Work underway to build missing Yesler Way bike lane

Crews are already working on some underground utilities needed to build two key blocks of missing bike lane on Yesler Way between the Waterfront bikeway and the rest of the downtown bike network, including Occidental, 2nd and 4th Avenues.

It was frustrating when the waterfront bikeway opened with such a small-but-crucial gap. People are constantly confused about where to go after crossing Alaskan Way because the existing two-way bike lane simply ends, stranding people on the wrong side of the road with no clear indication about how they are supposed to reach the rest of the bike network. The only bike symbols in view are the old sharrows on Western Ave, but that’s not the way to get to the 2nd Ave bike lane.

The Yesler Way bike lane project will extend the existing two-way bike lane on the north side of Yesler from its current Terminus at Western to the decade-long bike lane terminus at Occidental Ave. The bike lane will be protected using precast concrete barriers. There will also be new turning restrictions blocking left turns from eastbound Yesler to James Street and right turns from westbound Yesler to 1st Ave.

The one block bike lane stub from 2nd to Occidental was part of the 2014 pilot project on 2nd Ave, the first significant protected bike lane in the city’s downtown core. Extending this connection to the waterfront has been a dozen years in the making.

SDOT hopes to open the bike lane and activate the new signal “as early as March or April,” according to an SDOT blog post.

Building the two blocks of missing bike lane have been complicated due to the need to design modern traffic signals that fit with the look and feel of the historic neighborhood. It’s also always a bit complicated to work in Pioneer Square because much of the street is actually a bridge one floor above the old street level. Painting lines on the street is easy enough, but installing a new traffic signal post at 1st and Yesler, for example, isn’t as simple as digging into the ground. A large part of the work and the timing of the project centers around the traffic signal, which will also include a new all-way walk and bike phase.

Building this connection has been a major advocacy point for both Cascade Bicycle Club and Seattle Neighborhood Greenways, both of which have representation on Mayor Katie Wilson’s transition team and have been pushing for this project.

#SEAbikes #Seattle

One more week until #FirstThursday in #Seattle. I’m reviewing all the layers, thought, and process that went into these new pieces, and I’m looking forward to sharing them with anyone who can stop by.

Details: Thursday, March 5, 5-8 pm at Lynn Hanson Gallery, 312 S Washington St, Seattle, in #PioneerSquare.

15 seconds of peace.

The waterfall is courtesy of #UPS, in Seattle's Pioneer Square.

#water #waterfalls #Seattle #PioneerSquare #peaceful

Went to a work event this week at the #FlatStickPub in #PioneerSquare #Seattle, and enjoyed this random bit of wall art in there.

#Unicorn #WallArt #graffiti

SDOT begins work on permanent remake of 3rd/Yesler

After years of piloting solutions and testing how they impact transit service, SDOT is beginning work on a rebuild of the complicated intersection at 3rd Ave and Yesler Way in Pioneer Square that they hope will prevent the potentially deadly collisions that were unfortunately common there previously.

“The intersection of 3rd and Yesler has experienced a high number of collisions for people walking and biking,” wrote SDOT on the project webpage. “In particular, drivers are prone to hitting pedestrians in the west and north crosswalks of 3rd and Yesler. ​To mitigate these collisions, we are making safety improvements that we have tested over the past two years.”

The intersection also serves as a connection between the 2nd and 4th Avenue bike lanes, and is the primary southbound option for people using the 4th Ave lane since that unfortunately lane does not continue southbound on 4th. That could change someday since the Seattle Transportation Plan calls for a continuous bike lane on 4th all the way to Seattle Boulevard S, which then connects to the upcoming Georgetown to Downtown bike route.

The 3rd and Yesler redesign includes new bicycle signals and hardened bike lane protection heading downhill from the intersection toward the waterfront. Later this year, SDOT is planning on a short bike lane to fill in the gap between the 2nd Ave bike lane and the new waterfront bikeway. All these small projects are coming together to create some big connections, allowing people to bike up and down the waterfront and connect into the downtown bike network without ever leaving a protected bike lane.

More details on the 3rd and Yesler project:

• Improve safety and areas for people walking and rolling: Align and shorten pedestrian crossings, repair and widen sidewalks, install curb ramps and curb bulbs, and permanently remove the travel lanes that were removed in the pilot project.
• Upgrade protected bike lane: Install bicycle signal heads, provide permanent bike lane protection along Yesler Way west of 3rd Ave, repave the bike lane on Dilling Way, and redesign the bike crossing across 3rd Ave to separate people on bikes from people walking.  
• Improve public spaces: Provide additional street trees, pedestrian lighting, and wayfinding signs.

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