15th Ave between Pacific St and 55th st in the U-District is a treacherous road to travel, dips, potholes everywhere. Well, SDOT is on track to fix that, but not in a fashion to make things any better. If you have traveled through this area recently by bus, odds are you were delayed. If you have traveled through here by car, please don't. SDOT decided to close one lane in each direction at the same time, leaving only one lane open in each direction for buses and cars to share. The left turn lane into Campus from 15th has been abolished, causing longer back ups and delays, simply because only one bus can make a left turn per light cycle thanks to all the cars who chose not to avoid this stretch. A handful of routes come off of Campus Pkwy, must make a quick Right then left onto Campus, and typically this takes about 1-2 min at most. Now its taking upwards of 10-12 min at just this intersection. While Metro could detour us, its very possible they are simply unaware of what SDOT is changing on a whim and the after effects it is having.
So if your bus travels thru the U-Distric and even touches 15th Ave, it might be late, and work with us, we are trying. While cars who choose to not avoid the street and find a less traveled alternative such as University way or other streets to the West, and buses fight for the light (some fellow bus drivers are not so kind to let buses that have been waiting a while go ahead), your bus might be late, 10 min even. If you have complaints in regards to the late service, please do not call Metro, its not our fault, call SDOT! I'm sure the same office that made lanes narrower than a bus is wide for bike lanes had something to do with this planning.
The upside is I myself will not be driving thru here after Feb 5th, but I feel for the operators that will until they are done.
