Lake Washington Water Taxi Would Connect Major Hubs

RENTON, WA - A local developer wants to connect major Lake Washington hubs with a water taxi service, and it might be in service as soon as 2020, according to a GeekWire report.

Seco Development is working with several firms to design taxis, which would operate out of the Southport development in Renton. The water taxi would serve Kirkland, Bellevue, the University of Washington, and South Lake Union.

"We are not in this to make money. We are not a marine transportation company; we are a real estate development company. We are initiating this service as a catalyst for a public transportation mode that makes sense for the entire region, not to make money off it," Rocale Timmons, senior vice president of planning and development, told GeekWire.

There's plenty of room to develop in the downtown Renton area, but transportation is a problem. There's a major bus hub in downtown, but for drivers, the always-clogged I-405 is the only major route to either Bellevue or Seattle.

At the same time, WSDOT is working on an I-405 improvement project aimed at easing congestion between SR 167 and I-405 through Renton and Bellevue.

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