FOLLOWUP: On again, off again, on again, off again – North Delridge diverter decision

| Delridge | Transportation | West Seattle news

(SDOT graphic from last fall)

Last year, after reader tips, we reported on neighbors’ concern about a seemingly sudden SDOT plan to install “diverters’ to restrict 26th SW traffic at two intersections, Genesee and Brandon. While SDOT saw it as a way to lower traffic on the 26th SW Delridge Neighborhood Greenway, neighbors noted that it would create chokepoints at two of the few east-west connections between North Delridge and the rest of the peninsula. After saying the idea was shelved last summer, SDOT revived it last fall; a community meeting ensued in October, with SDOT suggesting options, and a offering a survey online.

Today, half a year later, SDOT has announced a decision, though it’s still not the final word: No diverters … for at least another year and a half or so. The email announcement notes that “a majority of the comments and survey responses want(ed) to maintain the current access at the two intersections and not install the diverters.” Today’s announcement continues:

We also gathered traffic counts along 26th Ave SW and the surrounding streets where we were planning to evaluate several traffic management and street calming options, including the traffic diverters at the intersections with SW Genesee St and SW Brandon St. The data from these counts showed that traffic volumes and speeds were lower since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic and the closure of the West Seattle High-Rise Bridge in 2020.

We have decided to hold off on this work and will begin reevaluating these potential traffic-calming measures again after traffic returns to the West Seattle High-Rise Bridge some time in 2022.

In the meantime, the Delridge Neighborhood Greenway will still see upgrades as part of the Delridge RapidRide H Line project. This includes:

Building additional speed humps
Refreshing the pavement markings with new paint
Updating directional signs
Upgrades to neighborhood greenway connections from Delridge Way SW on SW Andover St, SW Hudson St, and SW Findlay St, including making signal updates, refreshing the pedestrian crossings, and improving ADA accessibility.

SDOT also cited reduced traffic when dropping the plan the first time last summer, but revived it anyway; The diverters were not part of the original corridor plan.

Pdx77 March 19, 2021 (1:06 pm)

I am glad to see they are putting this on hold for now. Since you can’t turn left from Avalon to Yancy Street, I have to turn left onto Genesee, then down the hill and left onto 26th to.reach my house. If they would of implemented the no left turn on Genesee / 26th I would of been forced to take narrow residential side streets to get to my house.I don’t see how that would be safer, as they would be forcing others to do the same.

Delridge resident March 19, 2021 (1:06 pm)

Dumbest SDOT idea ever. How many times do residents have to voice their opinion? “most respondents are against the idea” WHY BRING IT BACK??? LISTEN to residents!

bill March 19, 2021 (2:40 pm)

In fact diverters were requested by residents whose street was choked with commuters trying to bypass Delridge, not a few of whom brazenly drove down the left side of the street whenever space allowed. SDOT was listening to residents! SDOT’s proposed diverters are much more restrictive than what was asked for, so that was unhelpful for community acceptance.
- Delridge resident March 19, 2021 (3:29 pm)
  
  Here’s the thing. It is not THEIR street. NIMBY much?
- Mel March 21, 2021 (3:31 pm)
  
  “Diverters were requested by residents whose street was choked with commuters” – NO.
  
  I’m a resident. The street is NOT “choked with commuters.” I walk 25th almost every day – usually at “rush hour” – and I MAYBE see 5-6 cars during that 20 minutes or so (even before COVID), about half of them to/from this neighborhood itself. And almost no bikes (maybe 2, except on sunny summer weekends). The fact is, that street is not widely used as it is.
  
  I saw the “residents'” complaint as issued to the city, which included a photo taken when both Avalon and Delridge were closed for a brief period – literally, cars had no other way to get to 35th. It was completely disingenuous and false information to be portraying that as anything close to normal 25th traffic, and the “residents” who did so should be discredited for future input.
  
  The current obstructions work as intended. Constructing anything else would be throwing away City funds that could be used for things that really need fixing (like 24th, which is rutted and decrepit, while the residents one block away keep working to wrangle dollars to give them what would be practically a gated community).
  - Mel March 21, 2021 (3:37 pm)
    
    Dammit, so angry at the NIMBYS misportraying the neighborhood that I shifted over a street. 26th, not a problem. 25th, needs the dollars.

winniegirl March 19, 2021 (2:38 pm)

I’ve been wondering about the planting island that they’re installing on delridge by the community center. If you need to go north on delrdige when leaving the center, how do you do that since there is no left turn? The road doesn’t seem wide enough for a u-turn at the light. If one of the options is to go around the (large) block and end up on 26th, you wouldn’t be able to take a left on Genesee to get to the junction area. The whole thing seems convoluted.

Foop March 19, 2021 (3:17 pm)

A few right turns will get you there and not add much more time.
- Will S. March 20, 2021 (9:53 pm)
  
  I think Winniegirl is right: a few right turns will get you heading north on 26th, where your attempt to turn left onto Genesee would be blocked by the proposed diverters. Just a year ago, one could leave the community center, turn left onto Delridge and then turn left onto Genesee. To accomplish that under SDOT’s proposal (given the raised median they’ve already added to Delridge), you’d need to turn right on Delridge, right on Alaska, right on 26th, right again on Genesee, then left on 25th, left on Dakota, left on 26th, and finally right on Genesee. All that extra driving will just make Jort hate cars even more, while SDOT engineers congratulate themselves on another snafu.

Jort March 19, 2021 (3:38 pm)

This is a sad step backward for making our streets safer for non-car transportation. I hope that SDOT will install these at a later date, without seeking “input” from car drivers who view literally every minor restriction to their driving as an existential threat. The Greenway needs to be focused on the needs of cyclists and pedestrians, not cars. People driving cars have 99.9% of the rest of the streets in Seattle, already. Force them off the Greenway to Delridge, where they belong.

Kathleen March 19, 2021 (5:35 pm)

The diverters were not going to be a “minor restriction” to many of the residents who live on 25th and 26th, as well as in Youngstown. Not being able to turn left from 26th onto Genesee to access our major amenities (grocery stores, restaurants, junction businesses) is a MAJOR disruption. I’m glad they called off the project and hope in the future they will gather community input before making any of these terrible decisions.
AMC March 19, 2021 (8:09 pm)

Do you live in the impacted area Jort?
Canton March 19, 2021 (10:36 pm)

Very sorry to inform you, but internal combustion engines, will be around for awhile. A marvel in ingenuity, sleek aerodynamic design. capable of speed that should be harnessed, yes. But not everyone is a selfish self consumed jack***. Drivers, and cyclists, alike should watch out for each other. There are way more good drivers, than reckless ones.

Don_Brubeck March 19, 2021 (6:57 pm)

SDOT’s proposed diverters are not what the neighbors and bike riders on the 26th Ave greenway requested. We asked for a “half diverter” on the north side of Genessee that would allow left and right turns from 26th and would allow through traffic going south, but would stop people from driving north on 26th to bypass traffic on Delridge, doing some really reckless driving. Not a problem now with bridge out and pandemic, so not a problem to wait and look at a better design later if needed. Examples of half diverters: NW 58th St at 15th Ave NW, and Beacon Ave S at 14th Ave S.

Mel March 21, 2021 (3:47 pm)

Wow, that photo on your link is basically a lie, taken at a very specific time when construction completely shut down major streets and the residents of the area had no other choice, and completely misrepresenting that as how 26th normally is (including pre-pandemic).

And you wonder why citizens don’t trust the bike lobby…

Kathy March 19, 2021 (9:33 pm)

It bears remembering that the Rapid Ride H “Multi Modal” project on Delridge Way is one of the few instances where SDOT is eliminating existing bike lanes (on Delridge Way north of Juneau) instead of adding new ones. So much for “multi-modal”. Now the city wants people biking in and out of West Seattle to detour two blocks west of Delridge onto the hillier route of 26th Ave SW to keep them off the arterial. Fine, but the very least they can do is to then make 26th Ave SW calm and safe for people biking. Whether or not they decide to use any kind of diverters, 26th Ave SW between Andover and Genessee is certainly not calm and safe for bikers the way it is currently designed. P.S. When your street design includes diverting bicycle traffic off of arterials, you are reducing the amount of visitors/potential customers the businesses along those arterials receive.

Delridge March 19, 2021 (10:26 pm)

This is a disappointing decision from SDOT but at the very least they claim they will use the resources and time to improve other areas in our neighborhood. Let’s hope they actually execute all of the improvements in a reasonable amount of time.

8 year Delridger March 21, 2021 (1:05 pm)

The lack of safe bike infrastructure in North Delridge is the thing that will prevent us from living here much longer. We use our bike to take our kids to daycare, to pick up from the stores/restaurants on Delridge, to go to Alki beach, to go to downtown especially now with the bridge out. However we’ve never felt safe doing it, and knowing that there’s no real plan to change things significantly reduces our desire to be here for the long term.SDOT citing the reduced traffic ignores the fact that people are driving much faster on a less backed up 26th to avoid Delridge. There may be fewer cars, but they’re driving as erratically as I’ve ever seen.

Sorry, comment time is over.