Fremont's Bus Project Is Finished. People on Foot Got the Biggest Change.

Over the summer, Kelsey Hoffman and her neighbors painted a huge raccoon on the pavement of the alley behind 19 Gold. The 14-foot-wide, city-owned passage runs between North 36th and 38th Streets and between Fremont and Evanston Avenues. Fremont Neighbor reported that the mural was meant to slow down drivers who had started cutting through the alley after the Route 40 project changed traffic patterns in lower Fremont. One neighbor said she had seen drivers going faster than 40 mph in an alley posted at 15. The city told Hoffman that alleys don't qualify for speed bumps or signage. She read up on traffic calming instead and learned that painted patterns can make a lane look narrower, which gets drivers to slow down without putting anything in their way.

That mural shows what the Route 40 project did to Fremont. City and county officials cut the ribbon on October 29, and the work was billed as a way to speed up one of Metro's busiest buses. The bus gains are real and modest. In lower Fremont, the bigger change is that traffic left North 36th Street. The street now carries less traffic and is easier to walk, and some of the cars it shed moved one block over.

North 36th Street now has one general lane each way

The biggest change is on the blocks of North 36th lined with bars, cafes and shops. A dedicated bus lane cut the street down to one general travel lane in each direction. Lydia Heard of the Fremont Neighborhood Council described the result to The Urbanist:

"This stretch of street, lined with popular businesses and often teeming with foot traffic, feels quieter and calmer most of the day. It is a much more enjoyable walking experience, and it is easier to cross the street."

She also said the reconfigured corner of 35th and Fremont Place now feels like "a more welcoming public space." Underfoot, North 36th got wider sidewalks and ADA-compliant curb ramps. Crews also rebuilt sidewalks and crossings on Fremont Place North and North 35th Street. Across the whole corridor, the project added more than 6,000 feet of upgraded sidewalk, 47 curb ramp upgrades and 15 new or upgraded crosswalks.

Paul Shanrock owns Stampede Cocktail Club and Twist of Fate, both on 36th. At the celebration, he told My Ballard that "they've done great work on the sidewalks in Fremont. Overall, it's just a net positive and an upgrade."

The bus stops moved closer to the places people walk to

The calmer street came with new stop locations. In March, the busy northbound stop on Fremont Avenue North between 34th and 35th was split up, and riders who still head to the old curb end up at the wrong stop.

The stop at the Lenin statue opened before its shelter, benches, lighting and real-time display were installed. Those were still pending when Fremont Neighbor covered the move on March 30. Construction on the 7-Eleven stop started in September and included new sidewalk and driveway work in front of the store.

The rules that changed for drivers

The changes that made 36th easier to walk also changed how cars get through lower Fremont. Here is what is different now:

1. Red bus lanes. Eastbound red lanes run on North 36th from 1st Avenue NW toward North 34th, then continue on Fremont Place North and southbound on Fremont Avenue North toward the bridge. These are business access and transit lanes. Buses and bikes can use them, and cars can enter briefly to turn right or reach the curb.
2. No left turns at two corners. Eastbound drivers on North 36th can no longer turn left at 1st Avenue NW or at Phinney Avenue North.
3. A bus-only left turn at North 35th. By Dordlofva Cafe, the westbound lane for buses turning south onto Fremont Avenue North is now left-turn-only for buses. Other drivers use the next lane to go straight or turn right.
4. No more northbound turn lane at 36th. In September, SDOT removed the dedicated northbound left-turn lane on Fremont Avenue North at North 36th. Drivers can still turn left from the general lane, and the reclaimed space went to curbside parking and room for southbound bikes.
5. A protected bike lane. A northbound protected bike lane now runs on the east side of Fremont Avenue North, just north of North 34th. It is one of two blocks of protected lane the project added in Fremont.

On the approach to the Fremont Bridge, the new southbound bus lane on Fremont Avenue North lets buses pull ahead of the line of cars after the bridge goes down. King County Metro chief of staff DeAnna Martin cited those lanes specifically in SDOT's completion announcement.

What the bus riders got so far

Metro's first numbers are modest next to what changed on the street. King County Executive Girmay Zahilay said at the ribbon-cutting that Route 40 trips between Fremont and Ballard are about 11% faster, or roughly 90 seconds per trip on average, The Urbanist reported. The route averages more than 9,000 weekday boardings.

Ninety seconds is a real gain for daily riders. Even so, the change most people in lower Fremont will notice is a quieter 36th, whether or not they ride the 40. SDOT's transit corridors program manager, Chris Saleeba, said the project was meant to bring improvements "that benefit people that are using our sidewalks and our streets every day even if they are not on transit."

Plenty of people disagreed along the way. According to The Urbanist, the Fremont Chamber of Commerce and the Ballard Alliance signed a letter in 2023 questioning the design, and the bus lanes faced organized pushback for years. At completion, the Chamber said in SDOT's announcement that it is "proud to see the City of Seattle and SDOT's investment in improving the quality of life for the Fremont Community and beyond."

Where the cars went instead

Cutting 36th to one general lane each way had a cost, and the alley behind 19 Gold took some of it. Neighbors along the alley described drivers racing through to get around backups on the reconfigured streets. Heard also told Fremont Neighbor in May that while fewer lanes seemed to calm traffic, lines at the lights got longer.

SDOT has said the corridor is still settling. In September, the department said it would watch Fremont traffic and adjust signal timing, and that traffic patterns usually take a couple of months to settle after lane markings change. The October 30 announcement said crews may come back over the next few weeks to finish smaller tasks. Questions go to SDOT at [email protected] or 206-775-8731.

A Sunday on foot with the new layout

From November through March, the Fremont Sunday Market sets up at 701 North Northlake Way. Fremont Neighbor's events calendar lists it under the Fremont Bridge on Sundays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., starting November 1. A loop from the market up Fremont Avenue North to the bus stop at the Lenin statue and along 36th covers almost every block this post describes.

The alley behind 19 Gold makes a good last stop. You can walk in from Fremont Avenue North or from North 36th or 38th Street, and the mural shows up on Google Maps as "Stay Weird Jimothy Mural." Next to it is a rock garden honoring Fawzi Benhariz, known as Benny, the Fremont artist known for stacking rocks around the neighborhood. Visitors are asked to walk in rather than drive through and to stack a rock. Hoffman said the goal is to get drivers to "think a little more carefully about the speed they're going."

The Holiday Makers Market at Stone Way Auto gives you another reason to make the walk on Sunday, November 15, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Admission is free, more than 25 local makers and artists are taking part, and all ages are welcome.

When a street drops to one general lane each way and gets new crossings and a relocated bus stop, daily life on the blocks around it changes too. If you live near 36th or Fremont Place and want to know how a quieter street with better transit might affect your home's value, Zac Lee can walk the blocks with you and give you a data-backed read. Get your free home valuation.