final however not least, Timm mentioned the transit company is engaged on protecting elevators and escalators within the Downtown Seattle Transit Tunnel up and operating.

Damaged elevators and escalators within the tunnel have been a unbroken concern for riders. KIRO 7 coated the difficulty final month, which may go away riders with mobility points struggling to stand up flights of stairs.

Even when mobility isn’t a problem, some riders are frightened about security whereas within the secluded staircases.

The issue is one thing that Sound Transit continues to deal with.

Timm mentioned the corporate that makes repairs should reply to stories of issues inside one or two hours.

Sound Transit has a multimillion-dollar program to exchange the growing old escalators and elevators, however that gained’t occur in a single day. The procurement course of to start out modernizing escalators will start this yr, however the work, which is deliberate to start out on the Worldwide District station, gained’t start till early subsequent yr.

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