The city is making repairs to the University Bridge late Friday and early Saturday, and the northbound bike lane will be closed.
Workers will help people on bikes get across the bridge, so there’s no need to detour. The work will go from 11 p.m. to 4 a.m.
Here’s the news release from SDOT:
— Advertisement —
Roadway Structures crews from the Seattle Department of Transportation plan to close the northbound bike lane at the northeastern corner of the University Bridge from 11 p.m. on Friday, July 18 until 4 a.m. on Saturday, July 19. The closure will allow the crews to safely perform maintenance work on the bridge.
In other U Bridge news, SDOT says they will start counting bikes there later this year, joining the growing number of bike counters around town.
Comments
9 responses to “City working on northbound U Bridge bike lane late Friday”
Glad to hear this important route is finally getting a counter. With one here now, almost every cyclist crossing the Ship Canal will now be counted.
Montlake Bridge sees quite a few bicycles. That said, it’s a shitty facility. It needs more than just a counter. Between UW, the 2016 light rail station, the various eastside buses, and Lake Washington Blvd access, it’s really well past time that the city devoted a single car lane to bicycles on the bridge.
Is there a counter at the Locks? And of course there are those brave souls that try the Ballard Bridge…
I can understand why there aren’t counters yet at the Locks and the Ballard Bridge. I rode across the Ballard Bridge once. Don’t plan on doing it ever again, unless they widen the sidewalk there quite a bit, and I say that as a rather adventurous rider.
I used to pass through the Locks quite regularly, but I suspect the amount of cyclists that choose to go that way is statistically insignificant in comparison with those that go over the Fremont and U-District bridges.
I wish they’d put one on the First Avenue South bridge. I take the West Seattle low bridge on my way in to work each day and get counted one way, but my route home almost always takes me over the 1st Ave South bridge. My commute is at an irregular time so I usually don’t see other folks, but I imagine there are a fair number of cyclists who use this bridge to get to and from the city and they aren’t being counted, which adds to the disparity of cycle services for the south end.
[…] Planning the city: It looks like there wasn’t much headway made by Council Member Mike O’Brien’s Microhousing working group. The final meeting has ended without any strong recommendations or consensus. Dan Bertolet over at City Tank argues that Rainier Beach has a lot of potential as a mixed-use and livable urban center in South Seattle. Bertolet floats his unique vision for this transit paradise and underutilized area. And, bicycle lanes are now a thing on the University Bridge. […]
Biking across the Ballard Bridge (going North) I bumped into a workman on the bridge (southern entrance) and I asked him what he was doing he replied “Installing a counter for you guys” … Yippe but so far I haven’t seen it advertised by SDOT.
Karl: I hear your opinion of the fear of crossing the Ballard Bridge. Do you wear bi-focal glasses? That fear came to me when I was crossing with bi-focal the first time. Ouch I thought I was going to die also. However from that point (many years ago) I carry a non bi-focal pair of glasses to put on when I cross. It worked fine. Nowadays my current bi-focals work well enough so I don’t need the regular glasses.
But I do agree the Ballard Bridge crossing is a little difficult with cars/trucks riding close to you and I always hope that some trucks outside mirror doesn’t get me. What I don’t understand about the counter as I think there is not much bicycle traffic on the bridge.
Although this is off-topic – Re: Ballard Bridge, I had a thought I would like to communicate to SDOT (where should I go to communicate?) that I have an excellent “cheap” solution to the paths on Ballard Bridge. Simply extend the railing that goes on the center of the bridge to both sides to the entrances. This would protect bicyclists from the “fear” of riding the bridge. I myself am always greatful to get to the top of the bridge and have those railings.
I really wish SDOT would install C-curbs to physically separate the bike lanes from cars on the approaches of the U-Bridge (with a gap to let bridge operators park their cars). It wouldn’t cost much, and it would make those long, exposed sections feel safer. Failing that, at least soft-hit posts.
The worst part of the U-district bridge is the freeway-style merge from NE 40th and Campus Parkway. The bike lane on Roosevelt disappears for half a block right at the point where drivers are merging at high speeds.
https://www.google.com/maps/@47.6555374,-122.318151,62m/data=!3m1!1e3
Honestly I don’t have a solution that doesn’t involve accelerating drivers crossing the bike lane. But that section always scares me.