You passed Move Seattle! Have I mentioned recently how great that is for our city?
Well, it’s already time to start directing the investment, starting with a major intersection that is the root of so many Southeast Seattle mobility problems: Rainier and MLK.
As we’ve reported previously, SDOT has a very promising and radical idea for fixing the problem, and you can weigh in on the biking and walking elements of the plan at an open house 6–8 p.m. Thursday at King’s Hall (behind Mount Baker light rail station).
Move Seattle includes $2 $6 million for the Accessible Mount Baker project, which is enough to make some small-but-significant fixes and work on the design for bigger changes. Thank you Seattle voters!
The crisscrossing intersection works poorly for everyone today. All the major vehicle movements mean long waits at red lights if you’re driving or biking in the general travel lanes, on the bus or waiting at a crosswalk. Even if you only care about vehicle movements, something dramatic needs to change here. But the problems go much further.
Access to Mount Baker Station and the new housing and businesses popping up around it is absolutely terrible because of this intersection. The extra-wide streets and extra-long signal cycles create dangerous conditions for people trying to cross the street on foot between buses, Mount Baker Station, businesses and Franklin High School. You don’t have to hang out long until you see someone make a run for it across Rainier because they don’t want to miss their bus. (more…)