West Seattle Bike Connections

Freight Advisory Board 8/19 meeting highlight:

The proposed Heavy Haul Corridor on West Marginal, East Marginal, Hanford, and Spokane will allow >25% heavier axle loads on these streets that are substandard construction on crappy fill soils and are way past due for complete roadbed rebuild.

Pavement disintegrates already. We ride the unswept gravel paths that result. The oil dripping onto the roads drains directly into Puget Sound.

What will the new plans do for safety? Nothing.

What will they do to rebuild the road?  Nothing.

What WILL they do? Charge a couple hundred bucks for a permit to be over legal, with the revenue to pay for a cop to check that they’ve paid their fee.

It is important for our port to be competitive with Vancouver, Tacoma and Oakland. But not with a short term “solution” that destroys the roadway and compromises safety. Why should this be allowed before the road is rebuilt for  truck loads and bike safety, including bike lanes with concrete barriers, from Spokane to Atlantic on East Marginal and south of Spokane to the Federal Center? We need investment upfront in roads for freight and bike traffic, equal to the quality of the Atlantic St crossover and Portside Trail, all the way south.

Councilmember Tom Rasmussen went for a bike ride this morning with seven of us from West Seattle Bike Connections, to get a first-hand look at some of the routes and intersections in the Seattle Bicycle Master Plan that we think are high priority for funding and implementation.

Just a small group, so we could keep it conversational.  We started at Highland Park Improvement Center.  First stop:  The crosswalk at 11th Ave SW (a planned Greenway route) at SW Holden St, a busy arterial.  We are supporting the Highland Park Action Committee’s application to SDOT for flashing beacons to help make this a safe crossing for kids going to schools and playgrounds in Highland Park and Riverview.

Then south on 10th Ave to SW Thistle at Highland Park Playfield. These are mapped as future Greenway routes, and seem ideal low traffic streets for walking and riding bikes. A set of public steps at 14th allows pedestrians to continue though on Thistle, but stops cars and bikes. We’d like to see a “runnel” gutter for bike wheels added to the steps, which are under construction now.

Then north on 17th Ave SW, which is a neighborhood Greenway route currently in the planning and design stage.  The proposed route jogs over to 15th Ave on Kenyon, then back over to 17th at Webster.  These jogs did not seem realistic to our group. Who would want to go 2 blocks east out of their way, and then 2 blocks west back to their route? And the intersections of Kenyon & 16th, 15th & Holden, and Webster & 16th would all need marked crosswalks and signals to be safe Greenway crossings. It looks much easier to just improve Holden for the short block from 17th to 16th, and then 16th to Webster, to get around the block that does not go through on 17th.

We started at Highland Park Improvement Center.  First stop:  The crosswalk at 11th Ave SW (a planned Greenway route) at SW Holden St, a busy arterial.  We are supporting the Highland Park Action Committee’s application to SDOT for flashing beacons to help make this a safe crossing for kids going to schools and playgrounds in Highland Park and Riverview.

Then south on 10th Ave to SW Thistle at Highland Park Playfield. These are mapped as future Greenway routes, and seem ideal low traffic streets for walking and riding bikes. A set of public steps at 14th allows pedestrians to continue though on Thistle, but stops cars and bikes. We’d like to see a “runnel” gutter for bike wheels added to the steps, which are under construction now.

Then north on 17th Ave SW, which is a neighborhood Greenway route currently in the planning and design stage.  The proposed route jogs over to 15th Ave on Kenyon, then back over to 17th at Webster.  These jogs did not seem realistic to our group. Who would want to go 2 blocks east out of their way, and then 2 blocks west back to their route? And the intersections of Kenyon & 16th, 15th & Holden, and Webster & 16th would all need marked crosswalks and signals to be safe Greenway crossings. It looks much easier to just improve Holden for the short block from 17th to 16th, and then 16th to Webster, to get around the block that does not go through on 17th.

Continuing north on 17th from Webster to Myrtle, there’s a spot that does not go through that is planned to have a bike/ped switchback ramp. This will be a ideal safe route to Stanislo Elementary.  If more kids can safely walk and ride to Stanislo, there will be less car congestion and hazards around the school and the beginning and end of the school day.

From there, we continued north on the partially completed 21st Avenue Delridge Greenway. It’s a great route along the ridge for bike riding, very attractive for commuting to SODO downtown, or connecting to the Alki or West Duwamish trails. Several on this ride use it regularly.  However, for pedestrians, and especially for wheelchair users, there is quite a bit of work left to do.

Then we dropped down to the 5-way intersection and Chelan/Spokane/Delridge/West Marginal, and talked about the planning in progress for that major connection point. From here to the Alki Trail. A look at the “Kitty Harbor” corner of Spokane and Harbor Ave, where we have an SDOT funding application in with Alki and Admiral neighborhood associations. Then a potty stop for our 2 year old rider at Luna Park Cafe, and a break before climbing up Avalon. Tom Rasmussen updated the group on the Fauntleroy Boulevard Project, which is now midway in design and public outreach, and promises to be a much friendlier welcome to West Seattle, with wide sidewalks, safer crosswalks, and bike routes to serve the rapidly developing area.

At mile 6.6, we reached the West Seattle Junction, and parked in the new bike corral, installed after a push from Councilmember Rasmussen, and much appreciated.  On to a bakery for food, coffee, conversation.

Thank you, Councilmember Rasmussen, for taking the time to ride with us, listen, and update us on projects. Thanks, too to Gordon Padelford at Seattle Neighborhood Greenways for suggesting the ride, and to Anthony Auriemma and Rose Smith at Councilmember Rasmussen’s office.

Don Brubeck, with Theresa and Jason Bealieu, Jodi Connolly, David Geoffrion, Joe, Marlowe and Isabel Laubach.