WEST SEATTLE REPAVING: City says it might move Roxbury up to 2019, as it kicks off outreach for 2 projects including Avalon

In our recent reports on West Seattle roads in need of repaving, and the ensuing comments, 35th SW and Delridge Way SW dominated the discussion. Tonight, we received SDOT e-mail announcing the start of “outreach” for two other repaving projects, including “fact sheets” with maps for each.

One is SW Roxbury between 15th SW and 35th SW – originally in the city plans for 2021, but now described as “as soon as 2019”:

The other is SW Avalon Way and three blocks of 35th, still on the list for 2019:

We’ve already mentioned Avalon, when the repaving plan was noted on a map related to the upcoming Harbor/Spokane/Avalon/Manning Improvements project. But news of a potentially earlier timetable for Roxbury repaving is somewhat out of the blue. Tonight’s e-mail from SDOT communicator Dan Anderson says a postcard about Avalon has been sent, and one for Roxbury “is coming soon.” Avalon also has an online survey, and each project, says Anderson, will have “a public event” in the next month or so.

We have a lot of followup questions and couldn’t ask them tonight since all this arrived fairly late. But we wanted to get this info out for starters, and we’ll be following up tomorrow. In the meantime, Anderson also mentioned e-mail addresses you can use for questions or comments:

avalonpaving@seattle.gov
roxburypaving@seattle.gov

AmandaK(H) April 24, 2017 (9:43 pm)

This is GREAT news for Roxbury. It is so needed! Yes!

JRR April 24, 2017 (9:43 pm)

Maybe my house will stop shaking when semis hit the potholes at the hill at 21st and Roxbury. Oh, a dream…

Delridge Resident April 24, 2017 (9:51 pm)

I moved into Delridge on one of those big box townhouses that were built back in 2015 and love the neighborhood and my neighbors. Also glad I was able to afford to be able to stay in the city and obtain a home so while unsightly to some, personally thankful.

With that out of the way… I sent a note to SDOT about repaving Delridge and they said it wasn’t in the plans. The city doesn’t hold the construction companies accountable for ripping up the roads to pipe the water/sewer into the street which fall apart after a year or two creating the situation that exists.

Frustrating…

ACG April 24, 2017 (9:57 pm)

Both lanes of Roxbury are city of Seattle, correct? Unincorporated White Center begins at the sidewalks and property adjacent to the road on the south side, right? (With the exception of that weird jog around the Catholic Church and school).

WSB April 24, 2017 (10:17 pm)

Technically for most of the stretch the city-county line is right down the middle (with some exceptions, such as at Holy Family, where the city jogs a bit further south). But SDOT maintains the road curb-to-curb and the signals (it would be hard to divide up a traffic signal, for example) – as noted during the rechannelization project meetings. – TR
- ACG April 24, 2017 (10:30 pm)
  
  Thanks for the clarification, WSB. I’ve had to call 911 before for issues I’ve witnessed on Roxbury, and the operator would tell me that SPD will only respond to issues in the north side lanes and that side of the street. I just wanted to be sure that the lanes in both directions would be fixed- it would be so lame to only have one side of the road fixed when the whole thing is deteriorating.
  - WSB April 24, 2017 (10:51 pm)
    
    Police and fire generally go along the split. But they do wind up joining forces when feasible – we have a photo in the archives somewhere from a gunfire incident in the past couple years, with SPD and KCSO elbow-to-elbow – and sometimes city will get to a crash and find out it’s on the county side, or vice versa, but they’ll do what needs to be done until the appropriate department can get on scene.

Chris MacKenzie April 24, 2017 (10:04 pm)

I hope they are planning on doing something about California Ave below Hamilton Park! It is treacherous to drive!

Bill B. April 24, 2017 (10:24 pm)

2019? I have a short and sweet idea. DIY. That should speed up the process from the city.

The pothole rangers filled up some bus rut damage on 35th Ave SW between SW Alaska Street and SW Avalon. I was glad to see them out there because that has been one of the most problematical sections of roadway for bicyclists. It was really dangerous trying to dodge the potholes while trying to pay attention to vehicular traffic. Problem now is this: instead of potholes there are now asphalt “gopher mounds” to dodge. I’m not sure which is the more dangerous, the previous potholes or the newly created asphalt “speed bumps.”

unknown April 25, 2017 (8:13 am)

I guess 2 years to fix/re-pave Roxbury is better than 4 years.

And now that we’re on the topic of Holy Family… “not” I drive past HR every day at 530/540am and for the past 6 months that darn traffic camera goes off on me and other cars if there are any and I’m only going 30/32 MPH haven’t gotten a ticket in the mail but what the heck why is it even on at that time of the day? Shouldn’t it be “on” during school hours and not at that time of the morning?

dcn April 25, 2017 (10:17 am)

At least 35th and Roxbury have plans to be repaved, even if the timeline is less than ideal. It floors me that Delridge has a plan to be turned into a “multi-modal boulevard,” but those plans don’t include repaving. And there is no plan at present to ever repave it.

There are sections of that road (mostly the northernmost mile) that are in really bad shape. It is patched frequently, but those patches don’t last long, and the seams between pavement strips running down the lanes right where tires go lead to continual development of new holes. Once they create the boulevard, which will remove the ability to avoid the seams and the holes, the road will not be driveable. But maybe that’s their goal.

WS for LIfe April 25, 2017 (10:46 am)

It’s that concrete jigsaw puzzle of a mess next to Uptown Espresso on Edmunds that frustrates me.

But the real problem is that what Delridge Resident said (above) about how the city does not hold the contractors responsible for repaving that is at the heart of so many of the troubles. California Ave. was repaved North and South of the Junction in recent years, but all those new Condos have turned it into a sinking-asphalt-patch stretch.

sam-c April 25, 2017 (11:30 am)

Regarding contractor fixes for sewer connections and such (for new developments)… I thought I saw a commenter on here once say that the contractor is required to put in the temporary road patch, and they pay a hefty fee for SDOT to come back and do the final patch per their specifications but they have such a backlog that they haven’t been back to replace all the temporary patches. Is that true? seems like if they can’t do it, the house/condo/apt contractors should.. the developers have to put in sidewalks and driveways, curb cuts, etc, according to SDOT specs, seems like they could follow specs to do the road too.

AmandaK(H) April 25, 2017 (11:08 am)

For everyone concerned with Delridge. RIGHT NOW is the time to send your comments, concerns and observations to RapidRide@seattle.gov as the City is at the start of planning for the H Line to replace the 120. The whole project is very confusing, as SDOT is taking on a role of line planning as well as road configuration. It is unbelievable to many living in the Del that the City is not considering pavement replacement for this stretch, and the H Line route. Among other things like equity and capital investment in the area.

In fact, the more people who raise concerns, the better.

AG April 25, 2017 (11:29 am)

And what about 35th Ave. SW from Alaska to Roxbury? It’s in much worse shape than either Avalon Way or Roxbury or Delridge!

WSB April 25, 2017 (11:37 am)

These are among the followup questions I’m asking. I’ve already sent a bunch but if anyone else has a question, please post it here – thanks!
- Dave April 25, 2017 (3:31 pm)
  
  I second that! 35th from Roxbury to Morgan is dangerous and it IS due mostly to construction. They patched it with tar last year. How much did that stupid project cost SDOT? I think 35th is scheduled for 2022! Vote Herbold OUT! 35TH has been redone and is a mess with one lane. Anybody ever see the gridlock on 35th at noon on a sunday?
  - WSB April 25, 2017 (3:45 pm)
    
    35th currently is scheduled for 2023 but CM Herbold has asked SDOT if it can be moved up. The timing is also one of the followup questions I have out to SDOT and hope to have their replies tomorrow.
Raye April 25, 2017 (3:42 pm)

AG, I now refer to 35th Ave as Forest Road 35. It’s so rutted and bumpy, it’s like an unpaved Forest Road. My tire got a huge gash in it, and there was no way it could be patched over, the way the city has “patched over” the potholes sooooo effectively. It was caused by driving on FR 35 as opposed to, say, a nail. I filed a claim, complete with photos and my paid $500 invoice, with the city – let’s see what happens.

Ritu Subash April 25, 2017 (3:13 pm)

I live on Delridge and the road is in a terrible condition. It is surprising that its not part of the repavement plan!! Who do we have to get in touch with so that they hold the contractors of new properties responsible? Anything we can do to get the revapment project on the city’s radar?

Mark April 25, 2017 (7:30 pm)

You mean Streets, Seattle is a City, thus streets. It is County Roads and State Highways.

SDoT needs to spend more on maintenance and less on other items. Maintenance is cheaper in the long haul, versus reconstruction. It’s like changing the oil in your car to reduce the likelihood of and engine overhaul

Jon Wright April 26, 2017 (10:23 am)

I am sure SDOT has perfectly logical (to them) reasons why paving streets needs 3 years lead time. And I am also sure they have budgetary constraints that limit what they can do. I think there is an opportunity for SDOT to share this information so we can better understand their limitations and participate in the process of prioritizing what SDOT does.

Sorry, comment time is over.