Route 8 Overhaul: Big changes coming to Seattle's Denny Way
Big changes coming to Seattle's Denny Way
Bus routes are coming to Denny Way. Some fear it will likely only add to traffic, but Seattle leaders are encouraging the use of public transit.
SEATTLE - On Denny Way, the afternoon crawl is a daily ritual with cars jammed trying to get on I-5 and buses stuck on one of Seattle's least reliable routes.
City officials are now unveiling a plan to address Route 8 bus service, but say it will only work if drivers change their habits, too.
"This is also personal for me as a transit rider. I am one of the 20% and growing proportion of Seattle households that do not own a car," said Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson during a press conference Wednesday. She was surrounded by supporters and public transit advocates, including members of Fix the L8.
Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson speaks at a press conference about planned Route 8 improvements on Denny Way on April 22, 2026. (FOX 13 Seattle)
What To Know:
FOX 13 worked to get documents outlining the Seattle Department of Transportation's (SDOT) plan and the $4 million price tag to make the changes.
To speed up Route 8 improvements for more than 7,000 daily bus riders, Denny Way will be redesigned in two phases.
In May, crews will add a southbound bus-only left turn lane on Queen Anne Avenue North, and a new eastbound curbside bus lane on Denny Way from there to Second Avenue.
Crews will pause for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Then in August, work moves east.
A graphic of the proposed changes coming to Denny Way from the Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT).
What's next:
SDOT will extend the eastbound bus lane on Denny starting at Fifth Avenue to Fairview. Crews will restripe Fairview to Yale, moving an existing bus lane to the curb, and leaving one eastbound lane and two westbound lanes for traffic.
Drivers will lose several long-time turns. That includes lefts to Dexter and Boren and rights to Yale. The Yale slip lane will also close.
Those headed to southbound I-5 will be diverted off Denny to Boren, to Howell to Yale. That route is known for rush hour jams even now before any work has been completed.
"People have been moving to this region, people are going to continue to this region, and it is simply not possible for everyone to own a car and drive a car all the time. It just doesn't work," Wilson said.
A King County Metro bus driving down Denny Way in Seattle on April 22, 2026. (FOX 13 Seattle)
The city said drivers looking to go south on I-5 could shift to Mercer Street or the SR-99 tunnel — or they could ride the bus.
Route 8 is expected to run more often starting in late August, every 12 minutes at midday.
"What we're talking about is making it possible for more and more people to move around our city and our region by public transit," Wilson said.
Big changes, but SDOT's leaders said the plan only works if enough drivers find new routes themselves.
Construction starts next month and will be finished by the fall, according to documents. The city said it'll monitor traffic and bus speeds through 2027 and make changes, if needed.
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The Source: Information in this story came from the Seattle Department of Transportation and FOX 13 Seattle reporting.