Viaduct(s) & Bicycle Routing

[Al]

SBAB 5/6/09

Wasn’t able to stay for entire meeting, but discussion involving West Seattle was early on the agenda.

It was noted that E Marginal Way had some pavement improvements, more blacktop laid down to try to smooth cracks and potholes in the pavement, and the bare bricks along the west side of the street are no longer exposed. There’s one large crack in the pavement in the northbound bike lane that did not get filled (near Terminal 30 entrance?), but that will be reported to SDOT. Now we can only hope that eventually some parking restrictions can be put in place so we can use that smooth surface rather than the street.

There was a presentation about the new Transit Corridors (i.e. Rapid Ride) and how the corridors will interact with bicyclists. Two members of the SDOT Transit Planning Group presented. The 7 major Rapid Ride corridors are specifically funded by Bridge the Gap so it’s very unlikely that the routes will be cut. These corridors, which includes West Seattle, are the busiest routes in the city, compromising 20% of the total city ridership. The group stated that these corridors will “move buses faster” and think that “overall it has good improvements.” They have been working closely with pedestrian and bicycle groups in the planning process and will continue to do so. Metro has also been involved in an attempt to consolidate stops so there’s less “leapfrogging.” Giving the most benefit to the most riders is the goal. They have good knowledge of the Bicycle Master Plan, other paving projects and future streetcar expansion and how that all interacts with the new corridors.

Most of the Rapid Ride transit corridors will see the addition of dedicated bus lanes, bike lanes and curb bulbs. In addition, light timing will be altered to favor buses and new curb ramps will be installed. Each stop will also have a bike rack. Where there is a two-lane street (like California) the curb bulbs will project further out into the street, but will not block the travel lane. There will be about one foot of space between the right edge of the lane and the curb bulb. This does mean that buses will not pull off the street at stops (no entering/exiting the vehicle lane). It is expected that bicyclists will either wait behind the bus, or be able to remain in the lane and pass the bus while it is stopped (3′ to 4′ of space will remain to the left of the bus in the travel lane – note this is based on a wide 13′ lane, not a smaller more standard width of 11′ which will allow no passing space). SBAB had concerns about this expectation. With a very narrow passing space left for bicycle use, cyclists may pass a bus too closely or enter into the driver’s blind spot. In addition, they may encounter conflicts with vehicles as cyclists will have to negotiate passing a large bus along with other vehicles that may choose to use the center turn lane as a passing lane. A pinch point will be created. The planning group said like autos, bicyclists “will become accustomed to it.”

The bus only lanes (BAT) will also be open to cyclists and the lanes will be marked with signage or pavement markings making this clear. The bus lanes will be no parking zones and no curb bulbs will need to be installed since the bus will be right up to the curb in the BAT. The BAT lanes in West Seattle will be on Avalon, from Yancy north to Spokane Street. This will be 24/7 no parking. A 5′ bike lane will be added heading south (uphill) from Spokane St to 35th or 36th. On Alaska, they are planning BAT from California to Fauntleroy, 24/7 no parking zone on both sides of street. A bike lane is planned uphill (westbound) starting somewhere around 38th (?) to California. This lane will be against the curb after Fauntleroy, place to the RIGHT of the BAT lane (right turns from BAT will be allowed). This is concerning since vehicles and buses will place cyclists between the vehicle and the curb, a lesson that has been learned in Portland, OR. This is a bad configuration and will lead to more conflicts between cyclists and vehicles as vehicles turn into cyclists that have the right of way. I would personally recommend that the bike lane be painted green, especially considering the new apartments, grocery store, and shops that will be opening will draw more traffic. On California Ave, there will be bulbs installed at Findlay and near Fauntleroy (the only two stops on California b/t Morgan Junction and Alaska Junction).

SBAB was concerned about the bulb configuration. Further clarification was received that the bulbs will most definitely not extend into roadway so if a bus is not on the street, a cyclist who is riding to the right will not run into a bike bulb or have to negotiate around one (like on the Western Ave hill climb). If there is a bike lane, the bike lane will “fade” by using a dashed line indicating that that cross-traffic is ahead and a Sharrow will be placed on the roadway. SBAB noted that the Sharrow should be placed far out into the traffic lane so that if a bus was at the stop, the pavement marking clearly indicates that bikes can go around the bus. Again, the potential danger of cyclists “darting” around a bus on a busy street (like California or Avalon) could be dangerous since the last thing a cyclist should do is zig-zag into traffic. This discussion was not resolved and the transit committee will forward graphics showing the configuration of a bulb/bike lane/Sharrow to SBAB for review and comments.

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[Al]

Realized I forgot to post this last month.

SBAB 7/1/09

Public Comment:

E Marginal Way has improved/new bike lane markings which is good. However, the bike lane markings added near E Marginal and Spokane Street direct cyclists directly over a dangerous older style drain cover than can easily trap bicycle tires and cause an accident. This has been reported to SDOT but email walkandbike@seattle.gov if you have a concern about it.

Are pavement markings on east side of Lower Bridge going to be re-done? Most markings are either worn almost away and some are still non-existent due to the train crossing improvements made a year ago. Signage has also been damaged or is missing and has not been replaced at the several bicycle/pedestrian crossings in the area. Traffic has been increasing here steadily and this must be updated for safer crossings for both motor vehicles and path users. Contact walkandbike@seattle.gov to give them input.

SDOT is looking at installing a cycle track along the west side of the planned Alaskan Way boulevard that goes along with the tunnel/re-vamped street design. This would be a two-way track. Concern is well known for those cyclists who must make an eastbound turn to head up into the city – how this will be accommodated is unknown yet. SBAB input was that this shouldn’t be put off until the final design but should be integrated into the whole of the transportation package for that area. The problem is that this has not been done before in Seattle, i.e. it’s a philosophical shift in thinking so accommodate all modes of travel rather than first design for motor vehicles and then add peds and cyclists to the existing structure. How also does SBAB interact in this scenario? Travel in general is the question, not just cyclists. The questions remaining are: what is the performance goal for the cyclists in the corridor? What is needed there? Is it mobility and safety? Or is it level of service or reliability? (Some of these questions may be answered at the next SBAB meeting 8/5).

Avalon Way “re-channelization” is no longer on the list of 2009 SDOT bike facility projects. It’s not known why. My theory is that it was to be re-worked due to the Rapid Ride bus route that would necessitate the changes. Now that Rapid Ride is delayed, there’s not a “need” to improve Avalon.

After a short report on the Seattle Bike Master Plan and reporting that 17 miles of sharrows have recently been installed but only 3.8 miles of bicycle lanes, SBAB is asking why so many sharrows? Is this just ‘easier’ to do? Are the roadways being thoroughly vetted for sharrows vs bike lanes?

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[Al]

Seattle Bicycle Advisory Board Notes 8/5/09

Grate in bike lane southbound at Spokane/Marginal reported.

Difficult navigation reported through construction at Alaskan & Atlantic. Crossings within intersection with poor road markings and with blind right turning vehicles due to barrier obstructing cyclists on temporary path are noted.

Most of meeting taken up with SDOT information on tunnel/street projects and infrastructure for cyclists.

The city of Seattle is responsible for planning, design and environmental review of changes. WA State is responsible for through traffic, like the tunnel. Formal design of waterfront won’t begin until 2010-11 but input is being gathered now.

Main objectives of street changes in south corridor:

– Maintain freight access

– Provide access to/from SR99 in all directions.

– Enhance or maintain transit

– Improve bike and pedestrian corridor

– Improve urban character of port

– Maintain access to ferry terminal

– Open tunnel by 2015

Northbound

There will be one exit lane northbound and two lanes into the tunnel. One lane will join new Alaskan Way Boulevard, which will be 4-6 lanes wide. The new Boulevard will take lots of traffic and transit volumes, with a heavy load expected from West Seattle. There will be one through lane for transit only on exit ramp to the first intersection.

The old Marginal / Alaskan connector (the road that runs past the Coast Guard station) will be kept. The SODO group lobbied heavily to maintain this road for Port access and it is being classified as a “low movement street” i.e. a street with little traffic. It’s predicted that most trucks will use Spokane St and Atlantic due to new intersection there. There will be a 14′ Multiple Use Path located on the west side of the tracks on this corridor (or the east side of the street it looks like). This path will connect to the waterfront at King St.

There will be a fly-over at Atlantic St that the corridor traffic will use, including cyclists. At this fly-over the path splits into two, one on west and east side of the street. There are no turns off of this at Atlantic and it’s unclear how the single path splits into two. Some concern was expressed that this needs to be looked into so cyclists aren’t forced to cross traffic – but it looks like cyclists may have to jump to crosswalk to cross at some point (which was not looked upon favorably by SBAB) and the crossing conflicts with “right turn only” traffic which can lead to conflicts with vehicles. The fly-over looks steep as well, so SBAB is looking closer into that. There will be new bike lanes along each side of Royal Brougham and another path along the transit lane side of new road, where there are only railroad tracks now. These will also connect up with the Alaskan Blvd. SBAB let SDOT know that signage for cyclists must be located along this corridor and that it must be clear due to the heavy traffic volumes that are predicted in this area.

Central Waterfront construction is due to begin once the tunnel opens, approx. 2015-16. A 1st Ave Streetcar is planned that will travel to stadiums. This will affect bicycle travel along 1st Ave. SDOT expects most cyclists to use the new boulevard, which they say will be a high quality public space with access to downtown, through downtown and local access. This area will have ‘north/south’ bicycle facilities – but what about east/west bicycle facilities? How do cyclists get downtown? The boulevard will be 6 lanes with turn lanes between King & Columbia, then 4 lanes around Marion/Pike. There will be parking along both sides of boulevard as well as loading zones. The speed limit will be 30 mph and every intersection signalized. There will be 70′ to 80′ of public space available in this configuration. There is a bike lane planned in the northbound lanes, uphill, next to the parked cars and load zones. Downhill, or southbound will be either Sharrows or nothing at all since SDOT assumes that all cyclists will be keeping up with traffic in this 14′ lane. SBAB asked that a bike track be kept on the table and looked at further. Since this meeting was shown a video simulation from a driver’s perspective it was requested that the same thing be done from a cyclists perspective.

SBAB had some initial recommendations

– Suggest ways to do detailed review group and get involved in multi-modal group ASAP

– South portal is biggest area of potential conflicts (large intersections/transit/heavy traffic/trucks/multiple-turns/etc) and wants more detail

– As temporary construction is identified (like Atlantic/Alaskan) can SBAB have input before it is installed?

– Make sure signage enhanced bike movement – south is main area for access to/from new Boulevard and street configurations.

– Want to find out if video can be done from cyclist POV

– Look at central waterfront full design with urban design as a whole in mind, not just motor vehicles first then only consider cyclists/peds. This is a huge opportunity.

There is time to work on this. Note: Between Holgate and King Street the bike route from now on will be frequently moving and changing within the next several years so be prepared.

SDOT is working on re-painting streets.

Call 684-ROAD to report areas you’d like to see re-painted. You can also email walkandbike@seattle.gov.

For comments about the tunnel/viaduct work go to: http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/Projects/Viaduct/contactus.htm

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[Al]

SBAB meeting 9/2/08. I wasn’t able to attend so these notes were taken by another attendee.

Introductions of the new board members took place. Several are from West Seattle. There wasn’t much specific information about West Seattle except for an update that Avalon is still slated to be re-configured with bike lanes and the West Seattle cyclist who went down on Delridge remains in a coma. The rest are general notes about discussions mainly focusing on the north end, Ballard & Queen Anne.

SDOT presentation

− Prioritization criteria (hasn’t changed since last year)

− 3rd year of prioritization of projects

− BMP creation was 2006-2007 and designed a 450 mile bicycle system with GIS analysis and 3 public meetings and a 1600 person survey.

− Several SDOT/SBAB members do ride new bike routes before they are implemented

− (Next Month, Brian Doughterty will be presenting on the map design ideas for next year)

− Next year SDOT will be able to build 20 miles of projects

− SBAB can make recommendations for projects, priorities, and alternatives

− Metro wants 11′ lanes on two way streets, they are okay with 10.5′ lanes on one way or 4 lane streets.

− Nickerson will be removing some parking on the hill at the curve.

− Queen Ann residential group objected to sharrows – Bike Dots used instead.

− Queen Ann counterbalance route objected to by Queen Ann group, alternate used for now.

− Prior projects (dexter single stripe bike lane for example, pine and 6th ave downtown as another example) that were not done to current standards are being re-visited. That isn’t counted in the BMP mileage.

− BTG funding is restricting to 20 miles of work. The projects are getting tougher, needing more signals (which are expensive)

− Brian Dougherty is working on the 15th Ave corridor from Columbian to Beacon hill and wanting to sit down with some people to work through the thorny issues on that project.

− SDOT is asking for SBAB’s recommendations in October (by the next meeting) so they can work in time for their budget process.

SDOT Update:

A little over 16 miles of bicycle facilities have been installed this year, or will be complete soon. In the process of completing the other 9-10 miles. 4 of those are in conjunction with paving projects.

Doing annual bike counts in two weeks, on the second wednesday. Doing downtown counts and could use help. 2.5 hours in the morning. 6:30-9am. On the 16th.

Grace Crunican sent out a letter on the Ballard Bridge proposed changes. Bike, Ped, and Freight looked at the south end of the ballard bridge with options A, B, and C on the SDOT blog. The option C was unanimously chosen. In the meantime, signage and paint will be added and trees will be trimmed, but the curb cut won’t be changed. There is also a proposal to change speed limits and a speed radar. This project will happen sometime next year.

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[Al]

Meeting was 9/2/2009!

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[Al]

SBAB Meeting 10/07/09

– Commenter noted that Fauntleroy improved for cyclists for the most part. However, the merge point on Fauntleroy between Edmunds and Hudson continues to be a “pinch point” where cyclists are in danger of being ignored by merging vehicles. Suggestion: add a Sharrow in this area.

– Cascade Bicycle Club is looking for cycling instructors. Contact them if you are interested: http://www.cascade.org

Not much notable in regards to West Seattle in particular. The closest news is for the Mountains to Sound trail update. Brian Holloway from SDOT spoke about the groundwork to create a connector trail from the Jose Rizal Bridge, along I-5 and connecting to Golf St and 12th along I-90. This is pending Seattle City Council vote on allowing the trail ROW through the area. A 12′ trail is planned, along with retaining walls, lighting, and easy police access (there is a concern about safety along here but it’s hoped that an active trial will help deter the criminal element).

There will be additional bike route signage coming to downtown in the near future that will help cyclists coming up Western or heading to ferries or to Beacon Hill. Most signage is focused on downtown core.

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[Al]

SBAB 11/05/09

This could effect those who commute to/from West Seattle by using the Westlake/Stewart/7th Ave/5th Ave area.

The SDOT is planning a “hub strategy” to major commutes through the city, consisting of three “hubs,” Colman Dock (ferries), King St Station and Westlake area. The Westlake hub at the streetcar terminus at Westlake/5th was the focus of this meeting. SDOT is planning on creating a park like area by removing Westlake Ave entirely for the block at the streetcar stop (at the bank). This will create a triangle shaped park and allow for better pedestrian access, extension of sidewalks, links for transit; i.e. expansion of the streetcar network and reconfiguration of some bus stops, and provide better access for a multi-modal commute system with good facilities for cyclists. http://www.seattle.gov/transportation/westlakehub_streetcarplaza.htm

In the long term, SDOT wants to provide covered bicycle parking and use the area to connect to the urban trails and bikeway network. A bicycle sharing program is under discussion to possibly locate at Westlake, and it will also involve the creation of more 2-way streets. By 2020 SDOT would like to see a full-service bike station with as many as 280+ bike parking spaces. For the short term, a mezzanine level of bike parking would be proposed if the bank expands and a new building is constructed with lower level parking (not sure about the status of this, it sounded purely hypothetical). Bike parking would be secure and covered. However, the current plans call for a line of bicycle racks adjacent to the current streetcar terminus. This was originally planned for the Convention Place tunnel stop but it was never implemented.

Street reconfiguration: 7th between Denny & Olive to be completed in 2010. 7th is 2 lanes each direction. Traffic volumes turned out to be incredibly low so buffered bike lanes will be installed between traffic lane and parked cars (parking will not be removed and bike lane will be located next to parked cars). The bike lane will be a 6′ lane instead of the standard 5′ lane with a 3′ buffer zone to the left of the bike lane. A green bike crossing with arrows assisting bike travel over the streetcar tracks will be installed.

Westlake & 7th to 7th & Olive. One way southbound – a two block stretch. Contraflow bike lane will be installed (against oncoming traffic) northbound and a regular lane southbound. Contraflow lane will be marked with paint and plastic markers that will create a ‘buffer’ from traffic.

7th Ave, Stewart to Olive – parking will be removed on one side and a bike lane installed against curb. Parking is rarely used here and there’s ample bicycle traffic so this is a good use of the street for cyclists. South of Olive the bike lane(s) will end and Sharrows will be installed on either side. Some concern about this was expressed by SBAB that cyclists who use the bike lanes will be “dumped” into a busier street. Some transition will be discussed as this project progresses.

NOTE: 1st Ave Streetcare would route through this area. SDOT had pictures of it at the meeting that are not posted on the website. Streetcar would run down left side of Stewart starting at what looks like 7th to 1st and from 1st using Olive in the right lane, with a “jog” to the Westlake “park” station. This would be a difficult area for cyclists to use if the tracks are installed in spite of advertising it as a bicycle “hub.” There was no discussion yet about installing rubber “bumper” devices on these tracks on routes that cyclists use. Just something to be aware of.

There is an inventory of bicycle street-level public parking done by SDOT. There are about 2,600 bike racks available in the city. For some reason SDOT did not have any more information with them, nor did they seem to have any idea that it would be a good idea to PUBLISH or MAKE PUBLIC this information for cyclists. Access to bicycle rack locations would be great as they are not exactly plentiful. SDOT mentioned that there were many areas with no racks and were surprised at the findings. SBAB has requested this information so I’ll try to get it from them soon and recommended to SDOT that the put the information on their website. SDOT has plans to inventory private bicycle parking as well, but it hinges on a grant. SBAB decided to do a short inventory themselves to show SDOT what’s good parking and what’s bad.

For those of you that use light rail – the installation of the hooks for bicycles did not work. The bikes were not stable enough to hang on their own. For now, it’s ok to walk on with your bike as long as you stand with it because there’s no other option.

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[Al]

SBAB 1/6/10

City Councilmember Mike O’Brien attended part of the meeting today (first higher-level city representative to do so since I’ve been attending) and said a few words. He was impressed with the amount of attendees and emphasized that he will support cycle initiates and promote the potential of cycling as an alternative means of transport within the city.

SDOT has a draft of the new 2010 bicycle map drawn up and samples were given out. There is not a publicly available on-line version at this time, but if you have questions you can contact brian.dougherty@seattle.gov for more information. The Seattle bicycle map is a hugely popular item; 30,350 were distributed in 2009, a 30% increase over the prior year. It’s a consisted top 5 hit for web searches on the SDOT site. The new map is designed to encourage more beginner riders to get out and ride more often. There is a more improved, more intuitive legend, more useful information is presented, and the message is simplified. Additions to the 2010 map are: bike shops, light rail & streetcar routes, new park acquisitions, more information about facilities. No longer included are: topographic relief, less specific law information (it’s more useful now) and few resources (such as hostel information). The legend has been standardized with the King County bike map with trails in green, bike lanes are blue, sharrowed routes are orange and rail lines are red. The entire map is on one side instead of split into north on one side, south on the other. The city is also looking at possible producing a very small folding map (like those from Vancouver BC) in late 2010 and are researching on-line way finding like New York has implemented this past year. The final 2010 bike map should be distributed in March, but you have this month to contact Brian Dougherty if you have comments/questions. IMHO the new map is much improved and easier to read. The topo graphics are not missed since the hills are still marked with “arrows” and are easy to spot.

Barbara Gray and Darby Watson of SDOT presented SBAB with information about the Right of Way Improvements Manual & Complete Streets initiative. Due to the complete streets initiative passed in 2007 new transportation projects must take all road users (including pedestrians and cyclists) into consideration of street design. ROW Manual is available online as a tool for planners, both within SDOT and for private planners who must comply with street construction guidelines. Everyone using the guide should have the same consistent information. One notable addition to the guide are Sharrows. In 2005 Sharrows were a “consideration” and were laid down on the streets as a test. Since the MUTDC has been updated SDOT is pending the updated information and will integrate it into the new manual (so now the question is are those Sharrows that do not meet the MUTDC standard, such as those on Beach Drive, going to be fixed?). Bike Boxes and green lanes are not added yet. The Bicycle Master Plan, referred to by planners and used as a guideline in the manual, referrers to them but there are no guidelines yet as they are still in the Pilot Phase. Also included in the manual are bike parking, curb ramps, signal access to pedestrian crossings for those using a bicycle.

Note that freight still gets priority consideration over all other transportation means (including Single Occupancy Vehicles). Discussing the options for cyclists, they noted that SDOT envisions 1st Ave as a “slow route” not good for accommodating commuting cyclists but rather as a “shopping route” with lots of stops. This made several of the West Seattle attendees audibly gasp since 1st Ave is a great, FAST route through the city for us. I would suggest emailing Barbara and Darby and let them know how you feel, especially with the looming Viaduct traffic that’s coming up…

2010 goals for SDOT are to implement 20 miles of bike lanes and sharrows; installation of 30 miles of signed bicycle routes, and to finish the ship canal extension from 6th to 11th (the very iffy bike route that follows the east side of the canal along Nickerson). The only bike corral located on the streets of Seattle (12th Ave in front of Stumptown Coffee) was totally destroyed on New Year’s Eve by a driver. No one was hurt.

Upcoming: Sound Transit is conducting a review of bicycle parking and access at the light rail stations. Bike parking access in Seattle is also under review. Some SBAB members took a tour of the proposed 1st Hill Streetcar southern route where the streetcar would cross from 1st Hill and “turn around” in the International District. It was deemed highly concerning and would likely destroy bicycle access in the area (and a major bicycle route) due to track installation at oblique angles throughout the area.

Bike Counts: This wasn’t mentioned at the meeting but some bike counts have been released from this fall follow. Count was taken Wednesday, September 16 from 6:30 to 9:00 AM at various locations throughout the city. The results show a 15% increase since the 2007 counts, with a total of 2,609 bicyclists being counted in 2009. Some counts relative to West Seattle are:

1st Ave and Royal Brougham: ~ 46 cyclists

Alaskan Way and Royal Brougham: ~250 cyclists

Seattle Ferry Terminal: ~300 cyclists

This makes the West Seattle/Southerly route the 2nd and 4th most cycled in the city. SDOT and WSDOT should be concerned about these counts when the street revisions for the waterfront are under review.

http://www.seattle.gov/Transportation/bikeinfo.htm

I am trying to obtain the neighborhood bike counts that were taken this fall. It’s been indicated that the neighborhood counts have been finished, but they aren’t available yet.

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[Al]

If you are interested in this project here’s detailed information I ran across about the waterfront street configuration.

http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/NR/rdonlyres/C6216591-EB48-4175-8ED0-AC318B85375D/0/BypassTunnelAlt_tabloid.pdf

Note that the capacity in 2030 is ~48,000 vehicles rather than the ~25,000 that has been discussed (not sure if the 25K figure is the “starting” figure now because it’s not mentioned in the document). Also significant backups and longer transit times are pretty much assured with mass transit stuck in there along w/all the other traffic (i.e. no dedicated transit lanes). 4th Ave looks like the route into Seattle for buses. Still no mention of what cyclists are supposed to do once the new bike route ends at around Atlantic/Royal Brougham.

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[on board]

“Discussing the options for cyclists, they noted that SDOT envisions 1st Ave as a “slow route” not good for accommodating commuting cyclists but rather as a “shopping route” with lots of stops. This made several of the West Seattle attendees audibly gasp since 1st Ave is a great, FAST route through the city for us.”

Is this 1st Ave through downtown, or 1st Ave South?

with the new addition of wayfinding and at least a mile of new bike lane on East Marginal, it is apparent that SDOT is finally becoming somewhat aware that that is a critical connection for people in West Seattle. 1st Ave South is nowhere near as viable a connection as E. Marginal.

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[Al]

on board, sorry I didn’t respond yet.

This is 1st Ave downtown.

I also think that cycle commuters who use that route have been speaking up. It will remain our main route during construction and after. 1st Ave S with only Sharrows is not a route I relish riding at all.

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[Al]

SBAB meeting 2/3/10.

I took notes for another group so this is longer than normal but the topic of general bicycle parking involves everyone who commutes downtown or to other locations.

Tom Rassmussen (TM), City Council Member and Chair of Transportation was in attendance for the first part of the meeting and addressed the group about several issues. He thinks the input of boards like SBAB are important for proper implementation of facilities in the city. He does cycle, mostly for recreation and cycle trips and is fairly knowledgeable about cycling routes in the Seattle area. He wants to improve cycling for commuters especially through better implementation of infrastructure and wants feedback such as what infrastructure implementation makes sense – signage for instance, does it work? What about maintenance and the possibility of adding more routes for cyclists? In addition he presented several speaking points:

* Bike safety is a priority. How does the infrastructure work? TM believes that sometimes the new infrastructure actually creates confusion between drivers and cyclists. 2nd Ave bike lane is an example (even though it’s not new) – is there such a thing as intuitively identifying something as bad? (Something we cyclists have long complained about, most recently the Sharrows). Why are we spending $ on stripes and lanes if it’s not done well?

* Right of Way. TM recently took a trip in an 18-wheeler from Ballard to the Duwamish. He stated that cyclists were invisible from the cab, especially those approaching from the right. The driver specifically commented on cyclists using the “bus lane” on Elliott Ave as a bike route – why not use the trail? TM correctly identified a disconnect between what is a recreational cycle route vs a commuter route and how can these be identified in a more constructive way? How are cyclists made more visible to drivers? (And how do we educate drivers about driving safely on the road with cyclists?)

* Missing links in the bicycle network. TM thinks this is dangerous as one of the routes he uses disappears (in the south end of town) and dumps cyclists into a narrow, congested corridor with no good route through for riders with less than great skills. The bicycle map doesn’t make sense either – why are some bicycle routes located on streets with large, steep hills and not routed around those hills instead? Who validates the route (i.e. I think he meant who actually goes out and rides the routes prior to identifying it as a bike route – a great question!)

* Bridging disagreements between different transportation modes. 1st Hill streetcar as an example. TM is a firm believer that this route is not good for cyclists and has big concerns (does he mean the 12th Ave routing or the Broadway routing? Is he award of the Jackson interchange – no one on SBAB brought this up – astonishing!). He also mentioned the lawsuit of the missing link of the Burke through Ballard and seemed to have some empathy toward the truck drivers here. He went back to the streetcar issue by explaining he’s a supporter of an expanded bus system, especially trolley buses. And even if the streetcar is built anyway, it should serve the original purpose of routing through the major employment areas of the hospitals and down Broadway to Aloha. Even though the other neighborhoods want it too because of the economic draw, it loses it’s original purposes of the planned proposal. Further meetings are planned w/Blake to go over the streetcar proposal. SBAB noted that the cycle track planned for Broadway is a good outcome and TM said that the community council (Broadway) has been very involved and supportive of the plans.

* Think of low-cost, easy implemented solutions. TM gave example of a helpful fix that may assist in completing missing link problem for cyclists. When stairways are replaced, simply add a “bike ramp” along side them so a bike can easily be rolled up the hill along the staircase. This could make a significant difference for people who don’t want to ride up a steep hill and cannot carry their bike up a shorter route via a staircase.

TM seemed confused about why CBC came out against the SR520 plan as proposed as it would add a bike/pedestrian walkway. SBAB pointed out that the problem wasn’t the bridge per se but the connectivity (plays into TM’s description of what is “bad” implementation). The Montlake interchange will be a huge vehicle structure that will put vehicles first and peds/cyclists second. In addition adding more vehicles to the U District and changing the Arboretum is not a positive cycling change even though the bridge itself is good. SBAB and TM will request more info from CBC on their decision. TM mentioned that mitigation and investigation is on the table as far as WA State is concerned in spite of what has been in the media. The connectivity problems can be discussed with the State in his opinion.

Commute Seattle

A one-year grant was received to inventory bike parking facilities in the city of Seattle.

Commute Seattle is a group formed to make sure people can move through the city for transit, businesses and freight access. The group consists of city workers, metro and downtown association members and they work with property managers, employers and commuters directly. See attached handout for details of these notes. The goal (SDOT’s I believe as well as “Commute Seattle’s”) is to reduce SOV use from it’s current level of 50% of all trips to 44% by 2015. This consists most of commuters. They want to see bike/ped commuters at a level of 10K in the next 5 years. SBAB asked what the current level of bike/peds is – Commute Seattle did not have an answer. Amazingly they did not seem to know this answer! SBAB filled them in and said the estimate now is about 4K so they want 6K additional bike/ped commuters by 2015? Commute Seattle reps said that they would like to see bike trips tripled by 2015 and that the 6K figure was not an increase but a net total average over the calendar year. (I could not understand their reasoning, nor were there numbers presented of cyclists vs pedestrian commuters – all numbers were lumped together.)

Commute Seattle wants to increase the number of bicycle racks, provide maps and route suggestions. A bike parking inventory is the first step. They mentioned that Portland did this for the first time 15 years ago. Then they will move to infrastructure concerns and marketing. The big question is can downtown accommodate 6K more cyclists? Are there enough racks (when they talk about bike parking, they mean covered, secure, long term bike parking, not short term on street racks), showers, lockers, routes to accommodate commuters? If not, then build it, then outreach to commuters. In the short time the group has been together they have discovered that no one is looking at cyclists once they are downtown. Downtown cyclists are mostly commuters with their own particular set of needs. So they will train volunteers, interns and their own group members to go out and physically inventory the bike parking facilities, including lockers and showers, of every downtown building. This is a huge task that will not be done via survey. The people doing the inventory will be trained to spot good/bad bike parking, and be able to access whether it is safe, accessible, convenient, whether it involves interacting with ramps, automobiles, pedestrians, etc. Portland now has a pamphlet that is given out to building owners about how to provide good bike parking and this group would very much like to see this as an eventual outcome.

Outreach and encouragement for future commuters is in their plan – but does the group have teeth or is it just another advisory committee? Once the grant ends, then what? Does this group overlap or can they work in coalition with SBAB? None of the reps at the SBAB meeting were cyclists. The can make recommendations but have no role in implementation. SBAB asked if the group has reviewed the current bike counts – they have reviewed them. And a follow up question was that if they will be concentrating on downtown cyclists do they plan on counting them themselves? No, they do not. They will be conducting their own surveys to get an estimate of the count of cyclists. One idea is to leave flyers on bicycle bars so cyclists can fill them out. (My concern is if you are looking at secured bike parking – you should not be able to do this. In my building it would be impossible. So they could miss lots of commuters this way.)

Short Term Parking (SDOT)

The SDOT program started in the early 1980s and lots of experimentation has taken place. SDOT currently uses several different rack types: stainless rail racks (inverted U), small inverted U racks, converted parking meter posts, and core racks. SDOT’s support facilities provide racks to make cycling more convenient (according to Bike Master Plan) and re-establish proactive installations in 2010 that are mindful of ROW, load zones, etc. In 2007 there were an estimated 3000 racks in the city. The new target is 6000 racks in 10 years, so that’s installation of about 300 new racks per year. They are close to target now with 1600 installed (this is bike spaces, not racks, so estimate approx 2 bikes per rack, so that’s 800 new racks since 2007) – they would have liked to reach 1800.

The latest inventory was done November 2009 using GPS. Each rack location in the ROW was logged and a photo taken. The total measured was 2517 racks. SBAB pointed out this is less than the 3000 racks BEFORE the new installations so did SDOT only have ~1700 racks to begin with, not 3000? SDOT did not have an answer. Racks are concentrated in core areas (downtown, California Ave SW, Greenlake, etc). Where are the underserved areas (well, that’s easy to see on the map – Delridge, Columbia City, Beacon Hill, Rainier Ave, SODO…basically south). SDOT is also installing new racks in public schools – but these were not counted as they are not ROW installations.

The 2010 plan is to continue to fill installation requests, install racks pro-actively and work with the street division to streamline installation process for private purchase installations of on street racks, and to identify locations when old parking meters are taken out.

On-street bicycle parking on 12th Ave should be replaced soon – it’s the only location so far that has proved successful. They are looking at several new locations; the Admiral Junction in West Seattle (yay! this would be excellent!), Greenlake, and the newest one should be in Ballard on Ballard Ave NW near 20th. The business group has approved installation for one year as a test case. They are looking for more locations to look at: contact Doug Cox with your ideas.

SBAB asked whether they should be installed according to demand (as SDOT is doing) or whether the racks create the demand by making it easier to park a bicycle. And is a one year test period enough in rainy Seattle. Can it be extended to a two year period? Doug said that the on street racks that were used (12th Ave only it seems) were immediately popular – the unused ones were obviously not popular so there wasn’t a need for a longer test period.

Other info: The Pioneer Square Bike Station has been renamed the Bike Port. It’s newly remodeled with lockers, and a bathroom/changing area (not sure if they have showers). Their official opening was Thursday the 4th. The web site has not been updated yet.

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[Al]

The September 2009 WA State Bike Count is out:

http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/bike/count.htm

West Seattle A.M. count information below.

California Ave SW & SW Alaska

11 cyclists

226 pedestrians

Duwamish Trail & lower West Seattle Bridge

139 cyclists

17 pedestrians

Highland Park Way & Duwamish Trail

11 cyclists

0 pedestrians

There were no evening counts taken.

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[Al]

SBAB 3/3/10 – Not too much West Seattle related in this meeting, so this will just cover some general information.

The Draft 2040 transportation plan is still open for comments, until tomorrow. Most funding is highway related, so if you want to see more funding allocated to cyclist resources or transit, or any other option you can still comment: http://www.psrc.org/transportation/t2040/

The downtown business association / transportation board is very interested in cycle tracks on 3rd Ave and put in a formal request to SDOT for more information. This was most unexpected and exiting.

The new SDOT director, Peter Hahn, attended the first half of the meeting tonight. He put forward that he and the mayor’s office understand that there is a discrepancy of funding between infrastructure for motorists vs cyclists. Both offices would like to see better improvement for non-car related transit. But the biggest challenge is the budget with the General Fund which provides hard dollars for roadway work. Major shortfalls between 2010 – 2011 are expected and just completing basic services will be a challenge.

SR520 program staff made a presentation about the new proposed bridge and west side connections (comment period ends 4/15/10: http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/Projects/SR520Bridge/ContactUs.htm). The floating bridge itself is the only part of the plan that is fully funded by the State. There is a planned 10′ bike/pedestrian lane on the north side of the bridge – which on the west side connects to the “regional path.” The bike facilities end there and this project won’t upgrade them. If you have ever ridden through here you know the current facility is a narrow path that cannot accommodate a larger amount of cyclists a new bridge is sure to draw. No bike facilities are planned on the planned replacement Portage Bay bridge. A sidewalk is planned for the new bridge paralleling the Montlake (drawbridge) but no bike facilities have been planned. SBAB asked about east/west bicycle connectivity in this area and if it’s been looked at, as well as north/south? The answer is no, but lids over Montlake an near the I-5 junction are planned. SBAB asked about bike facilities on the lids. The answer was that no bike facilities have been planned for the lids and it may be handled by Parks & Recs rather than WADOT or SDOT. SBAB will be officially commenting on the lack of bike infrastructure planned for the west side of the new SR520 bridge and how it could be a base for major bike infrastructure upgrades that should be planned now to complement the flow of motorized and non-motorized traffic flows. Another major change is the possibility of a new roadway through the Arboretum which is a concern to everyone. If you want to comment SDOT wants details: What do you want to see? What are the problems? What option is better?, etc.

2010 BMP Work plan. The last year SDOT over-used Sharrows. In 2010 they plan on installing 2 miles of bike lane for every 1 mile of Sharrows. No new bike infrastructure is planned for West Seattle in 2010. However, maintenance will still be done. So if you want to see lines, symbols, or other existing infrastructure repaired, email WalkAndBike@Seattle.gov or go to http://www.seattle.gov/transportation/potholereport.htm. Two items of note. 1) SDOT is looking at installing a climbing lane for cyclists on Admiral and some downhill lane changes, but it’s only in the initial stages and won’t happen in 2010. 2) The bicycle infrastructure on the east side of the Lower Spokane Street bridge will be upgraded in 2010 with new striping and better marked crossings. This isn’t in time for the March 17th 1st Ave onramp to the West Seattle Bridge closure, but at least it’s coming. For those cyclists, be careful out there. There are going to be many frustrated and confused drivers not used to this area and not paying attention to cyclists. Ride with caution and awareness.

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[Al]

Bike route updates Royal Brougham to just South of Massachusetts St (south of Coast Guard Station).

I received this information from Michael C. Johnston, P.E., AWV-South End Program Manager, SDOT after inquiring about bike routing through the area during the first major stage of construction. Some changes to the east bike path are already underway.

Refer to http://www.sdot.wa.gov/Projects/Viaduct/workinggroupmaterials.htm

To summarize Mr. Johnston’s response specific to the July 2010 – December 2010 construction plan:

Cyclists and pedestrians traveling both north and south on E. Marginal Way and Alaskan Way will be accommodated by a 10-foot wide path through the construction site. In the initial stages, the route will be located on the east side of Alaskan Way so that the contractor can build the ultimate path on the west side of Alaskan Way. Once this path is built, both cyclists and pedestrians will be directed to use this western path. Even though cyclists will be directed to use this path, they will not be prohibited from using the street. However, in late December 2010, Alaskan Way will be closed between S. Atlantic St. and Royal Brougham and SDOT will expect cyclists traveling north or south through the construction site to use the path.

Appropriate signage will be installed to ensure public safety and the contractor will be responsible to ensure that these routes are maintained for safe passage by cyclists.

I followed up with Mr. Johnston letting him know that some of the changes are already occurring, i.e. the widening of the path and what looks like imminent “bikes only” pavement markings with two way arrows. This puts cyclists traveling southbound in a precarious position of crossing Marginal/Alaskan at the bend, having to ride between large barrels, and cross a busy roadway with currently no “bike crossing” signage posted whatsoever. If/when he follows up, I’ll let you know. IMHO if traffic is slow it’s easier to just take the roadway since that eliminates the need to cross.

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[Al]

SBAB Meeting 4/7/10

BIKE SHARE: The city is looking into Bike Share programs and how they would function. This is not a done-deal by any means as no funding is secured. A four-mile square downtown area would be the first to receive the program. This includes the downtown core, parts of Capitol Hill, some areas of SODO and Queen Anne). Phase two adds another 14 square miles and includes the rest of Queen Anne, Ballard, the rest of SODO south to Georgetown. And the third phase would include more “satellite” or “neighborhood” locations, in which the Alaska Junction is included. Again, there is no certainty about this. The study was conducted by UW Graduate students.

FYI: the numbers used as comparison cities were taken from Bike Share programs already implemented in Paris, Leon, and Barcelona in which car use is 50% to 300% less than Seattle to begin with – and the terrain is fairly flat. The weather issue was brought up, but the presenters stated that there were only a couple days more rain in Seattle than the total rainy day comparison for the other cities.

NEW BIKE RACKS/ON STREET RACKS: So far this year SDOT has installed 140 new bike racks in the city. They are also implementing more on-street bike parking in the Ballard area. It’s been a hard sell for SDOT, but they are working with businesses who WANT bike parking. If you know of a business owner, or are one, and are interested in looking into on-street bike parking, you can contact bikeracks@seattle.gov. Here’s SDOT’s website http://www.cityofseattle.net/transportation/bikeparking.htm and more information here from Portland, OR and their robust and popular Bike Corral program http://www.portlandonline.com/Transportation/index.cfm?a=250076&c=34813.

SOUTH VIADUCT CORRIDOR/ATLANTIC ST:

This is a worrying situation. The Marginal/Alaskan corridor is a major route for cyclists from Burien, White Center, and West Seattle. The modifications planned to the overpass at Atlantic/Alaskan at the Terminal 46 entrance could cause a major hazard for cyclists.

*This is difficult to describe, so bear with me. Trucks heading west on Atlantic will be able to use the surface Atlantic Street when there is no train on the tracks. When a train blocks the intersection, vehicles will be routed to an overpass on the right. This takes vehicles on a “h” shaped, or small “u” shaped overpass that goes up and over the tracks northbound, then back down to Alaskan right at the entrance to T46 (they would be facing southbound at the end of the overpass to continue south down Alaskan/Marginal or to take a right into T46). This is different than the more sweeping overpass that was previously planned.

* There is bike lane planned for cyclists coming from the south, northbound into the city which travels under the “h” overpass.

* The southbound route for cyclists is currently planned off-street, on a 10′ wide path off the street that will jog to the right fairly significantly, then stop at the new signalized intersection at T46. Cyclists would have to cross like pedestrians here, then enter the street after the intersection. This could cause negative encounters with trucks and other vehicles using this intersection. And since the planned path width now varies anywhere from 15′ to 10′ pinch points will be created between pedestrians and cyclists.

* It’s unclear why cyclists cannot use the street southbound in this area. The Port wants to relegate cyclists as much as possible to paths and sidewalks in this area even though that oftentimes is the most dangerous place for a cyclist to be, especially at the street intersections when turning vehicles are encountered. Separation from pedestrians is also better for this area since there are quite a few pedestrians here.

* The new intersections planned between 1st Ave and King Street will also increase pedestrian and vehicular traffic so it’s important to make sure cyclists concerns are heard. Tying this area into any waterfront cycle plans, like a cycle track or bike lanes is essential since the routes will feed into one another. Cyclists are part of the traffic and we must be included in the overall traffic planning for this area. Contact bikeboard@seattle.gov, walkandbike@seattle.gov and viaduct@wsdot.wa.gov.

* If you want to see a rough schematic, let me know and leave your email address. I can’t find it online but I have a drawing of it I obtained at the SBAB meeting.

* SBAB is also wondering if you have feedback about putting in a wide pathway, separated from traffic along the east side of E. Marginal to roughly Massachusetts/Atlantic area. Currently, 5′ bike lanes are planned along each side of the roadway along E. Marginal, but if a path was put in along the east side, conflicts between drivers turning into the Port terminals along the west side of Marginal would be greatly reduced. Cyclists could conceivably continue south by having the route re-join the roadway at Hanford. Either post feedback here or contact SBAB at email above.

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[Al]

Are you thinking about starting to commute via bicycle in the month of May? Hey, May is Bike to Work month, and Bike to Work day is on May 21st, the end of the first week with no 1st Ave onramp…! If you want to try it out, let me know and leave your email (name at host dot com/net) and we can try to arrange a ride together. I ride from near the Morgan Junction to Lake Union. Or even just let me know if you have any questions. And if you are a woman concerned about riding with a woman; it’s ok, I am one too!

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[Al]

SBAB 5/5/10

Sally Bradshaw, Seattle City Council Member, attended the meeting. She stated that 9 council members plus the Mayor are all “die hard cyclists.” She herself is on the council’s bicycle caucus. The is a big supporter of separated facilities and is not sold on Sharrows, and is interested in the idea of taking away parking to add bike lanes in some areas.

The BikeSmart 2009 Survey findings revealed some troubling information. A few results below taken from both motorists and cyclists:

* Of the respondents, 85% believe it’s true that legally, bicyclists are granted the same rights and duties as motor vehicles while 14% believe that bicyclists don’t have the same rights and duties as motor vehicles. One respondent did not know. (Yes, bicyclists have the same rights and duties as motor vehicle operators.)

* 80% of respondents believe that where a bike lane is available, bicyclists are required to ride within the bike lane, 18% say that is incorrect and 3% do know know. (In Seattle, cyclists are not required to ride within in the bike lane if one is available.)

* 66% of respondents say cyclists must always ride to the right of motor vehicles and 31% say it’s false. (Cyclists are not required to always ride to the right – there are clear exceptions to this rule.)

* 84% say that motorists taking a left turn must yield right of way to oncoming cyclists and 14% say they don’t have to. 2% do not know the answer. (Yes, cyclists are considered traffic and left turning vehicles must yield to all oncoming traffic.)

* 31% of respondents replied that they have disobeyed a traffic law when riding a bicycle in Seattle, 67% state that they have not and 3% say they do not know.

If you want a copy of the entire survey results, let me know. I think the results of the survey show that there’s major confusion and misinformation out there. SDOT needs to learn how to educate all road users as to what the rules of the road are and how they apply to a situation involving cyclists.

Spokane St. Viaducts, 1st Ave onramp closes on the 17th for 17 months. Most traffic will be using the lower swing bridge. SBAB and SDOT are expecting many more problems between cyclists and drivers. No one is sure what to do about it. Be careful around here. I’ve personally seen a lot of new cyclists. Please don’t run the red lights and yield to oncoming traffic. Drivers, yield to cyclists properly using the marked bike/ped crossings. I don’t want to see anyone killed in front of me thank you very much.

NOTE: E. Marginal Way between S. Atlantic & Royal Brougham will be closed to ALL traffic, including bikes, for 6 years starting in 2011 It’s unclear how the re-route would work. It’s assumed cyclists will join traffic on 1st Ave from King Street to Atlantic – but it’s not certain whether the Atlantic/Alaskan intersection will be open and if traffic would be able to access Alaskan/E. Marginal from Atlantic St. to the south. Worst case cyclists will have to travel down first or down the adjacent west siding road to Hanford which is not a pleasant trip.

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[Al]

To all you NEW CYCLISTS out there:

1. Don’t run red lights. Just don’t. Especially along E. Marginal and at the light on the east side of the lower bridge at the crazy Spokane Street crossing zones. You really want to get run over by an 18-wheeler or a car travelling at speed? Really? Stopping doesn’t slow you down that much so just stop and wait. Traffic will be much worse starting next week so developing good skills now will only help you in the future.

2. The path on the lower bridge loops under the bridge allowing you to avoid crossing Spokane Street. It’s a fun little loop and you don’t have to worry about traffic and crossing Spokane. Why not use it?

3. If you are going to make a turn, especially with other cyclists and motorists around you, use your arm/hand signals if at all possible. It lets others know what you are going to do and is useful.

4. When passing someone, use a bell or your voice. Don’t pass too close; how would you like to be a pedestrian with a cyclist passing you too close and too fast? Or for that matter a cyclist who is unsure of themselves?

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[on board]

“Cyclists could conceivably continue south by having the route re-join the roadway at Hanford.”

In response to post number 66, this would disregard the newly added mile of bike lane added last year in the southbound direction. That is a lot of bike lane to give up in this city that likes to create sharrows instead of bike lanes.

“E. Marginal Way between S. Atlantic & Royal Brougham will be closed to ALL traffic, including bikes, for 6 years starting in 2011 It’s unclear how the re-route would work.”

IN response to # 67, this seems hard to believe. More details would be valued. Why can’t they keep this open?

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[Al]

Reply to your reply re: #66…the problem is the entire roadway will be re-done. It will be a two-lane siding road rather than a throughway as it is now, with a turn lane (at least that’s the plan as SDOT sees it at this point). So anything that’s there now will not be there – it’s like starting from scratch.

#67…Yes, it will be closed for sure. See schematic http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/NR/rdonlyres/50F3EC39-9D69-4292-8487-A98DA24B54DC/0/SouthEnd_Construction_Staging_March2010.pdf page 2 of 8. “3a Alaskan Way S between S Atlantic and S Royal Brougham permanently closed.” This is for the beginning of construction for the “U overpass” that will route traffic over the tracks directly into the Port entry and to the new Marginal Way. The entire roadway, including sidewalks and bike lanes, will be destroyed.

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[on board]

It shows a new bicycle pedestrian facility as being “complete” in April 2011. This seems to imply they intend to have this connection made in time for the major work. It is unclear from the schematics.

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[Al]

I would take the “complete” with a grain of salt. The plans of the bike route from the waterfront to Spokane St are still highly unplanned so to speak. SDOT still doesn’t know whether it will be a large multiple use path or bike lanes on either side of the new street, and much less how in the heck the Marginal route will *connect* to the new street grid. So the entire route into downtown won’t actually be “complete” until say 2014 or so. SDOT so far has only plans for Sharrows and maybe a bike lane here and there on the waterfront while most advocacy groups want to see a bike track/boulevard since there is plenty of room to build one.

I would suggest emailing your comments and suggestions directlty to SBAB bikeboard@seattle.gov and the viaduct planners, you can find them here: http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/Projects/Viaduct/advisorygroups.htm

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[on board]

http://wsdot.wa.gov/Projects/SR99/HolgateToKing/BikePed.htm

Looks like they intend to keep some form of existing flow open with the exception of two weeks in November where there is a detour. I can live with that.

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[Al]

SBAB meeting 7/7/10

This isn’t necessarily all West Seattle related, but it’s interesting in that the way this planning is going is likely also happening in the south portal area.

Plans for Thomas/Harrison. SDOT planning couplet bike lanes.

One lane west on Thomas, and one bike lane east on Harrison.

Ostensibly SDOT says this avoids crossing the tracks at a bad angle on Thomas.

Thomas should be a green street according to ped/bike plans. But it’s a major route out of/to new viaduct tunnel so traffic volumes are predicted to be heavy. How heavy? SDOT had no numbers. But a center turn lane is planned down the length of it to prevent traffic backups and make it easier for cars to navigate. Along with wider south sidewalk (or is it north?) They weren’t clear and their drawings weren’t presented in N/S orientation). This narrows an already narrow street so only one bike lane could be added. SBAB pointed out that the return route east on Harrison is problematic as it dead ends at Seattle Center with nowhere to go. The SDOT plan is bikes would continue through Seattle Center to the waterfront. However, there’s no signal to proceed straight, no bike signal planned, no sidewalk to easily cross (even the current ped signal is hard to find on foot). So what are the plans there – answer is no plans!

Getting back to Thomas, SBAB suggests that SDOT remove the center turn lane. A couplet linked to a BUSIER street (Harrison) and giving CARS priority negates the whole green street aspect. Remove turn lane and put in a bike boulevard. This is SBAB’s recommendation. SBAB was not happy that there were no numbers that it the couplet been so poorly thought out. I haven’t seen them so forceful before.

SBAB brought up the fact that the streetcar tracks at Westlake/Thomas are a larger problem westbound since the tracks chicane at the intersection, while eastbound the cyclists would cross the tracks at nearly a 90-degree angle. It’s unclear why the planners thought the westbound bike lane was safer. SBAB requested that the planners take another look at this street with a bike boulevard along the east side of the street.

Eventually the planners admitted they had considered a bike boulevard on Thomas but decided bikes would be going too fast on it for peds to cross. SBAB pointed out that a bike boulevard is not a bike freeway, especially with stop signs and lights at every single block; plus larger numbers of bikes/peds/cars naturally slows people down. And Portland did it downtown on Broadway with success, why not here with less traffic/peds? And why in the world call this a green street when it’s clearly not going to function as one because of the emphasis on Thomas’ role as a traffic street not a ped/bike street?

The presenters then somehow got worried that SBAB was talking about taking the sidewalk away from the peds. SBAB had to say again, no, take the turn lane away from the cars! Prioritize bikes/peds in the green corridor! Then it became clear that the presenters were being DICTATED TO by someone in SDOT or…WADOT! The WADOT road people are dictating that cars come first, everyone else gets whatever space is left. The presenters would NOT NOT NOT give a name of who the road person is. The SBAB SDOT rep had to step in and give it. (I have found out that several road projects, city projects, are being unduly influenced by WADOT even though the road projects are city purview, not state. This is concerning as it will effect how city streets function. The state is concerned about cars, not transit, pedestrians or cyclists. The state is a freeway builder the city a road builder and the city planners should take precedence.)

West Seattle Admiral re-channelization was briefly discussed; addition of buffered bike lanes, reduce downhill vehicle lane to one lane, pedestrian improvements.

Several signage projects that were planned between S. Spokane Street and the Magnolia area are on hold due to street configuration changes/construction that will be soon taking place for the south portal area of the viaduct/tunnel.

S. Viaduct update from June was touched on. This concerns the new roadway that will be located south of Jackson St. to Massachusetts/Holgate, including the freight bypass area. There will be 5’ bike lanes on either side of the street from Holgate to Atlantic. The mulit-use trail is off the table due to connectivity issues around Spokane Street. The freight bypass area (where the “flyover” at Atlantic Street will be) will be constrained by providing one 14’ trail/multi-use path along the west side of the street. SBAB and SDOT are trying to get this widened to 16’ because the Port does have the room to allow a wider path. North of this area there will be bike lanes again. It’s fairly clear that the transition points to/from the path will be through intersections. Cyclists can still use the street here but again it’s unclear if traffic volumes will inhibit some cyclists from riding on the street.

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[Author]

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