This just hit the inbox, from the Seattle Department of Transportation – tree replacement starts tomorrow. Here’s the full text of the SDOT announcement:
This Thursday, December 20, Gary Merlino Construction will be working on SW Admiral Way to assist Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) crews to replace trees in the medians between 39th Avenue SW and SW Olga Street. The work will include the placement of soil and mulch and should be completed by Friday, December 21. Residents should expect some lane closures to accommodate the work. However, at least one lane will remain open for traffic in each direction at all times. SDOT plans to conduct follow-up work in late January and early February to complete the installation of irrigation and groundcover planting.
This median restoration will put the final touches on the SW Admiral Way corridor. The re-planting of trees is proceeding with direction from SDOT Traffic Engineering staff, who have confirmed appropriate tree locations in response to community concerns about traffic safety and visibility. The decision to reduce the number of trees in the restored medians from the original number of 22 to 14 responds to the need to provide for appropriate sight distance in a way that does not compromise the aesthetic character of the corridor or the traffic-calming effect that trees provide.
Given feedback from the broader West Seattle community expressing concern about the potential loss of trees along SW Admiral Way, SDOT will supplement the 14 trees to be installed in the median with an additional eight trees to be planted along the corridor. SDOT is confident that this re-planting work will restore the long-standing character of this important entrance to the Admiral community in a manner that is both consistent with the Admiral Neighborhood Plan and with citywide reforestation goals.
While SDOT has revised the tree layout and increased the number of traffic markings in response to concerns about traffic safety, SDOT will continue to monitor traffic operations in the coming months. Should there be a need to adjust the location of a tree or two to meet traffic safety standards, we will undertake any such work in the Spring.
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