See where Delridge Way will be repaved, where parking will change, where stops are planned in newest RapidRide H Line plan

Though Metro Route 120 isn’t scheduled to become the RapidRide H Line until 2021, key design and planning decisions are being made soon because it’s a lot more involved than swapping out buses. One big relatively new feature of the project – Delridge Way will be repaved, all along the north half-or-so that wasn’t part of the 2013 south half-or-so repaving project. As shown last night at the SDOT/Metro open house in White Center – the first major update since the one we showed you back in January – other changes big and small are in the works. If you weren’t there, you’ll want to take a look, whether your use of Delridge involves driving, walking, biking, and/or bus-riding. First, here’s what SDOT showed at the open house:

(If that version doesn’t work for you, here’s the PDF.) And here’s what Metro showed at the open house – our display starts with the routing but that’s the last four pages:

(Here’s the PDF version.)

Talking with Metro and SDOT reps at the open house, we learned that while things are currently in the 10 percent design stage,” they will soon be at 30 percent design, so most of the feedback they get now will be addressed in the phase after that – the 60 percent stage. That’s expected to be reached next spring. In the meantime, get your thoughts in now – including the station locations and whether you have any requests about making them easier to reach – here’s the “online open house” you can use to do that.

8 Replies to "See where Delridge Way will be repaved, where parking will change, where stops are planned in newest RapidRide H Line plan"

  • Joe Z October 11, 2018 (3:18 pm)

    A few concerns:

    1) Doesn’t traffic often back up past Alaska St in the mornings? How is the “rapid” bus going to get around the parked cars in the right lane?
    2) Delridge is 5 lanes wide…how is there not room for a bike lane along the entire corridor? That northbound bike route misses all of the destinations on Delridge that people might want to bike to.

  • coffeedude October 11, 2018 (4:11 pm)

    One thing I would love to see, a way for cars NOT to pass using the turn lane on Delridge. I have had many many close calls because of idiots who do not want to follow the speed limit and think that the turn lane is a passing lane.

  • Wscyclist October 11, 2018 (5:59 pm)

    Yes!

    Cycling delridge is rough. I do it every day and drivers can be impatient and dangerous and the gaps in the pavement can eat your whole bike! This is good news!

  • Jason October 11, 2018 (9:38 pm)

    I bought a house on Delridge last year, up by the park and Pearl’s coffee. I would challenge anyone involved with this project from the city side to come down during the daytime, or morning, or evening, and just try to cross the street by Pearl’s. It’s one of the most dangerous, no crosswalk for a thousand feet (more if you are walking south), cars speeding around the corner by the rec center. Amazed there haven’t been fatalities here. I won’t walk with my kids to Pearl’s on the other side of the street – it’s that bad. You also have a ton of gangsters floating up from White Center who mean-mug and speed up if they see you trying to cross, which makes it doubly worse.

  • Kathy October 12, 2018 (7:00 am)

    The lack of any new marked crosswalks between Brandon and the community center is a huge problem. I see neighbors literally risking their lives trying to cross to catch northbound buses every day. There needs to be something in that stretch as it is too far for many peoole to walk either north or south to cross safely. There also need to be more barriers to people using the center lane to pass at high speed. This puts other drivers and pedestrians at considerable risk and it happens all the time. More islands in the middle lane at regular intervals or some other barrier might help deter these scofflaws. Glad to see it will be getting repaved but don’t get me started on the lack of impact fees paid by developers for all the damage they have done to this stretch of road over the last 10 years.

  • tom e October 14, 2018 (9:42 am)

    get a grip Jason. stop generalizing people and places. delridge has historically been one of the most ignored areas in seattle by policymakers. you bought a house in a rapidly gentrifying neighborhood at the height of the market. doesn’t mean it’s the highest priority in the city because you live there now. appreciate the positive change that is incrementally coming your (our) way and the attention we’re finally getting out here from the city.

  • D-Ridge October 14, 2018 (3:20 pm)

    @Tom E – no reason to be a jerk.

    I’m not sure how you inferred “doesn’t mean it’s the highest priority in the city because you live there now” from what Jason said. Sounds like you too are making a generalization…

    I personally agree with what Jason said and think it is a priority concern if there are going to be renovations to the area/avenue. I’ve lived there 7 years and Jason’s observations are correct (although I don’t think the bad car behavior is limited to “gangsters from White Center”). I’ve personally written/called the city a few times for more crosswalks in that stretch of Delridge over the years and have been denied. People drive very fast and very recklessly on that avenue, especially due to the middle turning lane, which essentially becomes an illegal passing lane. There is no crosswalk option between Juneau and Oregon and crossing at any intersection in between becomes a game of frogger. I stand at an intersection with my child and am amazed that people will not stop, even if I am already crossing the street. Now, will crosswalks solve this – probably not fully, but at least it is a step.

  • tom e October 14, 2018 (4:23 pm)

    @D-Ridge: no need for name-calling. i’m just pointing out that changes are coming to this area faster than ever before (due to the influx of money and development). there is a lack of infrastructural safeguards for pedestrians/bicyclists all over the south end and the investment the city is making down here now is pretty impressive relative to a decade ago. if there is a problematic crosswalk, you & jason should go (maybe you have? don’t want to generalize) to an open house or Herbold’s office hours instead of resorting to pearl-clutching & xenophobic dramatizations on this story about infrastructural investment.

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