FOLLOWUP: Delridge Way RapidRide H Line/repaving/etc. project design now at 90% stage. See what’s changed

| Delridge | Transportation | West Seattle news

(Image from kingcounty.gov)

The project to convert Metro Route 120 into the RapidRide H Line includes, as we’ve long been reporting, changes for Delridge Way – including repaving and rechannelization. The design has just hit another milestone – the 90 percent stage, according to SDOT’s project spokesperson Dan Anderson. You can preview the road changes in these PDF documents – channelization here, types of paving here. (Both require extensive zooming for detail.) Below, you can see a list that Anderson describes as “changes we’ve included in the new design based on what we heard”:

Extended the northbound bus-only lanes two blocks farther south. The 24/7 bus lane now goes from the West Seattle Bridge to SW Alaska St. There is a 6-9 AM peak only bus lane that extends south from SW Alaska St to SW Hudson St.

Moved the southbound RapidRide station at SW Holden St from the northeast to the southeast side of the intesection

Added a half-mile of new drainage improvements to reduce flooding in and near the intersections of SW Sylvan St and SW Myrtle St

Added leading pedestrian intervals at traffic signals to give people walking a head start crossing the street

Added additional new streetlights for increased safety

Integrated transit priority signals at major intersections to improve bus speed and reliability

Updated the 26th Ave SW Neighborhood Greenway by adding speed humps, street painting, and vegetation clearing

Added wayfinding signs with directions to neighborhood greenways and popular destinations

Added standard neighborhood-greenway signs along 26th Ave SW with connections to SW Andover St, SW Hudson St, SW Findlay St, SW Juneau St, SW Holden St, and SW Henderson St

Added wider curb ramps at SW Andover St for people biking and walking, thanks to community members’ Neighborhood Street Fund proposal

Added a “no right on red” restriction sign for traffic turning from westbound SW Andover St onto northbound Delridge Way SW to reduce conflicts between people biking and driving

Included real-time arrival reader boards at RapidRide stations

Increased the amount of flower beds and trees planted in street medians to increase canopy and greenery

Added a protected left-turn lane for people traveling south turning into Youngstown Cultural Arts Center

Added a northbound left turn pocket at the intersection of SW Holden St

Added a walk/bike flashing beacon and marked crosswalks across Delridge Way SW at SW Hudson St

Added a walk/bike traffic signal at SW Findlay St to stop traffic when activated

Added curb bulbs and a marked crosswalk across Delridge Way SW on the north side of the SW Edmunds St intersection

Added drainage improvements at the intersections of SW Findlay St and SW Brandon St

Maintained the Route 60 and Route 128 bus stop in front of the 7-Eleven

Preserved large oak trees near SW Barton St and SW Henderson St

Widened sidewalks by power poles near 21st Ave SW to be wheelchair-accessible and Americans with Disability Act-compliant

When the project website is updated – by day’s end, Anderson says – they expect also to list other suggested changes that either were ruled out or are still being considered. The road project is expected to start next year; the RapidRide H Line launch is expected in fall 2021.

BACKSTORY: Some project overview is in this report from earlier this year, when the City Council got a briefing at the 30 percent design milestone; we also took a close-up look at that stage here. As noted then, some of the north-end repaving is constrained by the fact that Sound Transit light rail is scheduled for construction in less than a decade. The south half-or-so of Delridge Way will not be repaved because it already got new pavement in 2013.

KM November 6, 2019 (2:43 pm)

Am I just tired, or does a southbound bus stop on the east side of the street seem highly unreasonable to anyone else? (@ SW Holden)

D November 6, 2019 (6:33 pm)

I don’t think a southbound bus only lane is needed, but if they fixed the lights so buses had priority it’d solve some issues.
- KM November 6, 2019 (7:32 pm)
  
  I was coming from the thought that a southbound bus would use either a northWEST or southWEST corner of the street for a bus stop.
  - D November 7, 2019 (11:03 am)
    
    I didn’t see what side of the street it was on. I’ll have to look at the map.
Pf November 7, 2019 (10:34 am)

My thoughts exactly. Glad I’m not the only one confused by this.

chas redmond November 6, 2019 (3:35 pm)

Heading south on Delridge, there are a lot of vehicles which use that right-turn only lane to go down Barton, which I see is now restricted to transit only. This is NOT OKAY.

sam-c November 6, 2019 (7:04 pm)

That is going to be a messy intersection. Between the change in the SB right turn from Delridge to WB Barton to the enlarge curb burlbs… which will ensure that the only one getting thru an intersection at any given time will be the car or bus turning left on a red light…. Really wish that SDOT would recognize that left-turning buses need left turn arrows…Another crazy one is 16th / Roxbury. The only one to make it thru the light is the bus turning left when the light turns red…..At least they put in left turn pockets at ( ? hope i member correctly from my first glance) Thistle.
Dustin November 7, 2019 (11:04 am)

Yes, Barton Pl provides a major connection point for southbound traffic on Delridge to access Westwood Village, 35th Ave, Arbor Heights, the Fauntleroy ferry terminal. Restricting right turn access from Delridge would divert drivers to more residential streets like Trenton St or Barton St – I’m surprised they would consider that.
- sam-c November 26, 2019 (9:58 am)
  
  Taking away that connection seems like a horrible idea. Hopefully you will still be able to make that right turn (from SB Delridge to WB Barton)? It’s just that your turn will be practically a u-turn, thanks to the roadway triangle configuration.

D Del Rio November 6, 2019 (5:53 pm)

I remember when the 54 was changed into the “Rapid Ride” C Line. What a waste of money. Why didn’t they just add more busses to the 54? The C Line took longer with all the new painted lines and bus bulbs. Just add more buses to the 120 and call it a day. Think of all the millions that could be saved!

The King November 6, 2019 (9:24 pm)

While adding more buses sounds simple, that requires drivers, which metro has a shortage of, more buses which are over a million each for the articulated version now. Finding new drivers, getting them a CDL, learn the route takes time. Once they get on the road on their own, it sounds like a lot of them aren’t willing to put up with being verbally abused, spit on or outright assaulted in the new Seattle. So they quit. Since dirt has become so expensive, finding a place to put all of those buses isn’t a simple job either. The 2018 budget for metro is available online, it was around 590,000,000 if I remember. Nothing is as simple as it seems anymore.

Occasional bike commuter November 6, 2019 (8:12 pm)

It still seems ridiculous there are not protected bike lanes the entire length of Delridge. Insult to injury, with the current plan bicycles will have to compete with cars and busses for a single lane much of the way! The center planting strips are gonna get bicyclists killed.

AMD November 7, 2019 (1:30 pm)

Correct me if I’m wrong, but isn’t the greenway just a block off Delridge? Don’t get me wrong; I think sharrows are an abomination and fully support protected bike lanes but I though the plan was to make the greenway nearby the best route for bicyclists.

Seriously? November 6, 2019 (9:22 pm)

Am I missing something here, or does this limit the available “all-day route” busses in SODO to the 50 and 21 non-express?

1994 November 6, 2019 (10:40 pm)

I thought 26th Ave SW was the enhanced bikeway/greenway route? And south or there I don’t know, I would ride the sidewalk to be safe. Or go up through Highpoint to catch the greenway on 34th Ave SW. There is also a greenway on 17th Ave SW.Updated the 26th Ave SW Neighborhood Greenway by adding speed humps, street painting, and vegetation clearing

Occasional bike commuter November 7, 2019 (10:36 am)

Have you actually ridden a bicycle on any of those greenway routes? They are terrible. Out of the way (longer commute), speed humps are unpleasant on a bicycle, there are extra hills, and they don’t actually connect to any route that makes sense. The greenways only sorta make sense when you look at them on a flat map, and only make bicycling more difficult than it already is! If Seattle would really like more people to bicycle for transportation, it needs to be focused on routes that are faster and more convenient than driving. Cars and busses have the most direct routes, why can’t a bicycle?The proposed single lane on Delridge, with parking on one side and a curbed planting on the other is dangerous for cyclists. There is no place for a car to pass safely.

Kayo November 7, 2019 (6:34 am)

We need that marked and lighted pedestrian crossing at Hudson yesterday. I have seen too many pedestrians have close calls there. A couple weeks ago someone ahead of me southbound on Delridge stopped to let folks who had just gotten off the bus there cross to the eastside of Delridge and a car decided to pass in the center lane and almost took 5 people out. It is incredibly dangerous.

Dustin November 7, 2019 (9:04 am)

Is this project funded to completion, or will it be potentially impacted by the passage of I-976? I’m inclined to agree with the commenter who suggested adding buses to the route in lieu of the extensive rebranding. Superficial changes to bus color, route names, shelters, etc don’t really help commuters.

JeffreyB November 7, 2019 (3:19 pm)

But the bus is expected to get like 9% faster with the bus lanes and the bus stop consolidation! That is great!
- Dustin November 7, 2019 (4:14 pm)
  
  Time savings depend partly on where you live relative to the new stops, but I agree that stop consolidation can be helpful. And bus lanes are definitely a substantive improvement for commuters. Neither of those improvements require rebranding of the line, though.

1994 November 7, 2019 (9:04 pm)

I used to ride the greenway (34th Ave SW from Arbor Heights down to Delridge the back way through High Point and the length of 26th Ave SW) before it was even called a greenway. The side streets were fine for biking before the greenway improvements, and in my view the so called greenway improvements are a waste of taxpayer funds.