Elevators. The Downtown Seattle Bus Tunnel. Signage. And...?

Dear Transit Agencies collaborating about the Downtown Transit Tunnel,  #dstt

First, RantWoman does not not not want to have to guess which agency to talk to. RantWoman wants to emit her concerns into the universe and trust that they will find the right receivers. @KCMetrobus ? @SoundTransit ? ...?

About those elevators?

Gripes about transit tunnel elevator outages surfaced in a closed Facebook group. RantWoman expressed her experience with alerts from Sound Transit about recurring outages in a couple non-tunnel locations. and RantWoman suggested addressing transit agencies directly. A not entirely satisfactory response  appeared shortly in the closed Facebook group. The response appeared without a way to contact the original author and RantWoman has not asked the poster to follow up.

Here, though RantWoman humbly (or not) offers her perspective and suggestions.

Rant Woman DOES want information about which elevators in which stations are not working.

RantWoman wants this info to help plan routings with RantMom and her cane (and her wheeled backpack and ..._

RantWoman wants this info when she needs to rendezvous with Little Sister.

Sometimes RantWoman wants this info just because she does not already have enough drama and aggravation in her life for one day. Okay the last case occurs RARELY, but you never know.

RantWoman understands that sometimes this information is provided on sandwich boardd in the affected stations. RantWoman understands that this is helpful for wheelchair users and possibly for deaf people who cannot hear announcements. RantWoman has extremely literate knees and ankles. NOT! RantWoman goes about with Ambassador Thwack. Ambassador Thwack is just as likely to swat sandwich boards out of the way accidentally as to facilitate RantWoman actually reading the signs through her everyday visual fog and blur.

RantWoman thinks the info about outages needs to be in electronic alert streams.

RantWoman thinks there should be announcements ON the train, on platforms, and MAYBE on buses

Why?

People whose destination has an elevator out of service need to be able to consider Plan B options.

For some stations, it is easy to go past a desired stop, to the next one, transfer to the train / bus going the opposite direction and come back to one's destination. Not in the tunnel. Some stations have elevators at both ends of the platforms, but there are dramatic differences in topography outside different entrances to the tunnel.

Here RantWoman is being Charm-Challenged: RantWoman wants to suppose that having to listen to elevator outage notices all day MIGHT be irritating enough to employees to help get the elevators fixed faster.

Thank you esteemed public servants for reading this and for followup to provide better information about elevator outages in the tunnel.. RantWoman moderates comments so anyone who comments,  please feel free to specify whether an comments should be shared or not.

Now, for reference purposes: the response that appeared in social media without a way to contact for follow up.

You have my permission to share far and wide
I wanted to let you know we heard your concerns regarding the out of service elevator at University Street station and have taken steps to improve signage. On October 18th we had sandwich board style signs placed on the street level of that station to let riders know the elevator was out of service. At some point in the following weeks, the signs we made were removed, damaged, or otherwise went missing. We have created three more of these signs, and they were placed at the station yesterday.

We are in the process of revising the language to make the information easier to understand by more of our ridership, and working through the details of adding a phone number for riders to call if they need additional assistance at a station.

I believe you are aware of the larger project we have undertaken to refurbish all 22 elevators across the four Downtown Seattle Transit Tunnel stations. We only take one elevator at a station out of service at a time in an effort to preserve accessibility. At a minimum, each elevator will be out of service for 12 weeks. While much of the work to refurbish an elevator is planned and known in advance, the exact timeline for returning a unit to service is unknown. These elevators have been in constant use in their 25-year life, and each elevator we’ve worked on has presented different, unknown challenges.

In addition to the time required to actually refurbish the elevator, some outage time is attributed to different permits and inspections as required by the Washington State Department of Labor and Industries. On a personal anecdote, when the elevator in my apartment in Tacoma was refurbished earlier this year, it took two additional weeks after the work was completed for the elevator to be inspected and approved for use.

If you do not see signage on the street level, please let us know, and we’ll work to replace it as soon as possible. If you have other questions or concerns, please let us know. We appreciate your use of our service and the feedback you provide. I hope that the steps we are taking will reassure you that we truly want to provide our riders the best service possible, and we will continue to work to improve that service.

Thank you,
 KC Metro Sarah