No revelations Wednesday night when the Seattle Bicycle Advisory Board was briefed about the Admiral Way Safety Project, but the briefing did contain a few small updates.
We went to the meeting at City Hall to see if anything new would come to light, following the most recent update from SDOT director Scott Kubly, who told the City Council Transportation Committee last week that “some changes” were in the works for the project, which initially proposed adding a bicycle lane, as envisioned in the city’s Bicycle Master Plan, while removing 200 parking spaces.
Here’s what we heard at the meeting:
-SDOT is “currently refining our recommendations,” said project manager Emily Ehlers
-The promised summertime parking study is under way now, with data expected by mid-August
-They’re considering adding pedestrian crossings at Schmitz Park and near Alki Elementary (59th/Admiral)
-They’re considering the suggestion of removing the center turn lane so that a buffered bike lane could be included without removing parking
Two board members voiced concern about the idea of potentially losing the center turn lane, including West Seattleite Don Brubeck, who also happens to be a resident of the project zone (Admiral Way west of California SW), and says that when driving, “I have to go down this hill with people following me at 45 miles per hour and then back into a garage – if there’s no center turn lane, people won’t have any way to pass.” Brubeck added that suggestions of finding a greenway parallel to Admiral were unrealistic, as there’s nothing that runs parallel. Some had suggested speed humps/bumps or cushions to calm traffic, he noted, wondering if SDOT had obtained feedback from Metro or emergency responders. Ehlers said those kinds of traffic-calming features aren’t allowed on roads steeper than 8 percent grade, though Admiral apparently falls within that range. Reflective lane markers also are being discussed.
Dawn Schellenberg of SDOT noted, “We committed to the neighborhood that we would consider everything.” Ehlers said they would go for the “least-aggressive option” in the short term and see if it works before trying “more-aggressive traffic calming.”
They’re expecting another community meeting in mid-September; you can comment in the meantime by e-mailing emily.ehlers@seattle.gov and dawn.schellenberg@seattle.gov.
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