SDOT has released a new online survey to gather feedback on the proposed Beacon Hill bike lane options. So take a few minutes to complete it now (check the project page for non-English versions).
The department is also hosting a series of “pop-up information stations” around the neighborhood to gather feedback in person:
- Beacon Hill P-Patch (1201 15th Ave S)
Saturday, December 3rd
10am – 12:30pm- Beacon Hill Light Rail Station
Tuesday, December 6th
4pm – 6:30pm- Hilltop Red Apple
Wednesday, December 14th
4pm – 6:30pm
If you want to get even more involved, Beacon Hill Safe Streets will be discussing the bike lanes during their meeting this evening (November 20). It’s a great group, and now is as good a time as any to join.
We took an in-depth look at the options in a previous story, so definitely check that out for more background on the project. But the short version is that they should probably stick with two one-way bike lanes unless they have a convincing reason why the two-way option would be better. So that would be Alternative 1 for the 15th Ave S segment.
In the open-ended boxes, I stressed the need for a full redesign of the 15th and Beacon intersection that prioritizes biking and walking safety and usability. The whole project hinges on that intersection. If it remains stressful, the whole route will be diminished.
This project is going to be a big deal for south end biking. Though people are understandably frustrated that the construction timeline has been pushed back to 2024, it’s very exciting to see the details come together.
Comments
4 responses to “Take this new Beacon Hill bike lane survey + Upcoming pop-up feedback sessions”
I wish SDOT could be as proficient at building bike lanes in the south end as they are about creating online surveys about them.
Fingers crossed for one-way bike lanes and parking removal.
Is someone at SDOT a two-way PBL true believer or do they just have to do these mock-ups because they’re obligated to propose multiple options even if only one approach makes sense?
In this case, the one-way bike lanes are also sub-standard at 4.5 feet wide (plus a barrier) for much of the way while the two-way bike lane would meet the 10-foot minimum standard. I suppose that could be another comment to add: Please use 5-foot minimums for the bike lanes. This would require using 9.5-foot general purpose lanes, which is typically the bare minimum for demarcated lanes. They don’t really walk through this trade-off in the survey, though. It’s especially important that the 4.5 feet is actually usable and not filled with poor pavement, sloping gutters or dangerous storm grates. That could be another comment to add.
I also don’t hate two-way lanes on two-way streets as much as some people do. I still think the Broadway Bikeway is great, for example. I also like that two-way lanes force SDOT to deal with intersections. For example, look at how they punted on many Roosevelt bike lane intersections, having the bike lane cross right turn lanes and such. They could not have done that with a two-way lane. But that is a somewhat cynical benefit. They should be making safe intersections regardless of the bike lane style.