Westwood ‘transit center’ lighting, sidewalk improvements delayed until next year, Metro says

(WSB file photo: ‘Wall of buses’ along Roxhill Park, across from Westwood Village)
It’s been two years since the Westwood-Roxhill Community Council started seeking safety improvements along the Roxhill Park section of the Westwood-area “transit center” – particularly lighting. We’ve covered walking tours of the area going back to the end of 2013, where WWRHAH leaders including co-chair Amanda Kay Helmick pointed out the safety issues. In January of this year, Metro told WWRHAH that they had procured a $170,000 county grant for lighting and ADA sidewalk upgrades to the area – but it hasn’t happened yet, so Helmick just followed up again, with various people in the loop, including King County Executive Dow Constantine‘s transportation adviser Chris Arkills, who investigated and then forwarded this update from Metro’s Paul Roybal:

Thank you for your inquiry about the status of King County Metro’s project to construct sidewalk and lighting improvements at the Westwood Village C Line Terminal. Over the past several months, Metro’s preliminary design work has included:

· coordination with the City of Seattle to address technical design issues,
· completion of federal environmental review requirements, and
· identification of City of Seattle permitting requirements.

Certain project elements, including the lighting improvements, trigger requirements of the City of Seattle Street Improvement Permit process. This process requires additional coordination with various City departments, and is typically completed in a three- to six-month time frame. Concurrently, Metro is actively working with the City of Seattle to identify options to reduce the construction duration once permitting is complete. Metro’s design team now estimates that construction will be complete in mid-2016.

Some of the other problems pointed out by WWRHAH in the 2013 walking tour have already been addressed.

9 Replies to "Westwood 'transit center' lighting, sidewalk improvements delayed until next year, Metro says"

  • West Seattle Hipster November 9, 2015 (4:42 pm)

    Rave to Amanda Kay Helmick for her dedication in making our community safer.

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    Rant to Metro for their lack of urgency.

  • ocean November 9, 2015 (4:56 pm)

    Amanda, thank you for following up on this!

  • Sarah November 9, 2015 (8:09 pm)

    I just drove by this evening after shopping at Westwood and thought, “Wow, it’s really, really dark on that sidewalk behind the wall of buses. It should be a critical priority to get some lighting all along the sidewalk and in that park!!” I wouldn’t be surprised if the next person who is mugged, injured, or what have you decides to bring a lawsuit against the city for this gross negligence! Lighting should have been there from the get-go!

  • Gatewood Rob November 9, 2015 (11:14 pm)

    A dedicated bicycle lane was installed in WEEKS downtown due to a tragedy. That is what it takes to move these cowards to act. They can’t function at the level a city of this size requires. It is unconscionable that a bus “station” is placed in a neighborhood without the appropriate infrastructure. It would be interesting to see the cost of the Burien transit center or other centers, and the capacity differences. And the number of calls the police get between the them. But, using data wouldn’t probably be in the interest of metro or the city.

  • Joe November 10, 2015 (7:12 am)

    That place is DANGEROUS.

  • miws November 10, 2015 (7:21 am)

    A dedicated bicycle lane was installed in WEEKS downtown due to a tragedy.

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    Gatewood Rob, are you talking about the protected bike lane along 2nd Avenue? If so what you are implying is wrong.

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    The bike lane was not an immediate reaction to the death of the cyclist. In reality, the bike lane construction had already been underway, and tragically the incident that killed the cyclist was just two weeks before the bike lane opening.

    http://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/dead-cyclist-was-new-mom-well-regarded-attorney/

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    Mike

  • soi November 10, 2015 (7:56 am)

    Of course it’s dangerous, but it’s Westwood. Not SLU or DT. That’s why. No mugging, assault, or property crime will move this issue up. It’ll take something very catastrophic, because the usual stabbing/shooting isn’t going to cut it. They just see that as gang or low end druggie issue. The victims aren’t prominent or well connected.

    Rob is right. Geez, just read the tortuous explanations. Look at what drives city hall’s attention for immediate action vs. getting the usual byzantine bureaucratic flow sheet for an (non) answer. Stuff like this is why we need strong neighborhood rep on city council.

  • Cid November 10, 2015 (8:16 am)

    I never understood why this transit center was put on Barton and not 25th Where it wouldn’t back onto a park or disrupt traffic so much. That said, no proper lighting for a YEAR? Are they nuts?This is a safety hazard.

  • iggy November 10, 2015 (8:56 am)

    The other issue is that the C RapidRide is marked Westwood Village, but it parks at the very back of the line of buses, which is quite a walk in the dark and mud to the crosswalk at the real stop. There is a muddy, grass parking strip that you have to use to exit the bus. I’ve been on an empty bus in the dark, and the driver will still grumble when I ask for the kneeler at the front door. Then it’s an unsafe walk in the dark to the crosswalk. Not good for seniors or anyone for that matter.

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