Convention Place station

Convention Place
Bus station
An overhead look at the boarding platforms of Convention Place station. A King County Metro route 255 bus to Kirkland is stopped at Bus Bay A.
Location	Pine Street and 9th Avenue Seattle, Washington
Coordinates	47°36′51″N 122°19′53″W / 47.61417°N 122.33139°W / 47.61417; -122.33139Coordinates: 47°36′51″N 122°19′53″W / 47.61417°N 122.33139°W / 47.61417; -122.33139
Owned by	King County Metro
Line(s)	King County Metro, Sound Transit Express
Platforms	5 side platforms
Construction
Parking	Pay parking nearby
Disabled access	Yes
History
Opened	September 15, 1990
Services
Preceding station     Following station Westlake toward Bellevue TC Route 550 Terminus

Convention Place is a bus station that is part of the Downtown Seattle Transit Tunnel in Seattle, Washington. The station is located below-grade and occupies one city block bordered by Pine Street, 9th Avenue, Olive Way, and Boren Avenue. It is the northernmost station in the Downtown Seattle Transit Tunnel and located next to the north portal of the tunnel. It is served by King County Metro and Sound Transit buses, but unlike the other Downtown Seattle Transit Tunnel stations, it is not served by Sound Transit's Link light rail system. Uniquely among tunnel stations, there are five side platforms (instead of the normal two) situated under street level, all accessed from a street level plaza located at the intersection of Pine Street and 9th Avenue.

The station opened on September 15, 1990, used exclusively by dual-mode buses that operated as diesel buses outside the tunnel and as trolleybuses (powered from overhead wires) inside the tunnel. As one of the tunnel's two termini, Convention Place station was one of the stations at which vehicles made the switch between diesel and electric power.^[1] The first few of a planned fleet of hybrid diesel-electric buses began operating on tunnel bus routes in June 2004,^[2] ending the 14-year period during which all service within the tunnel was provided by buses running on electric power only.

Convention Place station closed for almost two years, from 2005 to 2007, so the tunnel and the other stations could be renovated and modified to accommodate light rail trains. Convention Place was the only station that was not heavily renovated.

It is named after the nearby Washington State Convention Center and is located across the street from the historic Paramount Theater.

Immediately north and east of the station are ramps to access surface streets. There is also a reversible entrance/exit ramp to the Interstate 5 express lanes. Buses traveling in the peak direction may use this ramp to enter or exit the station. The next station to the south is Westlake.

Convention Place station could be closed as soon as late 2018. A project to expand the Washington State Convention Center would use most of the station site. In 2019, construction will take over the entire site preventing buses from accessing the north end of the Downtown Seattle Transit Tunnel. At that point, the tunnel will be used exclusively by light rail trains.

Future

King County has sold the four-acre Convention Place station site to the Washington State Convention Center. The $162 million deal, signed on June 26, 2017, will allow construction of a new building that would add a quarter-million square feet of exhibition space, doubling the size of the convention center.^[3]

Convention Place station is expected to close in late 2018. At that time, crews will build a temporary loop ramp on the western side of the station site at a cost of $4 million. That ramp will connect to Ninth Avenue and will allow buses to access the northern portal of the tunnel for the first year of construction while crews clear the rest of the station site.^[4] Buses will still serve the station area, with stops added next to the station site along Ninth Avenue and bus layover areas will be added along nearby streets.^[5] In 2019, construction will take over the entire site, preventing buses from accessing the north portal of the Downtown Seattle Transit Tunnel. At that point, the tunnel will be used exclusively by light rail trains.^[4]

Station layout

Convention Place has a unique layout among the Downtown Seattle Transit Tunnel stations as it has 5 bus bay platforms. Bus Bay A serves outbound buses heading to points north or northeast of the city. After serving this stop, buses can enter the Interstate 5 Express Lanes (if open) or head up a flyover ramp that will take the bus to surface streets where it may enter Interstate 5 or head toward State Route 520. Bus Bay C serves outbound buses heading to points south of the city via the SODO Busway. Bus Bay D serves outbound buses heading to points east of the city via Interstate 90. Bus Bay E serves northbound buses terminating at Convention Place station. Bus Bay I serves southbound buses terminating at International District/Chinatown station.

The station site also features a large layover yard allowing up to 22 articulated buses to be parked between trips.^[5]

Gallery

• 
  A dual-mode bus at Convention Place station on the tunnel's first day of service, in 1990
• 
  Aerial view of Convention Place station.
• 
  A dual-mode bus, in trolleybus mode, at the station's southernmost platform in 2000
• 
  Entrance to station at the corner of Pine Street and 9th Avenue.
• 
  Station plaza where passengers can access the various bus bays. There is also a single ORCA Card vending machine available.
• 
  Plaza leading to Bus Bay A
• 
  Plaza leading to Bus Bays C, D and I.
• 
  Pylon marking the staton entrance. Note the light rail icon is a mistake.

References

External links

• Media related to Convention Place Station (Seattle) at Wikimedia Commons