Followup: Bike-corral breakthrough in The Junction; installation soon

| Transportation | West Seattle news

FIRST REPORT, 4:35 PM: A week and a half ago, we published an open letter decrying the delay in installing the planned West Seattle Junction bike corral. Today, in a comment on that letter, an SDOT spokesperson says there’s a resolution and installment is nigh:

We’ve been working with the developer at this corner on a system for requesting temporary closure or removal of the corral should construction require access to the entire frontage curb space. In the meantime, we are planning to move forward with the installation of the corral on the east side of California Ave SW, immediately south of Alaska St, and expect this to happen later this month.

The city already has 25 bike corrals (see the list, and a photo of what they’re like, by scrolling down this page) – but none in West Seattle; this will be the first.

ADDED 9:55 PM: West Seattle Bike Connections has been working to make this happen and sent this news release tonight:

The West Seattle Junction is gaining a new amenity for our community. A “bike corral” for on-street bike parking will be coming soon to California Avenue SW at SW Alaska St in the heart of the West Seattle Junction. More customers will have convenient parking without congesting the sidewalks or taking away any car parking or loading zones.

Bikes are good for local business districts. When we travel by bike, we shop and dine locally, instead of at malls and big boxes. That is why Junction merchants and West Seattle Bike Connections have been working for this one for the past 18 months.

As Chair of the Transportation Committee, City Councilmember Tom Rasmussen helped navigate the many layers of SDOT to avoid another year of delay. According to Rasmussen’s staff, SDOT shared the following with the Councilmember:   

”We will be issuing a work order to install the bike corral at the location agreed upon by the WS Junction Association and WS Bike Connections on the SE corner on California Ave SW at SW Alaska St.  
• This location is currently no parking anytime, so there is no impact to on-street parking.
• The corral would prevent right turns on red at this all-way walk so it is a safety improvement. [right on red is already illegal here]
• This location is in the heart of the business district.
The adjacent property is currently under construction and the developer had requested that we delay installation until after the building was completed. We initially agreed, however, in light of the demand for on-street parking and bicycle parking we are moving forward with the installation. We will be working to develop a policy for temp removals due to construction.  I don’t know the specific date of the installation, but my understanding is that the work order is underway.”

This project has the support of the West Seattle Junction Association, the Junction Neighborhood Association (JuNO), West Seattle Bike Connections and West Seattle Transportation Coalition. Of at least 25 bike corrals installed by SDOT since 2012, this will be the first in West Seattle.

More information at http://westseattlebikeconnections.org/2014/06/27/one-bike-corral-for-west-seattle-now/

Wsea July 8, 2014 (5:19 pm)

Can’t wait. We love biking to the junction and will now have better bike parking.

mike July 8, 2014 (9:50 pm)

Fantastic! Way to go Seattle. More bike infra please! Bike trails are inconsistent and bike lanes are mostly dangerous. We have a lot of work to do before Seattle can boast about being a great cycling town. This is a good indication but please keep working at it. We cyclists take our lives in our hands when we ride out in this city. Do more to help us keep rolling and stay alive.

Trickycoolj July 8, 2014 (10:39 pm)

Now if only we could work on flattening the hill between High Point and the Junction(s) to make it accessible by bike without my knee giving out.

AJL July 9, 2014 (9:31 am)

Great!!!

I. Ponder July 9, 2014 (11:33 am)

I expect the bike corral to be a great addition to making the Junction more human-friendly. Another of these no parking zones was recently turned into a sidewalk park in the ID. It’s a wonderful addition.

Build it and they will come!

MrsL July 9, 2014 (1:45 pm)

Tricky, we’ve found a couple less steep ways back to High Point from the Alaska Junction. One to head up the street between the fire station and Les Schwab and turn left at the next intersection. This has a resting point (at the turn) and gets you to the top of the hill behind Mt St Vincent’s or you could ride south on Fauntleroy and turn left on Graham back to High Point (we take the crosswalk at Raymond.) The first block from Fauntleroy is super steep but short (I’ve walked that bit if I’m too tired) but after that it’s a gradual uphill. The second way is our preferred way home from Lincoln Park or the Morgan Junction when on bikes.