FOLLOWUP: Big changes for part of 16th SW in White Center are progressing. See plans Wednesday

| Safety | Transportation | West Seattle news | White Center

We first reported two years ago on King County Road Services‘ plan to narrow 16th Avenue SW between SW 100th and SW 107th to improve safety on a stretch notorious for pedestrian deaths and injuries. The project is of interest to West Seattleites too, particularly with 107th connecting westward to Arbor Heights. Planning on the project has continued, and the county now plans on construction next year (one year later than originally announced). County spokesperson Brent Champaco summarizes where it’s at now:

To reduce speeds and calm traffic, which makes the area safer for pedestrians, the project narrows the road from four lanes to two and includes a two-way center turning lane. It adds many pedestrian safety features like bumped out sloped curbs at corners and traffic crossing lights with flashing beacons.

The project does not remove the total number of parking spots in the project corridor. Currently there are 43 existing on-street parking spots between SW 100th and SW 107th streets. The design option with bike lanes on both sides adds a total of three spaces to bring the total number of on-street parking spaces to 46. It also moves parking spots around, depending on the block, to accommodate travel lanes and bike lanes.

The design option with no bike lanes brings the total number of parking spots to 67, again, up from 43. It also moves parking spots around, depending on the block, to accommodate travel lanes.

We did community surveys and outreach in 2022 and got to a 30-50% design. It was during the peak of COVID so in-person outreach was difficult. We are holding another meeting, at the community’s request, on July 24 to share updated information about the two options.

If you are interested in seeing the latest plans and asking questions, that meeting is happening this Wednesday (July 24), 6:30 pm, at the White Center Food Bank headquarters, which is in the future project zone – 10016 16th SW. The meeting will also be accessible online; the link is on this page. The project cost is just under $2 million, funded by a federal grant.

P.S. The latest online survey for the project is open, too – find it here.

Jeepney July 22, 2024 (12:34 pm)

One blurb I found noteworthy: We did community surveys and outreach in 2022 and got to a 30-50% design. It was during the peak of COVID so in-person outreach was difficult..I thought 2020 was peak covid?

Brian July 22, 2024 (1:07 pm)

Reply

Timelines are strange like that. You might say we are in the peak of Covid right now.

snowskier July 22, 2024 (1:18 pm)

Please no more bike lanes on primary arterials. Quite side streets or secondary streets such as 15th are such better options. The curb bulbs plus lights at intersections should help those trying to cross. As for those who stumble into traffic midblock…….I don’t think traffic engineering can help them.

Matt July 22, 2024 (1:56 pm)

This is a stretch that I bike regularly, and any safety improvements will be hugely welcome. Cycling on this part of 16th is just too dangerous due to speeding drivers and lack of infrastructure. Usually I ride on 15th instead, which is much calmer but puts me in conflict with buses and doesn’t give easy access to all the businesses on 16th.

Adding more parking and making the street pleasant to walk along (like the existing blocks north of 100th) should also help the businesses there.