[NFBSea] FW: Fare Paid Zones and removal of ORCA card readers from platforms in downtown Seattle Link stations beginning 3/20

[jacobstruiksma at gmail.com]

Passing on for your information.

Fare Paid Zones and removal of ORCA card readers from platforms in downtown
Seattle Link stations beginning 3/20

 

Hello accessibility stakeholders,

 

As part of Sound Transit's broader fare engagement reforms, we're making the
Fare Paid Zones, where riders are expected to have valid fare to ride, more
recognizable, starting with the downtown Link stations.

 

Fare Paid Zone signage, bright yellow floor markings, and tactile floor
tiles, similar to what riders experience at University District, Roosevelt
and Northgate stations, will be put in place at the rest of the Link
stations, starting with Westlake next week.  

 

Between Monday, March 20 and Thursday, March 23, at Westlake Station, Fare
Paid Zone signage and tactile floor tiles will be installed, and the ORCA
validators will be relocated from the platform to the entrances to the Fare
Paid Zone.  Any work that would impact accessibility of pathways through the
station is planned to be conducted outside of Link service hours.

 

University Street, Pioneer Square and International District/Chinatown
stations will follow Westlake Station, with the exact dates yet to be
determined. 

 

Once the Fare Paid Zones are in place, riders will need to purchase a
ticket, tap their ORCA card or activate their ticket on the Transit GO
Ticket app, prior to crossing the yellow line with tactile floor tiles,
underneath overhead "Pay to Enter" signs, to head to the train platform.
ORCA card readers will be located at the threshold to the Fare Paid Zones,
to the side of the tactile floor tiles, usually adjacent to elevators,
escalators, or stairs to the platform.  The tactile floor tiles contain bars
that run parallel to the direction of travel across the threshold.

 

The new Fare Paid Zone design process included collaborating with riders
with diverse abilities. Architects created mockups which were tested by
people with various mobility needs to give feedback. Additional input was
provided by the Citizens Accessibility Advisory Committee during the
Committee's October 2022 meeting. 

 

More information about the changes to the Fare Paid Zones in the downtown
Seattle Link stations can be found in a March 14 Platform blog post
<https://www.soundtransit.org/blog/platform/saying-goodbye-to-card-readers-p
latforms-downtown-link-stations> .

 

Best regards,

 

Beth Hamby (she/her)

Senior Program Manager-Accessible Services

Passenger Experience

Desk: 206.717.9075

 

Sound Transit

www.soundtransit.org <http://www.soundtransit.org/> 



 

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