SDOT has reiterated that it expects to make a decision by month’s end – “in Q2” is how they’ve phrased it – on whether to build a two-way protected bicycle lane in an almost-half-mile section of the outer southbound lane of West Marginal Way, not far north of the Duwamish Tribe Longhouse. When this was reiterated at last week’s meeting of the West Seattle Bridge Community Task Force, what wasn’t mentioned was that the department had recently presented a new design for the lane. We learned about this while watching this week’s meeting of the Seattle Freight Advisory Board (SFAB), which opposes the plan. The new design was presented on June 4th, when SFAB and Seattle Bicycle Advisory Board members talked about West Marginal Way with SDOT director Sam Zimbabwe. After hearing about it, we asked SDOT for the meeting slides. Here is the updated design:
This one has more about the jersey barrier:
The full slide deck from the June 4th discussion restates SDOT’s contentions about the proposal, including that it will have a “negligible” effect on other vehicles’ travel times, noting that other sections of WMW north of the Longhouse have one southbound lane already. For more backstory on the proposal, see our coverage of the February online meeting about the plan, which – in a nod to the vigorous support/opposition it’s inspired – began with a “moment of meditation and reflection.”
WHAT’S NEXT: Regarding the decision timetable, here’s what an SDOT spokesperson told us this week: “We recognize that there (are) two weeks left in Quarter 2. We are working toward a thoughtful and broadly informed decision on this complex project. We hope to be able to inform community of that decision soon.”
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