SDOT is moving forward with its plan to implement up to 20 miles of “permanent” Stay Healthy Streets this year, even as the department doesn’t yet have a funding source identified to keep the Mayor’s promise from last summer. A plan to use money from some projects in the bicycle master plan program met resistance from the city’s advisory boards.
It also looks like the department is still considering which Stay Healthy Streets will be selected to become permanent as well. SDOT has another survey up through March 11 that gets fairly granular on what segments of their nearest Stay Healthy Street people walking, biking, and rolling feel safe using.
We do know that SDOT is planning Stay Healthy Streets in both South Park and Georgetown as part of their Home Zone treatments as part of the West Seattle Bridge closure response. Another new short Stay Healthy Street is planned in Little Brook in NE Seattle. And Greenwood’s 1st Ave NW appears to be the first existing Stay Healthy Street progressing to the community outreach stage, with two meetings focused on it since the start of the year. One of those meetings was last night. At that meeting we learned that so far 82% of survey respondents have said they support making the Stay Healthy Street in their community permanent.
We also still don’t know very much about what is actually planned to make Stay Healthy Streets permanent.Of course, what ends up happening will in part be driven by the budget. One slide did show a new kind of paint-and-post curb extension along with some of the other ideas that have been suggested as concepts so far:
Later this month we should have more details SDOT’s full Stay Healthy Streets proposal, at least on some of the more hotly contested ones like Beach Drive SW in West Seattle. Fill out the survey!
Seattle Neighborhood Greenways affiliate groups Beacon Hill Safe Streets and Central Seattle Greenways have jointly asked the Seattle Department of Transportation to take another look at the feasibility of adding bike facilities to a dangerous segment of 12th Avenue S, between Yesler Way and King Street. The letter, dated last month, comes as SDOT continues construction work on protected bike lanes south of King Street across the Jose Rizal Bridge.
12th Ave S at Boren Ave looking south
This stretch of 12th Ave S is one of the most dangerous spots in the city for people biking. From the letter:
SDOT collision data shows that 66 cyclists and pedestrians were injured on 12th Ave S between E Yesler Way and S King St between 2004-2019, a rate of about four and a half injuries per year. We frequently observe even strong cyclists riding on the sidewalk along this stretch of 12th Ave S due to the stressful riding conditions, particularly northbound.
In 2019, a presentation to the bicycle advisory board stated that SDOT had modeled adding a protected bike lane to each direction of 12th Ave south of Yesler Way, and that “impacts to Yesler, Boren, and Jackson intersections add significant delay and queue lengths” and that the impact would “especially delay streetcar and transit”.
The letter asks for intermediate improvements that are not full bike facilities.
12th Ave S northbound: It appears there is sufficient ROW to accommodate a painted bike lane along the northbound section of the corridor, which is uphill and therefore the more stressful of the two directions when biking.
12th Ave S southbound: There also may be an opportunity to add a southbound bike lane for a portion of the corridor. Both of these changes would likely require some rechannelization of 12th Ave S between Yesler and Jackson.
Pavement quality: The intersection of 12th Ave S and Boren Ave is desperately in need of repaving. Deep potholes in this area make for dangerous riding conditions.
Adding a safe bike connection to this segment would connect the protected bike lanes already in place on Yesler and Broadway; connecting existing facilities has been reiterated over and over again as a high priority for the expansion of the bike network by SDOT.
As SDOT moves forward with a proposed policy that would prioritize bike facilities in contested segments like the ones being discussed here only if they are deemed “critical” segments, this segment is clearly one of the most critical in this area of the city.
A proposal to convert the curbside lane of northbound Aurora Ave N alongside Green Lake Park into walking, biking, and rolling space in the form of a Stay Healthy Street is still under active consideration by SDOT and WSDOT, Seattle Bike Blog has learned. This stretch of road doesn’t have any sidewalks, just a dirt path next to fast-moving traffic along Aurora. The inner loop at Green Lake Park is currently restricted to people walking in one direction, with people riding bikes currently not allowed. Repurposing a lane of this short segment of Aurora, which is underutilized, would add another accessible route around Green Lake and really the only way for people biking to get around this segment of the lake.
SDOT’s Ethan Bergerson told Seattle Bike Blog: “SDOT and WSDOT are continuing to consider the opportunity to create a larger Stay Healthy Street near Green Lake Park. Considerations include COVID-19 recovery and vaccination rates, traffic calming solutions, and funding availability.”
Current condition of the dirt path around Green Lake along Aurora Ave.
Draft plans for the closure that were created last Summer obtained by a records request show just how far along the proposal has come to becoming reality. They show a water-filled barrier protecting the curbside lane on northbound Aurora, connecting West Green Lake Drive N with West Green Lake Way N.
On the south end, this lane would connect with the existing Keep Moving Street that has been in place along the southwest corner of the lake since last year. Last month, SDOT announced that they would be adjusting that street to reopen West Green Lake Way to vehicle traffic southbound to provide access to parking lots, while keeping the northbound lane for people walking, biking, and rolling. This change hasn’t been made yet, but has been promised soon.
The Green Lake Keep Moving Street, due to reopen to vehicle traffic in one direction.
At the north end, the barriers would end a short distance from Aurora, with the entire stretch of West Green Lake Drive between Aurora and Winona Ave N closed to through traffic like a Stay Healthy Street, with ADA access to the parking lot on that stretch still maintained.
If all of that’s confusing (because it is) hopefully this map can help clarify the segments depicted here. You can see the full plans from this post here.
What’s being considered or actually happening along each stretch around Green Lake.
The long-anticipated protected bike lanes around the east side of Green Lake are scheduled to be completed this year. If this proposal were approved, people biking would have a nearly completely protected route around the entire lake. Whether this idea for the west side of the lake is just a pandemic experiment, or a good idea that never sees the light of day remains to be seen.
As the Seattle Department of Transportation moves ahead with designing a planned protected bike lane between Mount Baker light rail station and the planned Judkins Park light rail station on MLK Jr Way S, with the bike lane planned to be completed close to the station’s grand opening in 2023, we now know that pedestrian improvements at one of Seattle’s most dangerous intersections along that route are planned to go in next year.
Those improvements around Rainier Ave and MLK Way are the result of a small allocation of Move Seattle Levy dollars earmarked for Accessible Mount Baker. $6 million was reserved for “near-term improvements”, which in this case are coming during the sixth year of the levy. Two people were killed at this intersection in 2020, and one person was killed in 2019, pointing to a level of urgency at this spot.
The biggest improvement planned is the installation of marked crosswalks along the two legs of the MLK/Rainier intersection where they are currently missing. The not-fully-accessible bike and pedestrian overpass will still be there, but crossing at-grade in any direction will become an option. Crosswalks will be wider, sidewalks extended in some areas and repaired in others. A no-right-on-red restriction will be added for vehicles turning from Rainier onto MLK northbound, which will protect people biking if it’s not counteracted by the street’s design.
Early diagram showing upgrades at MLK and Rainier, with four crosswalks and bike crossings.
This intersection is going to be the south end of the protected bike lane on MLK when it’s complete in 2023 and the increased pedestrian space here will help people biking transition to where they want to go next. In the future, the bike lanes may continue south on MLK. Funding to study a possible extension to S Henderson Street was included in this year’s budget.
One possible near-term improvement that SDOT eliminated from contention was the conversion of the northern traffic lanes on Mount Baker boulevard to walk and bike space. With a wide boulevard median already in place this would have been a very cost-effective way to create more space for biking. This improvement was one aspect of the larger vision for Accessible Mount Baker, so maybe it can come back at some point.
Turning part of Mount Baker Boulevard into a walk bike lane was eliminated from the project last year.
So what’s next for the Accessible Mount Baker vision? The fate of the Mount Baker Transit Center will in large part determine the answer to that question, but even a concept study on its relocation is paused due to reduced revenue. SDOT”s Ethan Bergerson told me last week that it “still a priority to start again when we have more funding”.
SDOT is applying for a grant from the Puget Sound Regional Council to use toward the MLK Protected Bike Lane project. If that grant were to come through, that could free up more money for improvements here. But nickel and diming improvements here won’t achieve the larger vision for Accessible Mount Baker, which is really a placemaking project with a lot of beneficial transportation improvements included: making the car-oriented area around Mount Baker Station more pleasant for everyone. The $24 million price tag attached to the entire project in 2015 is surely much higher now but it looks like most of the vision will have to wait for the next transportation levy.
The Accessible Mount Baker concept: still game changing and just out of reach.
Seattle is embarking on an ambitious plan to build a lot of much-needed social housing around Mount Baker Station. Sound Transit land in the area can be combined with the UW Laundry site, now under City ownership, presenting a truly unique opportunity to create transit-oriented public housing in Seattle. These projects were not fully in view when Accessible Mount Baker was being developed, but they make the vision even more important to realize.
City owned properties that could see public housing under the plan moving forward.
The Office of Housing has a survey up through this Wednesday (March 3) on what your goals and priorities are for the sites eyed for redevelopment. If we get this right, it could be huge.
Update (3/1): SDOT has confirmed speed limit changes on Aurora and other corridors is expected in 2021 pending approval from WSDOT. The post has been updated below with comment from the department.
Late last year, the Seattle Department of Transportation proposed a plan to reduce speeds on most of the highways within the city of Seattle that fall under the jurisdiction of the state of Washington. The proposal, obtained by Seattle Bike Blog via a records request, if fully implemented, would ultimately leave very few remaining stretches of highway through the city with a speed limit above 30 mile per hour.
This move follows an announcement in fall of 2019 that the City of Seattle would be moving to adjust speed limits on most arterial streets to 25 mph. As of January, the department said that nearly 75% of arterials are currently posted as 25 mph. But WSDOT corridors like Aurora Ave and former WSDOT corridors like Rainier Ave see a huge share of Seattle’s serious traffic injuries and fatalities. SDOT’s proposal to WSDOT notes there were 53 serious injuries or fatalities on Aurora Avenue resulting from collisions between 2015 and 2019 and 595 injuries that weren’t determined to be severe in the same timeframe. Aurora Ave remains a public health crisis.
The first phase of speed limit reductions would implement a 30 mph speed limit on Aurora Ave N north of Green Lake. Currently that stretch has segments where the limit is 40 mph and segments where it’s 35. The speed limit along 145th St would be lowered to match this speed, as well as the northern segment of Lake City Way. Between 115th and 130th on Lake City Way, in the heart of Lake City, the limit would drop to 25mph matching Seattle’s other arterials. Sand Point Way south of NE 65th St would drop from 35 to 30 mph; north of there SDOT has already implemented a 25 mph limit.
SDOT’s proposal for the first phase of lowering speed limits on WSDOT corridors on the north end of Seattle. (Click to enlarge)
South of downtown, East Marginal Way between Spokane Street and the 1st Ave S bridge would go from 35 to 30 mph and a very short segment of Highland Park Way/SR-99 over 1st Ave S would drop from 35 mph to 25 mph.
SDOT’s proposal for the first phase of lowering speed limits on WSDOT corridors on the south end of Seattle. (Click to enlarge)
The second phase would lower speeds on the remaining stretch of Aurora south of Green Lake from 40 mph to 35 mph. This is the stretch of Aurora that SDOT’s data shows the most people currently drive at speeds significantly above the limit. The remainder of Lake City Way south of 115th would drop from 35 to 30 mph, and Montlake Boulevard around the ship canal would drop from 30 to 25 mph.
SDOT’s proposal for the second phase of lowering speed limits on WSDOT corridors on the north end of Seattle. (Click to enlarge)
The remaining change south of downtown in phase 2 would be a reduction on East Marginal Way south of the 1st Ave S bridge in Georgetown from 45 to 35 mph. This is the segment where SDOT is currently planning to add a grade-separated segment of the Georgetown to South Park trail. A stretch of 1st Ave S over SR-509 in South Park without any sidewalks would drop to 30 mph.
SDOT’s proposal for the second phase of lowering speed limits on WSDOT corridors on the south end of Seattle. (Click to enlarge)
The chart below lays out the different limits proposed for each phase alongside the existing speed limit:
SDOT’s full proposal for lowering speed limits on WSDOT corridors, in two phases. (Click to enlarge)
Speed limit changes alone aren’t enough to achieve all of our desired safety outcomes, but SDOT notes that “We’re seeing that speed limit signs alone can improve public safety, even without changes in enforcement or urban design. This finding is important because enforcement disproportionately impacts Black people and other people of color”. Increased police enforcement of speed limits doesn’t appear to be on the table here, rightfully.
The proposal includes data collected on vehicle speeds on these WSDOT corridors, including the difference between posted speed and the median speed (50th percentile), the speed at which half the drivers are driving below. Below are the WSDOT corridors with the biggest difference; most of the segments at the top of the list are proposed to see lower posted speeds in phase 2 as SDOT collects more “before/after” data. This list shows segments where the street design may be playing a larger role in current vehicle speeds than posted speed limit signs.
Difference between median speed and posted speed limit, in miles per hour, WSDOT corridors in Seattle.
The proposal does list a few engineering strategies that SDOT is moving ahead with to pair with reduced speed limits, including traffic signal timing changes to reflect the new speed limits, as well as incorporating the new speed limits into any new project designs: design speeds can influence how lane lines are painted. But the primary one listed was increased signage: SDOT’s policy would add signs at every arterial crossing as well as every 1/4 mile: if a driver is going 25 mph they would encounter a speed limit sign every 36 seconds.
Illustration of SDOT’s updated speed limit sign placement policy.
SDOT did not provide answers to questions from Seattle Bike Blog about any known current implementation schedule for this proposal or details about how the proposal was received at the Washington State Department of Transportation; we hope to update the post with more information as we get it. Update: SDOT’s Ethan Bergerson tells us that “we are planning for an initial reduction in speed limits on Aurora and other state routes in 2021. We must wait for the official approval from WSDOT, which is expected in the coming months. We will continue our partnership working towards lower speed limits into the future”.
Bergerson also told us, “Setting corridor speed limits is an important part of our larger Vision Zero strategy. Posting lower speed limits and more frequent signage follows NACTO best practices and has led to lower speeds and fewer crashes in other Seattle neighborhoods. These speed limit reductions open the door for further design changes described above and will be accompanied by signal timing changes and speed limits reductions occurring throughout Seattle. We expect this comprehensive approach to safety will influence driver behavior and lead to safer speeds.”
Initial data on Seattle’s first set of speed limit reductions, recorded before the pandemic caused traffic volumes to plummet, showed an overall reduction in crashes of 22%. These case studies were all on arterials in North Seattle, and none of them were high-crash corridors, but so far the data is promising. Implementing lower speed limits on the WSDOT-controlled corridors through the city will be key, though, and now we know just how far along the city is in proposing those changes.
For a second year in a row, the Your Voice, Your Choice participatory budgeting program that awards funds for small street and park improvement projects will not be conducting any process to fund new projects in 2021. Last week the Department of Neighborhoods, which administers the program, announced that instead the Your Voice Your Choice team will be focusing on “ensuring that we keep our promise to the community by channeling all remaining funds to Seattle Department of Transportation and Seattle Parks and Recreation to implement previously awarded projects, particularly those in our most vulnerable communities (Equity & Environment Initiative Focus Areas)”.
The Your Voice Your Choice program is one of the only avenues that exist to allow community suggestions on improvements to make streets safer or parks more accessible, in the case of streets, outside the normal SDOT prioritization process.
According to Shaquan Smith, Participatory Budget Advisor at the Department of Neighborhoods, the backlog primarily consists of 22 projects that were originally selected by community in 2019. We do know of some 2018 projects that are left to be completed, though. For example, a new crosswalk being added at 14th Ave E and E Aloha Street near Volunteer Park required coordination with Seattle City Light in 2020 and is still not in place.
This recently installed trail connection at Rainier Ave and the Mountains to Sound trail was a 2018 Your Voice Your Choice project
Per Smith, “Due to COVID, the original $2 million that was meant to go towards the 22 awarded projects in 2019 was cut in half”, hence the city is having to use the 2021 Your Voice Your Choice budget to complete the existing backlog. Smith also cited unforeseen design and construction issues, coordination with other projects, departments, and/or agencies, and delays related to crew bandwidth which increases the costs of labor and materials as contributing to delay.
We are seeing projects get completed around the city, like the curb extensions recently installed in Queen Anne at the crosswalk at Taylor Ave N and Galer Street, tweeted by Lee Pyne-Mercier:
Seattle DOT narrowing crossing to improve pedestrian safety at Taylor Ave N and Galer St in Queen Anne. There are many accidents around this curve. Thanks @dongho_changpic.twitter.com/HmPAQ9ttxM
“If there are no other delays, the goal is to complete most of the backlogged projects by the end of 2021 with very few being carried over to 2022. This will allow the program to be able to restart an official new cycle of new projects that year,” Smith said.
In 2018, the program was criticized for not including a broad enough array of voices in the project selection and voting stages. In 2019, more than 6,500 people voted on projects, or less than 1% of the city’s population, after attempts to broaden participation were made, including adding more paper ballots at Seattle Public Library branches. In 2019, they also allocated an extra amount of money to be available in the City’s “Equity and Environment Initiative Focus Areas”, where they would benefit underserved populations.
The Department of Neighborhoods now says they will be spending 2021 “restructuring the YVYC program to better meet the immediate needs of Black, Indigenous and people of color (BIPOC) communities who have beenmost impacted by COVID-19″.
2021 is also the year that SDOT will be completing the Neighborhood Street Fund projects, which are fewer in number and larger in scope, and which you can read about here.
