A 30 Minute Commute to Seattle?

Written by: jeremy and filed Under Blog, Issaquah Highlands |

One of the great things about living in the Issaquah Highlands is the proximity to mass transit. Let’s face it, the Puget Sound Region is not well known for it’s extensive network mass transit. Fortunately for the residents of the Highlands, a 1000 parking stall Park and Ride is located right on the edge of what will become the retail village (or Lifestyle Center).

Like a lot of people, I have a typical office job. I work somewhat regular hours Monday through Friday. My company is located in downtown Seattle. Like many Eastsiders, I have the privilege of braving the daily commute over one of our famous bridges. Fortunately for me, since moving to the Highlands, the location of our Park and Ride has made my life much simpler. I can now leave my car at home and let someone else take the wheel.

Every morning, I make my way down to the Park and Ride to catch the 218 Express from Issaquah to Seattle. If it is a nice sunny day, I usually ride my bike down the hill. I won’t say that I always ride it all the way back up the hill though (i’m working on it ;>)). If the weather is looking less than ideal or I am running a bit late, I usually drive down and park. $2.00 and one three stops later I am in downtown Seattle. The 218 makes one stop in Bellevue at the Eastgate Freeway Station and one stop at the Rainier/I-90 Freeway Station. From my front door to my office in Westlake, the total commute time over the last year has averaged about 32 minutes. Not bad considering it is about 20 miles. When I was driving it it would take me about 27 minutes on a good day after 9:00am. Any earlier or during rush hour and I was sitting for 45+ minutes.

Given the price of gas today, and the added expense of parking downtown, taking the bus makes a lot of financial sense as well. Prior to taking the bus, and when gas was still around $2.00 a gallon, I was spending $4.00 in gas and $10.00 for parking per day. That’s $14.00. Now I spend $4.00. That’s around $200 a month.

Now only if they served breakfast too…

Comments

2 Responses to “A 30 Minute Commute to Seattle?”

Robbie on May 13th, 2007 1:32 am

My wife just got a new job in downtown Seattle. And we are both loving the close proximity of a Park & Ride.
jeremy on May 13th, 2007 8:57 am

It sure is great.

Even if you have to take the 554 into Seattle, it still isn’t that bad. I think that puts total travel time at 45 - 50 minutes (or there abouts). A small price to pay for going into work after 9:00 or leaving after 7:00.

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