FOLLOWUP: Roxbury repaving? Not any time soon

| Safety | Transportation | West Seattle news

You might recall that back in 2017, SDOT said Roxbury repaving between 15th SW and 35th SW “might” move up to this year, two years sooner than the original 2021 plan. Not only did that not happen, now there’s another indication the project is on indefinite hold. This document attached to a City Council committee agenda item next Tuesday (Bicycle Master Plan implementation) lists statuses on a variety of projects, including Roxbury repaving. Page 37 says Roxbury is delayed until “after the levy” – an apparent reference to the Levy to Move Seattle, which runs through 2024. The levy’s revised work plan, published just last fall, had listed Roxbury as a 2019-2024 project (see page 6). West Seattle does have two other major repaving projects in the not-too-distant future – Avalon/35th/Alaska, starting next month, and north Delridge Way, starting next year.

Rick Van El March 31, 2019 (4:28 am)

Repaving of Roxbury is problematic for the City of Seattle and SDOT, as the jurisdiction of the City of Seattle only extends southward to the center of the turn lane along Roxbury with the exception being the small southward jurisdictional jog at 18th Ave SW to 21st Ave SW. The entire southern half of Roxbury (with the above exception) sits in Unincorporated King County. One can verify this by going to King County Parcel Viewer 2.0 and taking a look — Seattle is marked in orange and Unincorporatef King County is in white. Repaving funds for the sothern part of Roxbury must come from the limited funds of King County not Seattle.Now, for the readers who have stayed with me to this point, I will offer a real zinger! The automated traffic camera that has an address of about 2103 to 2121 Roxbury (the electrical box is marked 2121), sits fully in Unincorporated King County jurisdiction and not in the jurisdiction of the City of Seattle. The eastbound traffic camera on Roxbury is therefore illegal! Meaning every single traffic ticket ever issued by that eastbound camera must be thrown out!, and the City of Seattle could be exposed to criminal entrapment charges (RCW 46.61.470)! This is a huge story, we need to get Jesse Jones on this matter.

WSB March 31, 2019 (9:47 am)

Actually, SDOT maintains the southern half of Roxbury too, even in the section where the county line goes down the middle, as noted in previous coverage such as this
https://westseattleblog.com/2015/04/happening-now-sdot-unveils-sw-roxbury-plan-at-westwood-roxhill-arbor-heights-community-council-meeting/

AMD March 31, 2019 (9:00 am)

Are they serious? Roxbury is worse than Delridge or 35th in some spots. Particularly between 26th and 17th. This is ridiculous. They patched AGAIN in the past week but there is already one pothole that has re-opened. It’s only going to get worse as the 120 runs more frequently. *sigh*

Steve Shepard March 31, 2019 (9:26 am)

Seattle is not dying BUT it is sick as evidenced by it’s roads, it veins and arteries pitted and clogged. What priority would allow our basic infrastructure to suffer?

flimflam March 31, 2019 (9:42 am)

i agree – our local leaders seem to have very little interest in simple, proactive infrastructure maintenance and repair. i think that stuff is considered way too boring and is not part of the agenda…

Josh March 31, 2019 (10:25 am)

Thank you WSB for letting us know!So crazy- and sad! This is basic stuff our taxes should go towards- especially a main thoroughfare such as Roxbury. It’s s horrible stretch to drive through, with few options.What can we do to change this?

WSB March 31, 2019 (11:57 am)

The budgetary reins are ultimately held by the SDOT director and mayor. You can of course reach both by email, but – while I don’t know of a scheduled West Seattle visit by the mayor any time soon (last weekend, for example, at the High Point Play Area dedication, her participation was not announced in advance … we showed up just guessing the acting Parks director might be there to help cut the ribbon and to our surprise, there was the mayor) – new SDOT boss Sam Zimbabwe is expected to be the guest at the next West Seattle Transportation Coalition meeting (Thursday, April 23rd). There’s also public comment at the Tuesday meeting at which this document will be presented, but note that this is all through a Bike Master Plan lens, so that’s what the committee will be focusing on. The Roxbury postponement appears to be primarily blamed on AAC priorities (Arterial Asphalt and Concrete) – TR

D Del Rio March 31, 2019 (7:14 pm)

What is SDOT spending their money on? I have lived here over 50 years, and have never seen our roads in such dire condition. We have been in one of the biggest economic booms in history. I am sure the city collects a lot of tax money from this, but we have nothing to show for it when it comes to BASIC infrastructure. Vote these people out come November.

Jon Wright March 31, 2019 (8:09 pm)

How will voting everyone out magically conjure up more money to repave roads?

1994 March 31, 2019 (9:56 pm)

Swift Ave, just on the east side of I-5 & Georgetown, is slated for repaving. In my humble opinion the pavement on Swift Ave is in pretty good shape compared to the crumbling stretches on Roxbury, Delridge, and 35th. SDOTs decisions are confusing.The increased Metro buses are extremely hard on the road surfaces. The concrete slabs are totally getting ruined near and around Westwood Village. Eastbound Roxbury approaching 35th is totally crushed and ruined. SDOT should charge Metro for the road repairs.