(Photos courtesy SDOT. Above, by Tim Durkan)

As previewed here last night in our report on the West Seattle Transportation Coalition‘s latest meeting, dignitaries including Mayor Bruce Harrell gathered this morning for the East Marginal Way Corridor Project‘s ceremonial groundbreaking. One point of the event – also spotlighted at the WSTC’s meeting – was the mayor’s plan to later this week debut a draft of this year’s proposed transportation-levy renewal. From SDOT‘s summary of this morning’s event:

Later this week, Mayor Harrell will share a draft proposal to renew the transportation levy and address critical safety and maintenance needs across the city, including freight improvements. The levy renewal would fund repairs, maintenance, and modernizations to keep people and freight moving safely and reliably.

The levy proposal will allocate millions specifically for freight improvements and paving on major truck streets, supporting delivering goods and services, and focusing repair on the 20 percent of major truck streets in poor condition identified as part of SDOT’s data-driven Asset Management Strategy.

The levy renewal proposal builds upon the significant groundwork and community input that is shaping the future of transportation in the Seattle Transportation Plan.

(Photo by Luke Gardner)

The mayor also made a point of noting that part of the funding for the East Marginal project – currently in Phase 1, north of Spokane Street – came from the current transportation levy, which expires this year.

According to the project website, the central section of the project is in design, but the south segment is “unfunded for both design and construction” so far.

Tomorrow (Tuesday) morning, Mayor Bruce Harrell will lead a ceremonial groundbreaking for the many-years-in-the-making East Marginal Way Corridor project. It’s just east of West Seattle, but important to many people on the peninsula because it’s a key route to/from downtown, particularly for bicycle riders. Work on the north section of the three-phase project has actually already begun, and SDOT’s project manager attended last Thursday’s online meeting of the West Seattle Transportation Coalitionwith an overview and Q&A opportunity.

Project manager Joey Aitken said the north-section construction is starting with water-line work, but will include full reconstruction of the street in concrete, from South Massachusetts to South Spokane, as well as the long-anticipated two-way protected bicycle lane from Spokane to the “port trail” connection, plus pedestrian- and freight-geared improvements. All that will take about two years, Aitken said. Here are the key points he presented:

One of the factors in the long planning period has been “working with railroads,” and that’s not complete yet, Aitken explained, while saying the railroads have “agreed to relocate some tracks.” In addition to the current detours related to the water work, the full northern stretch between Massachusetts and Spokane will be closed to through traffic during the entire two years of work. “We should be done before the World Cup,” he said. You can get project updates by email (register on the project webpage), or by text – to sign up, text eastmarginal to 206-222-0105.

The WSTC’s other guest was Heather Marx, the West Seattleite who serves as policy adviser to District 1 City Councilmember Rob Saka, who chairs the Transportation Committee. Major issues coming up for the committee include continued consideration of the Seattle Transportation Plan, for which amendments will be considered when the committee meets tomorrow at 9:30 am (linked from the agenda), with a possible vote two weeks after that. The committee soon will start its consideration of the proposed transportation levy renewal, too. Marx said they’re expecting the mayor to share a draft this week, with the legislation continuing its actual verbiage likely to be out by month’s end. The first discussion will be in early May, and the levy proposal – expected to span eight years (compared to the expiring levy‘s nine years) – is likely to be the focus of five committee meetings. An evening public hearing is expected too. One other quote of note – Councilmember’s oft-repeated quest to be the “king of potholes” isn’t just about potholes, she verified. He intends it to encompass all maintenance matters (among other things).

NEXT MEETING: The WSTC continues meeting every other month, 6:30 pm, usually fourth Thursdays, but watch for the announcements. And if you’re interested in joining the board, it’s got another opening. info@westseattletc.org to find out more.

The long-in-the-works East Marginal Way Corridor Improvement Project has begun, on a path many West Seattleites take into downtown. If you have questions, the West Seattle Transportation Coalition‘s meeting Thursday is the place to get answers – SDOT will be at the online meeting to talk about the project. The agenda for WSTC’s every-other-month meeting also includes a representative from the office of City Councilmember Rob Saka, who chairs the council’s Transportation Committee. All are welcome at the 6:30 pm meeting; see our calendar listing for online/phone connection information.

Despite the latest round of community concern, SDOT has reiterated that the final Alki Point Healthy Street design will be built, as first reported here last December.

In a reminder email sent Wednesday to those who had previously signed up for the project mailing list, SDOT’s project team recapped the design announced last winter, including some parking removal, and confirmed to WSB this morning that nothing has changed since the winter update. For example, here’s how the Beach Drive section north/west of 64th works now:

And here’s what it’ll be changed to:

All the cross-section renderings remain available on the Alki Point Healthy Street webpage. The last point of clarification we’ve been seeking from SDOT is how soon construction will start – Wednesday’s email to the list simply said “spring,” which could be any time in the next three months. SDOT spokesperson Ethan Bergerson told WSB this morning that it’s not imminent but won’t have to go out to bid: “This will be an SDOT crew-delivered project. We have not scheduled the exact date yet, and are currently working to determine the schedule. It will likely be in the next few months, depending on crew availability.”

New on the city’s bidding website: The project to resurface the eastbound lanes of the West Seattle Bridge’s eastern half, formally known as the Spokane Street Viaduct, has just gone out to bid.

(Framegrab from SDOT camera. Eastbound SSV at left, westbound at right)

Bidding opened this morning. SDOT spokesperson Ethan Bergerson tells WSB, “This project will include repaving the eastbound lanes, as well as drainage improvements and bridge deck repair on the westbound lanes.” The city got a $5 million federal grant two years ago to help cover the cost. The (corrected) eastbound (south) side of the Spokane Street Viaduct is the older side, built in the ’40s; the westbound (north) side was built in the late ’00s/early ’10s. It was closed several times for repair work during the 2 1/2-year-long full closure of the rest of the West Seattle Bridge; pothole problems have persisted on both sides, and as SDOT described it in 2022, “The existing concrete deck overlay exhibits significant signs of ‘alligator skin’ cracking and damage.” As part of preparation for this project, a “deck scan” was done in 2021. When will the SSV work start and how long will it last? TBD, says Bergerson: “Once a contractor is selected, we will work with them to determine the exact construction timeline.” It is expected to be complete by the end of the year, though, he added. Bidding is open for three weeks, so a contractor won’t be chosen for more than a month.

(WSB photo, March 6)

Metro has just gone public with its list of what’ll be different after the next semiannual “service change,” which takes effect two weeks from tomorrow (on Saturday, March 30). The full list is on this page; here are four West Seattle routes with changes, with links to their new timetables:

ROUTE 21 – adding one trip late Sunday nights

ROUTE 56 AND ROUTE 57: Changes (including three weekday deletions on 56) are planned to “align” these two routes “and provide service approximately every 20 minutes between routes 56 and 57.”

RAPID RIDE H LINE: “On Saturday and Sunday, between 6 am and 8 am, several trips will be added at the direction of the city of Seattle to better align Seattle Transit Measure service investment with the city’s goals.”

Laurel emailed us wondering about what appeared to her to be a high percentage of RapidRide runs being handled by non-RR coaches – running with the green/yellow or blue/yellow buses instead. She said that as a rider, it’s more than just what the bus looks like: “When there are not ORCA readers throughout the bus and when there are fewer doors, many of the ‘rapid’ benefits of load/unload disappear.” We went out to look for examples of fill-in RapidRide buses, and in fact, the first four we saw, on both H and C Lines – including the one in our photo above – were not red/yellow RR coaches. So we asked Metro’s Jeff Switzer about it, mentioning Laurel’s concern about card readers. He replied, “We intermittently make coach substitutions to ensure a trip is delivered. By the way, more blue/yellow and green/yellow buses also have ORCA readers at back doors as well as at the front door as we phase that in. Also, because RapidRide routes have high frequency, there will be another bus shortly behind, which is most likely a red RapidRide coach. As we hire more mechanics and better match our fleet with service, we’ll go back to seeing 100% (or close to it) of RapidRide service delivered by red buses.”

If you travel along the north end of West Marginal Way SW, you’ve seen the work that’s part of the Terminal 5 Quiet Zone project, changing some of the railroad crossings so that trains headed to and from T-5 won’t have to use their horns as much. Don Brubeck sent these photos and update earlier this week:

The T5 Quiet Zone project crew was removing detour barriers and putting signs in place at Chelan/Spokane/West Marginal Way/Delridge to allow bike riders to start using the new curb cut and crossing from the Alki Trail to the Bridge Trail and Duwamish route. The dedicated bike signal is not installed yet. The shared-use path and driveway paving looks like it is nearing completion on east side of West Marginal Way SW from Chelan to 16th/17th SW.

Here’s what the project is meant to provide:

When last we checked in with SDOT at the end of November (also after a photo Don sent), the project was scheduled for completion in May. The project website now says “summer.”

That’s an SDOT photo from work done these past three days to reinstall a refurbished cylinder removed from the low bridge last fall. This is part of an ongoing process, SDOT reminds us:

Last October, we reinstalled the refurbished cylinder from the east pier that was damaged when the piston head became stuck in January 2023. When the unexpected damage occurred, preparations to overhaul all four of the bridge’s hydraulic turning cylinders were already underway as part of our comprehensive repair and maintenance efforts. This allowed for repairs to be completed sooner than if we had started from scratch. Our bridge maintenance crews, and our design and repair experts redeveloped a part of the turn cylinder so that this type of malfunction is much less likely to occur in the future.

Between March 1-3 [this past Friday-Sunday], crews successfully reinstalled the refurbished cylinder that was removed during the October 2023 low bridge closure! We will continue to rehabilitate the remaining two turn cylinders in the west bridge pier this year.

That’s not the only low-bridge work that’s yet to come. Next month, SDOT says, “crews will reroute the control tower wires from the high bridge to a new conduit beneath the West Duwamish Waterway that connects to the motors that open and close the bridge. … The original system, composed of buttons, switches, and wires, is about 30 years old. To remedy this, we will be rerouting the wires connecting the control tower with the motors that open and close the bridge off the high bridge to a new conduit under the West Duwamish Waterway. This work will increase the resiliency of the West Seattle Bridge system and help decouple the low bridge from the high bridge.” More details on this work and how it will affect bridge users are promised soon.

(Updated photo: Constellation Park section of Alki Point Healthy Street, today)

By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor

Two local wildlife advocacy organizations say the final design for the Alki Point “Healthy Street” – Beach Drive and Alki Avenue from 63rd to Alki Point – is an impediment to their work and the wildlife and people who benefit from it, as well as to Constellation Park visitors.

After what they say was a fruitless appeal directly to SDOT, Seal Sitters Marine Mammal Stranding Network and The Whale Trail are taking their case to the mayor and asking for community support in a new campaign they’re calling “Alki Point for All,” with an online petition. Both groups have historically used Constellation Park, along the Beach Drive section, extensively, Seal Sitters for responding to beached, sick, and/or dead marine mammals, The Whale Trail for assisting land-based viewing when orcas are in the area.

While the “Healthy Street” designation has been on the stretch for almost four years, what’s new is the final design, reported here in December, removing more than 60 on-street parking spaces, mostly to add a 10-foot-wide “walking/rolling lane” adjacent to the waterfront sidewalk. That was a major change from the design proposal on which SDOT gathered feedback a year earlier, which did not include major parking removal. Regarding their challenge now, the Alki Point for All coalition explains:

An SDOT representative has informed our organizations that SDOT will not be reconsidering our request to keep the existing beach-side parking spaces around Alki Point as well as the public vehicle access. … We are disappointed by this decision since it not only impacts our organizations but many others who come to these parks and rely on the existing parking configuration.

We have asked to meet with the Healthy Street project manager, but that meeting has not yet been scheduled by SDOT.

Our coalition met with Councilmember Rob Saka and his staff regarding this matter. In addition, we sent a letter to Mayor Bruce Harrell appealing this decision and asking that his office review the SDOT decision to designate Alki Point as a “Healthy Street” with very restrictive public access as well as removing sixty-seven beach side parking spaces around Alki Point.

We have established an online petition to allow the broader Seattle community to respond to the negative impacts this decision will have on public access to a premiere marine reserve and the city park. We invite West Seattle and the wider community to join us in voicing their concerns and join our campaign Alki Point For All!

The coalition points to this excerpt from SDOT’s most recent FAQ document regarding the Healthy Streets program:

(The question “Will the permanent Healthy Street take away parking spaces on my street?” is answered “No, permanent Healthy Streets will not remove any legal street parking spaces.”) What became “Healthy Streets” were originally announced in the early pandemic days as places where more people could walk, run, roll, etc. while safely “social distancing,” but were kept in place even after the pandemic ebbed. The Beach Drive section of Alki Point, however, was also an undeniable solution to a long-running problem about which nearby residents had complained for years – recklessness and noise related to driver gatherings – as acknowledged by police in 2020.

Most of West Seattle’s arterials get shoutouts in the newly released Seattle Transportation Plan, billed as the city’s long-term vision for people will get around over the next 20 years or so.

We reported several times last year on comment opportunities for the draft version of the plan; today, Mayor Harrell officially sent his recommended final version to the City Council for consideration. The SDOT announcement describes the plan as the “20-year vision for the future of Seattle’s streets, sidewalks, and public spaces.” In addition to philosophy and goals, it includes a list of dozens of potential projects meant to help achieve those goals.(You can see them in the “implementation strategy” section – 103 pages into the plan with more project-by-project details in Appendix A.)

The plan does not address funding – that’ll be in the spotlight within a few months, when the next transportation levy proposal is unveiled. Nor does it include specific dates for the potential projects. But it does offer prioritization.

Two West Seattle projects are listed in the “highest tier” of prioritization – 35th Avenue SW and “Fauntleroy Boulevard.” The latter is a project that was supposed to be in the nine-year transportation levy that’s expiring this year, shelved because of the possibility that light rail would follow the same path and lead to relatively new roadwork being torn up. The former is of interest because 35th SW got a significant amount of attention, including partial rechannelization, last decade. The overview of this potential project (19 pages into Appendix A) says:

This project will improve a major street that connects many West Seattle neighborhoods. This could include:

• Repaving portions of the road
• Redesigning the street to better support transit
• Repairing sidewalks and making it safer to cross the street with elements like extensions of curbs and better crossings
• Adding bicycle routes for people of all ages and abilities
• Enhancing access to destinations like shops, businesses, restaurants, and cultural centers in the area

The “middle tier” of prioritization includes projects for California SW, SW Alaska, and the south section of Fauntleroy Way (separate from the Triangle-area section involved in the “Fauntleroy Boulevard” plan). The rest of the list includes possible projects for 16th SW, SW Orchard/Dumar, Highland Park Way, Roxbury, the Alki Trail, and an Admiral Way project that’s definitely many years down the line – redirecting the RapidRide H Line to Admiral/Alki once West Seattle’s light-rail extension opens (currently projected for late 2032).

Again, the projects are just part of the plan. SDOT says things will get more specific when they create an “implementation plan” for the Transportation Plan next year; meantime, the City Council will be accepting public comment before voting on whether to accept the plan – council@seattle.gov, and public comment during a council meeting on March 5 (watch for the agenda here).

Last weekend, reader Juan tipped us to notices on some Metro bus stops in Highland Park/South Delridge, saying Metro is considering closing them and requesting feedback. No information was available online, so we published this and then, right after the holiday weekend, we asked Metro for the overview of which stops are on the chopping block, and why. This afternoon we finally got the details – and, says Metro spokesperson Jeff Switzer, there’s more to it than just a stop-closing plan. First, the stops proposed for closure – note that the list includes one that’s not on 16th:

Now, the big picture – including an extension of time to comment on the proposed stop closures/relocation (they’ve fixed the emailbox problems):

Metro is working on ways to improve travel times for West Seattle riders, upgrade bus stop amenities, and help riders make better connections.

There are 56 bus stops on route 125. Metro staff are currently evaluating proposals to improve up to 14 bus stops, remove up to five stops, and relocate one bus stop. The section of 16th Avenue SW between SW Holden Street and SW Henderson Street is the only portion of the route with consecutive bus stops located 500 to 700 feet apart. These short distances are about half the desired stop spacing distance, as defined in Metro’s Service Guidelines.

At the same time, Metro has been working with Seattle Department of Transportation staff to consider how the Seattle Transit Measure could be used to fund improvements for Route 125. This will likely include funding approximately 4,000 additional service hours focused on improving evening and weekend service, starting in fall of 2024. The City of Seattle and King County are also considering locations along Routes 125 and 128 in Delridge, Riverview, and Highland Park where there is the opportunity to improve bus stop safety and accessibility by building improvements such as sidewalk extensions and benches.

In mid-February, Metro staff posted hardcopy notices asking for feedback regarding the proposals to close the bus stops [on 16th] at SW Kenyon Street, SW Thistle Street, and SW Trenton Street. Metro is considering closing these five bus stops to improve the travel times and reliability for routes 125 and 128. By consolidating ridership at fewer stops, it also makes it possible to provide higher quality amenities (like shelters) at the remaining stops. Metro staff also posted a rider alert at the eastbound bus stop on SW Barton Street at 22nd Avenue SW asking riders for feedback about the possibility of relocating the stop to Delridge Way SW to improve the transfer between Route 125 and the RapidRide H Line.

No decisions have been made on whether any stops will be closed or relocated. We want to hear from riders about their priorities and how they use these stops. The feedback gathered this month will help us refine the project scope. We are extending the window for initial comments through March 14 and welcome any feedback regarding the proposed stop rebalancing, proposed bus stop modifications, or any other comments regarding route 125. Feedback can be submitted to busstopsw@kingcounty.gov. Additional information regarding these improvements will be shared in the coming months, once the project team can review the feedback, follow-up with community members, and refine the project scope.

16 minutes into that Seattle Channel video, the City Council Transportation Committee – chaired by District 1 Councilmember Rob Saka – hears SDOT recap the past eight years of the $930 million Levy to Move Seattle, which expires at the end of this year. (See the slide deck here.) This is a precursor to announcing the plan for the next levy, which Mayor Bruce Harrell said in his State of the City address today that he expects to do in spring. The SDOT contingent briefing the Transportation Committee today was led by director Greg Spotts and Francisca Stefan. They noted that the levy funding comprises almost a third of SDOT’s budget, and that this is the 18th year SDOT has had levy funding. They also noted the levy “pivot” for the pandemic, and then the later course correction to get back on track with its original intent. One program that’s getting back on track is seismic upgrades for bridges – though no new specifics were given, two are pending for West Seattle this year, the Delridge pedestrian overpass and the twin Admiral Way bridges over Fairmount Ravine. (A check of records shows that the contract for the former is about to be awarded, and bidding is still open for the latter.)

It was also noted that one major West Seattle project promised when the Levy to Move Seattle went to the ballot in 2015, known as Fauntleroy Boulevard, remains “paused,” as it has been for six years, since Fauntleroy Way became a possible path for the Sound Transit light-rail extension, which now seems likely to tunnel into The Junction instead. (The project actually was included in a revised version of the levy announced by then-Mayor Ed Murray, two months after the original proposal.) Not mentioned today, but also unfulfilled though it was expected when the levy was passed – Roxbury repaving. (Initial planning happened, but then in 2019 we discovered it was shelved until at least the next levy.)