Different stripes: Triangle/Junction ‘rechannelization’ almost done

If you drive into West Seattle from the Fauntleroy end of the West Seattle Bridge, keep a close watch on the lanes and signs – more major restriping and symbol-painting today, as the “rechannelization” work gets close to completion. We spotted this crew in early afternoon near Trader Joe’s; the truck with their stencils was nearby:

The changes (summarized by SDOT here) are all related to the impending debut of the RapidRide bus line, now about two months away. And as if on cue, we spotted a red-and-yellow RR bus nearby, turning from Fauntleroy onto Alaska:

You’ll see a RapidRide bus in this Saturday’s West Seattle Grand Parade, by the way. (P.S. We’ll also have a RapidRide update later tonight, since there’s one scheduled at the Morgan Community Association meeting.)

46 Replies to "Different stripes: Triangle/Junction 'rechannelization' almost done"

  • JayDee July 18, 2012 (6:41 pm)

    Be very careful if you are in the right turn only lane…in the adjacent lane to the left it used to be “straight or right turn” , now it is “straight” (here straight means going with Fauntleroy) only. When the temporary striping was gone I saw a minivan ignore the straight only and blast on through. I hope the real paint prevents collisions.

  • Jason July 18, 2012 (8:22 pm)

    Ahhh yes… more reserved lanes for buses, less lanes for traffic. This will solve the problem!

  • Rob July 18, 2012 (8:33 pm)

    I just love west seattle’s thinking with traffic, I love the fact that Alaska St heading west is cut down to 1 lane. Thank God I am leaving Seattle in 45 more days, Can they get any stupider? They also need to make left hand turns illegal on Fauntleroy which can take up 5-10 minutes to take a left. Or at least make it illegal during rushhour.

  • xox July 18, 2012 (8:35 pm)

    I’ve noticed that these road changes are lightning fast. They go from a proposal to done in months. It feels like they are shoved down our throats like ‘Let’s just do it before they can stop it’.

  • WestSeattleDrew July 18, 2012 (8:46 pm)

    What percentage of West Seattleites ride the bus?

  • goofballz July 18, 2012 (8:49 pm)

    What a total waist of time & money. This is only going to cause more gridlock all along Fauntleroy and Alaska. Reminds me of when they changed the junction to angle parking with only one lane, yeah that really worked well and lasted about as long. Lets see how long this ridiculous “rechannelization” lasts…

  • DTK July 18, 2012 (8:49 pm)

    I guess we’ll be seeing a lot more accident reports in the WSB.

  • Jordan July 18, 2012 (8:59 pm)

    The signage really needs to point to Bellevue and Southcenter and say shops that way. Sorry, but they have made shopping in the Junction so painful that unless it is an emergency I don’t go near there anymore. Very sad as I used to love heading up there and tooling around all the shops.

  • Wetone July 18, 2012 (9:44 pm)

    With the RapidRide, new lane changes and all the new projects starting in the junction and triangle area just wait. If you thought traffic was bad now you haven’t seen anything. The Fauntleroy and Alaska intersection will bad news for sure. Be prepared for hour commutes to I-5 this winter from the junction. Thanks Seattle government.

  • Rats July 18, 2012 (9:52 pm)

    I’ve seen many-a-bus break down in the past. So, now it’s going to take a lane out vs just the shoulder.

  • WSTroll July 18, 2012 (10:06 pm)

    This is so lame. Wtf. How can we fix this?

  • Gene July 18, 2012 (11:01 pm)

    As someone who both drives and rides the bus, I’m very happy to see changes that will make taking the bus more convenient and faster in general. Driving around Seattle sucks, and the only way it will get better is to get drivers – especially single occupancy vehicles – off the roads. Better mass transit and greenways (safer bike/walking routes) help everyone — including drivers — in the medium and long run.

    Having said all that, I’ll reserve judgement on these changes till the signage/painting is complete, but as of right now the re-channelization definitely is even more confusing than it was before.

  • vraxvallhala July 18, 2012 (11:03 pm)

    How about we just ban all cars and be done with it? Traffic is worse enough in this city. I’m all for an effective public transit, but the reality is, we don’t have one. Light rail, not coming to place near you very soon.

  • right July 19, 2012 (12:00 am)

    Let’s be clear. There is NOTHING ‘Rapid’ about that ride except the implementation process. The buses are slow and ridiculous for this day and age. To blame people for driving in cars that actually MOVE at a decent speed is silly. People get in cars to get places on time. If there was light rail then Rapid Ride would be a good name but its not.

  • Bonnie July 19, 2012 (7:43 am)

    If the bus worked for me I would take it but it doesn’t. I make short jaunts around West Seattle bringing kids places. I can’t take the bus for that. If I worked downtown I would take the bus, but I don’t. They are spending so much money and I doubt many people will switch over to the bus.

  • fc43 July 19, 2012 (8:18 am)

    I am in the same situation as Bonnie. I mostly drive around West Seattle taking my kids for their activities. The bus could be an alternative for some trips (even though it would take 10 times longer) but I would still have to walk to it and from it with two toddlers. No, thank you.

  • Tony July 19, 2012 (8:22 am)

    And what bureaucratic bozo decided to move the bus stop (rapid ride and all others) up to the very corner of westbound Fauntleroy and California, and restrict it to one lane. It ensures that traffic stops up in 3 directions -trying to go straight westbound on Fauntleroy, turning right from southbound California (thereby stopping cars for several lights along California), and turning left from northbound California. They are undoubtedly the office-bound progeny of those tricky transportation engineers who thought it would be great fun to funnel a major interstate down to two lanes through a major urban area.
    May they find a special place in the afterlife where they are forced to drive through downtown Seattle at rush hour for eternity. Oh wait, it takes that long for one trip.

  • Kgdlg July 19, 2012 (8:30 am)

    Remember when the Fauntleroy “rechannelization” killed the morning commute, especially for ferry travelers? Yeah, me neither.

  • Sunny July 19, 2012 (8:32 am)

    I take the bus everyday DT and I think changing those lanes to bus lanes only is a silly idea. Alaska is a bus lane for 2 sec and then it turns back into an open lane for turning onto Fauntleroy-what’s the point in that. The last express bus goes DT at 8am and then you are stuck taking the slow bus into DT from 8-9. Doubt this system is going to be as rapid as they think with 8 stops from the junction before they even hit WSB.

  • boy July 19, 2012 (8:46 am)

    It is all a consperice by our liberal social progresive eleitist city goverment and the mayor to continue there war on cars. There idea is to drive car drivers to the brink of insanity to force them on the bus. I would not be suprised if the city worked with the trains to pass through town at the hieght of rush hour. I think our mayor knows he is a lame duck and is spending his final hours in office making sure the city is set up for him to ride his bike all over town with ease. What a bargin we got from this mayor.

  • Anonymous July 19, 2012 (8:54 am)

    The actual traffic in West Seattle for buses isn’t even that bad. It’s getting on the bridge where traffic takes forever. And it kind of sucks how you can’t get into alleys now because of the bus lane (can’t get into the Lien parking lot anymore without cutting into the bus lane) and you can’t take a left into it either because it’s a double yellow line and you would block the only car lane now.

    Whoever planned all of this is an idiot. They definitely haven’t taken the bus either. This was all really unnecessary. I’ve already seen one accident from people not knowing which lane they’re in and having to cut off someone else because they have to get out of the bus lane.

  • godofthebasement July 19, 2012 (9:28 am)

    This is a long overdue improvement and I’ve been 100% supportive all along. I won’t bother to rebut the massive amount of misinformation in many of the above comments because I learned long ago that Seattle NIMBYs will not be swayed by facts. But I do have to say I love this even more because drivers hate it so much: that’s the cherry on top of the sundae.

  • S July 19, 2012 (9:34 am)

    All I want to know is did they do a traffic study on the impact this change would have on the local traffic. Say if someone private wanted to say build a stadium they would require a traffic study, but since it is the city they can just bypass it.

  • LyndaB July 19, 2012 (9:40 am)

    I’m in vacation while all if this is going on so I will wait and see how it affects me during a work commute. As mentioned above, I will be curious about increased numbers of accidents involved with people being in the wrong lane. I just happened to noticed that going west on Alaska all the cars in front of me ignored the bus only signage. But then again I haven’t noticed on this stretch where it had a time limit for during peak hours only and you can use it (like on Avalon). Anybody know?

  • Bob H. July 19, 2012 (9:51 am)

    That now single westbound Alaska lane is going to get clogged up with drivers turning left (south) onto 40th, 41st, and 42nd that are waiting for eastbound traffic and pedestrians to pass before making the turn. Expect a lot of people to creep into the bus lane to get around them. I wasn’t a fan of the optional middle left/right lane on Fauntleroy but there really was nothing significantly wrong with the old setup.

  • SillyGoose July 19, 2012 (9:59 am)

    Most ridiculous design ever, down to one lane but if you want to take a right you have to dodge the buses!! So stupid!

  • JAT July 19, 2012 (10:23 am)

    Boy @ 8:46 – do you believe the socialists with their unmarked black helicopters can’t track you down if you purposefully misspell everything?

    ’cause I think they still can.

    Kdglg & Gene stop being reasonable and relying on facts; it makes us look bad!

  • RichWSeattle July 19, 2012 (10:23 am)

    Initially when I saw this going down I threw up my hands and wondered “what the he** are they thinking?” and railed against the naiveté of making less room for cars on our streets. This from a guy who rides the bus most of the time.

    But I made the same prediction about the Fauntleroy rechannelization and the traffic jams I predicted haven’t occurred. In fact, people still speed.

    Whether or not you agree with their vision, they have a plan and they’re making it happen, which is refreshing in a city where we seem to debate things for decades. If it’s a debacle heads will roll. But I’m very curious to see if it actually works out.

  • Al July 19, 2012 (10:24 am)

    I don’t see any difference in the traffic so far. Traffic always stacked up on Alaska, both east and west bound during rush hour. Why? Because there’s a lot of cars. Not because of the lanes. This gives those who don’t drive some incentive to keep not driving. I agree rapid ride is not helped but it’s not helped due to the bridge congestion (again, cars) not these lanes.
    Now that I think about it, I come home during rush hour and all week there’s been no traffic back ups along Alaska at all.

    It’s well documented that adding more lanes doesn’t relieve traffic congestion.

    I do agree that the northbound right turn only lane on Fauntleroy at Alaska is a big problem. That right turn only arrow really, really needs to be re-painted. I was almost right hooked by a car making a right turn from the “middle” lane as I was making a right from the “former” right turn only lane.

  • Colleen July 19, 2012 (10:31 am)

    Bob – was blocked down to the gas station the other night with people turning left at 41st – all while the bus/right turn lane was empty.

    I knew this was going to become a mess, commented all along to SDOT, but it seemed like it was going to happen regardless.

  • S July 19, 2012 (11:40 am)

    Public comment period is a bunch of crock. Like they would have changed anything if people spoke up about how dumb this is. Which they did and said this was not a smart idea and what did they do. Do it anyway.

  • WS commuter July 19, 2012 (11:51 am)

    JAT – darn … you beat me to it. LOL. Nicely played.

  • Smitty July 19, 2012 (12:25 pm)

    I’ve been opposed to two prior rechannelizations.

    1) Fauntleroy – which appears to be working quite nicely.

    2) Westbound Columbia to the viaduct – which is working quite nicely.

    I am waiting for a bit on this one before I call it stupid.

  • middle ground July 19, 2012 (12:35 pm)

    My question is where is the “committee for more important things” when ideas like – “lets put fancy benches and neat-o signs at all the bus stops and re-brand our antiquated public transit system as Rapid-Ride” and “hey lets spend millions on signs over the highway that can change the speed limit when there is a huge traffic jam and no-one moves anyway?” Can we get that money back and invest it in maybe re-paving a few roads? That would speed everything up!

  • Livin' in WS since '91 July 19, 2012 (12:44 pm)

    I am very excited to try out the new RR service. Most of you nay-sayers are obviously driving your SOV’s and helping to contribute to the gridlock in the region. Try riding the bus once in a while! It’s a good excuse to get some much needed exercise while walking to the stop, as well as a chance to meet some of your neighbors. I used to drive quite often, but with the Viaduct mitigation ongoing, I finally called it quits and began bussing it exclusively. . .what a pleasant and quick way to get to work! Granted, I work downtown, but so do many of you, I dare say. And as they say, if you build it (more car lanes), they will come (more cars and congestion). p.s. we have one of the best bus systems in the U.S., and buses are cheap-cheap-cheap compared to those pricey light rail systems.

  • Rumbles July 19, 2012 (12:57 pm)

    Funny how everyone wants the cars gone, yet they account for sales tax every time they sell, licensing fees and gas taxes. Maybe bikes should be required to be licensed now too….

  • Sue July 19, 2012 (4:43 pm)

    Livin’ in WS, I’m a naysayer to RR, and I can assure you I’m not driving my SUV and contributing to gridlock – like you, I am a bus rider. My biggest gripe is that they are eliminating the 54 Express in favor of RR … which means that the 54X stop that I live directly across the street from (and moved here because of) will do me no good unless I want to take the local Vashon bus via SODO instead. Or take 2 buses while I change at Fauntleroy/Alaska. Or walk 10 minutes to Fauntleroy/Alaska to get RR. So RR is anything but rapid in my case, as all these options will now cost me more time daily commuting. And those of us with mobility issues don’t need “exercise while walking to the stop.” My current commute via bus works just fine for me, until they decided to take something not broken and “fix” it.
    .
    I also agree that the bottleneck problem with the bus isn’t in WS on the streets – it’s on the bridge and viaduct. Without a dedicated RR lane ALL the way to downtown, it will be no more rapid than the 54X is right now.

  • WTF July 19, 2012 (5:46 pm)

    One hellava lot of tropophobia going on here. Albeit I, too, think it’s completely stupid to eliminate the right onto Fauntleroy from Alaska and narrow the lanes down so much it WILL cause gridlock and painful movement west on Alaska from 35th on. But, good grief, it’s change and in six months from now we’ll all find something else to (beeoch) about.

  • EF July 19, 2012 (6:32 pm)

    I agree with Al, don’t really think the lane changes have much impact on my inter wsea commute. I do predict however that there will be an accident, when you are driving south on 35th approaching the light at alaska, when in the left lane, you now have to jog over to the right through the intersection to avoid on coming left turn traffic. Its fine for a sober driver paying attention, but I predict someone will get clipped there. I’ve seen it happen in other similar situations. (Edmonds coming east up the hill at true value)

  • junctioneer July 19, 2012 (6:49 pm)

    Already noticed an increase in time at that intersection. That one lane restriction due to the bus lane is frustrating. I’d rather them get rid of the parking on Alaska–hopefully at least they don’t have that slew of stops all along Alaska between Fauntleroy and California still?

    What I’ve always wondered–is that a free right turn on red?

  • Kgdlg July 19, 2012 (7:27 pm)

    @rumbles you are only looking at half the equation. Cars cause way more problems than they pay for via street damage, accidents, pollution, etc. And data has shown that most people with bikes own cars too so they are already paying all those fees as well and yet, do far less damage.

  • West Seattleite July 19, 2012 (8:40 pm)

    I laughed and laughed when I read this… The SUV crowd and Harley crowd will wet their panties over this… Hehe… The bike riders will run stop signs and snicker ’til they get broadsided by a ten year old on a skate board… hehe…

    Then the socialists and tree-huggin’ commies will get involved…yeeehawwww…

    …not to mention the bureaucratic bozos…

    …and the final nail: It is all a consperice by our liberal social progresive eleitist city goverment…LOL…

    West Seattle… Ya gotta love it…haha…

  • Rob July 19, 2012 (9:51 pm)

    I think the bus lanes suck. I too turned on Alaska west bound in the right lane yesterday, not knowing it was a bus lane, and continued on to make my right turn to go to QFC. I don’t take the bus because I live and work within West Seattle but yet have a 3 mile commute each way. How did all of this mess happen? It sucks!!!

  • NemoBeanBean July 20, 2012 (2:11 pm)

    One lane for cars…??? I don’t care how much the City does to make riding the bus more inviting, people love their cars and all this does is make more congestion in an already congested area. :(

  • wetone July 20, 2012 (5:09 pm)

    Never seen such bad road markings in my life. I wander what we got billed for that garbage? and how many times they will have to redue them.

Sorry, comment time is over.