DELRIDGE WAY PROJECT: Construction starting soon to pave the way for RapidRide H Line

| Delridge | Transportation | West Seattle news

Back in March, we reported on the final design of the next big (planned) road project in West Seattle, Delridge Way repaving (north of Orchard) and other changes to accompany the conversion of Metro Route 120 to the RapidRide H Line. Today, SDOT announced construction will start as soon as June 8th, and launched an “online open house” with key points of the project, including a video presentation. Take some time to go through it – a lot of information is interactive/nested, requiring a click or a pull to see – and then note the feedback opportunity at the end. Also, we have a followup meeting with SDOT tomorrow for an in-depth preview as we traditionally do for major transportation projects, so we’ll be watching to see what comes up in comments. The H Line is scheduled to start service in fall 2021,

WS Commuter May 21, 2020 (7:19 pm)

So cool!

Woody May 21, 2020 (8:31 pm)

Perhaps Delridge will now get paved so drivers aren’t constantly dodging potholes.

WSB May 21, 2020 (8:34 pm)

The repaving will be from Delridge Way’s north end all the way to Orchard. (South Delridge was repaved last decade.)
heartless May 21, 2020 (8:39 pm)

Just imagine you’re in a video game dodging baddies, it’s what I do! Only somewhat kidding, but yes the road is awful.

Kyle May 21, 2020 (8:45 pm)

10 dollars says those landscaped medians turn into overgrown weed patches in 5 years. Keeping a middle turn lane would be cheaper and more versatile as the needs of Delridge change. I argued against them during the design, but they’ve stuck with them. Also, there isn’t a regularly occuring backup on Delridge at 3am by the bridge, so the 24/7 bus lane seems excessive. A peak bus lane would be more appropriate. If anything, I would have extended the peak lanes further. This would allow people to park at night, and still help prioritize buses during the day.

D May 22, 2020 (12:30 am)

I wondered why they chose those random areas for the 24/7 bus lanes. Almost if they took the map and tossed a coin to pick the chosen areas.
- AMD May 22, 2020 (7:48 am)
  
  There were surveys. The 24/7 bus lane is where the peak hour bus lane was before (and a couple other trouble spots to the south). I advocated for the bus lane to be 24/7 because neighbors either have a lot of difficulty telling time or frequently gambled on enforcement not getting to their car before they did. There are constantly cars parked in that lane during bus only hours as it stands. Making it a bus lane 24/7 will alleviate that. I personally wish peak-only bus lanes would all be converted to 24/7 lanes, but understand why they want to try to give car owners the chance to do the right thing first, and only restrict more when folks prove they can’t handle it.

Don Brubeck May 21, 2020 (9:07 pm)

Welcome news.

Joe Z May 21, 2020 (9:27 pm)

After a half decade of planning the best they could come up with is that ridiculous zig-zaggy northbound bike route???

Benjamin May 22, 2020 (9:37 am)

I think you are referring to the “neighborhood Greenways”? Those are fine for people not in a hurry. also, keep in mind that the idea of a “protected bike lane” is a joke. sure it’s protected! until you get the intersection or a driveway! then every driver is expected to not only look for bike but then accurately judge the speed and intentions of said cyclist before making the right turn. This is putting to much confidence in human beings so that’s why you won’t see me in them.

Mike May 21, 2020 (9:40 pm)

This is great!

TM7302 May 21, 2020 (10:00 pm)

Kyle, stop being so sensible…

Derek May 22, 2020 (8:23 am)

Can we postpone this until after the bridge work is complete? I do not see the rush to cause more traffic flow problems in West Seattle or adding another bus line to the lower bridge.

heartless May 22, 2020 (9:12 am)

Huh? Now seems like an absolutely ideal time to do it, when traffic is so much lower. Am I missing something?
AMD May 22, 2020 (9:27 am)

This is a road that is much less traveled without the bridge. The improvements will make it easier for frequent transit to operate in the corridor, which is NEEDED while the bridge is closed. The H Line is replacing the 120, so there will be additional buses, but it’s not a whole additional route.
wetone May 22, 2020 (9:50 am)

Derek, I agree 100% , also with Kyle. Between this and Roxbury project coming soon people on westside are more screwed. Anyone with common sense should be very upset with timing of all this. There’s only one group of people that seems to think this is a good time to proceed with these projects together along with having High-rise shut down…… and they say there’s no war on cars….. HA
- heartless May 23, 2020 (8:30 am)
  
  So you’d rather delay this project until a time when more cars are trying to get up and down Delridge? I honestly cannot understand why you would want that.
  
  Let’s try this: can you explain to me WHY this is bad timing for the roadwork to be done, and WHY it would be better to do it after the (a) high bridge is open again?

AJ May 22, 2020 (9:36 am)

At last count (correct me if I’m wrong) there are 180 new living units about to be added to S Delridge with only a total of 28 parking spaces planned off street. This two block stretch is already saturated with cars that have nowhere to park. What is the rationale for not putting the bike lane one block west instead of turning the parking situation on Delridge into the wild west?!

Joe Z May 22, 2020 (11:48 am)

In order for traffic to flow smoothly on arterials it is better to not have parking on them. The whole idea of parking on an arterial street goes against its purpose. Park on the side streets.
AMD May 22, 2020 (12:17 pm)

The rationale is assuming that car owners are responsible people who won’t buy homes that don’t include car storage, and then making transit and biking more accessible for the people who live in these units, since they won’t have cars. The city is not in charge of finding or providing storage for people’s personal vehicles, so I’m glad they do not take this task unto themselves when making decisions about transport.
David June 8, 2020 (12:19 pm)

Best guess is that the homeowners and small developers along Delridge didn’t have enough to pay Lisa Herbold to not do this.If I had any doubt about needing to find somewhere else to live when the lease is up, this just removed it. Almost no one in long sections of Delridge has no off-street parking, because they’ve never needed it. Now, they’re completely eliminating it on both sides in many areas – for what? A “landscaped median” that will quickly be overgrown weed patches.

JRR May 22, 2020 (10:34 am)

Finally this stretch is being given some attention. It seems someone hits one of the cars parked in this southern section weekly. It has never made sense to have parking along a major thoroughfare. Ample parking is available on side streets throughout this part of the city.

Mj May 22, 2020 (12:00 pm)

24/7 parking by DCC should be reconsidered. The Center has activities in the evening and weekends that parking is needed.

AMD May 22, 2020 (12:26 pm)

Delridge Community Center has a parking lot for people who need to drive. There is a lot of merging on that small stretch in front of DCC already, between the turn lane from Delridge to Genessee at the north end and the turn from Delridge to Oregon at the south. There should be no street parking on that stretch at all, in my opinion, whether it’s for a transit lane or not. It is a mess getting through that area in high traffic times when cars are parked on the street, and less safe for bicyclists and motorists alike (at least pedestrians have the overpass nearby).

winniegirl May 22, 2020 (3:46 pm)

Does this mean that the left turn to Genessee is going away? It looks like the median is blocking it. It’s a main road between the junction and Pigeon Point/South Seattle CC.

AMD May 22, 2020 (5:28 pm)

The map legend says “median islands” which sounds to me like the intersections will still be open for turns. Plus the 50 needs that to be open for their turn onto Delridge.

Mj May 22, 2020 (5:48 pm)

AMD during high traffic times street parking would not be allowed because the space would be dedicated to transit use, thus I’m perplexed as to your comment?

As a former youth basketball coach the DCC parking lot is insufficient when the Center is busy

AMD May 23, 2020 (7:57 am)

Exactly. The 24/7 transit lane alleviates the problem. The problem is worse when parking is allowed. If it’s youth sports you’re concerned about, I can’t imagine it’s a great hardship to walk from a side street if the parking lot does get full for some reason. Making everyone driving and biking that stretch of road less safe at all times so that able-bodied youth don’t have to walk an extra block on the rare occasion that the parking lot is full hardly seems like a worthwhile trade off.

David May 22, 2020 (9:27 pm)

I think it’s silly that the construction work is going to take a year and a half. It’s a road. It’s bus. Fancy looking stops. Metro should just start running the buses now with the RapidRide frequency, and let the fancy stuff fill in later.

Sorry, comment time is over.