Paul Fuesel (KPG principal planner) , Liz Gibson (KPG landscape architect), and Neil Wechsler (Montlake Bicycle Shop owner)
Design consultants are now sharing their final report on Montlake’s business district as the city-funded planning grant draws to a close. Business owners and Montlake Community Club project leaders gathered April 12 at Glam & Tonics Aveda Salon to receive the report and talk one more time with Paul Fuesel and Liz Gibson of Studio KPG. They viewed, commented and praised the report’s drawings, photos, and explanatory text illuminating a conceptual plan for Montlake’s “downtown.” The plan aims to create a distinctive identity, revitalize the 24th Avenue business district, and calm the street for accessibility and safety. With an eye toward both functional and aesthetic goals, the proposed plan from KPG includes street and sidewalk reconfiguration, traffic signals, wayfinding signage, plantings, public art, and amenities. (You can view/download a copy of the final report here.)
Now that the Montlake Business District conceptual design has been created, it will become one of several tools that SDOT traffic planners and engineers can use as they continue with the 23rd/24th Avenue Traffic Corridor Improvement Project construction. Montlake is part of that project’s Phase 3. The plan will also provide input to the City’s Vision Zero efforts to increase driver, pedestrian and cyclist safety on Seattle streets. MCC project leaders also hope that it will give an encouraging boost to the Montlake business district building owners to do their part in making upgrades to their properties as well.
Kathy Laughman (MCC board member) and Liz Gibson
MCC Project leaders, Kathy Laughman and Bryan Haworth, soon will be submitting a follow-up grant proposal to the Seattle Department of Neighborhoods to follow through on parts of the conceptual design that are within neighborhood control, especially the public arts and beautification aspects. You’ll be hearing more about this follow-up effort over the next few months.
Juan Lopez (Glam & Tonics owner & MCC Board member), Matt Johnson (Mr Johnson’s Antiques owner) and Carla Leonardi (Cafe Lago and Little Lago owner)
Of course there are still unanswered questions about Montlake’s business district future. Some were voiced by the business owners as they reviewed the conceptual plan from KPG and generally gave it praise. Questions focused not so much on the design itself, but on procedures, for example: What is SDOT’s timeline for any decisions and implementation of Vision Zero improvements and Phase 3 of the Traffic Corridor Improvement Project? How long will construction through Montlake last, once it’s begun? And, what kind of mitigation/support will be given to the businesses and residents (including the Montlake Blvd Market) as all of the work impacts them, including the seemingly endless Hwy 520 project? Finally, how can the Montlake community continue to have a positive effect on the decisions and actions taken by the City and State toward shaping our future as a livable, friendly, safe, and beautiful neighborhood? We can be pretty sure that nothing will happen in a hurry. We can also be quite sure that something will happen—eventually.
Montlake Business District Development Final Concept Plan (pdf)
Marianne Pettijohn says
What about plans to protect the streets west of 24th? A significant number of drivers use 22nd to get around slow downs on 24th already.
Lionel Job says
Hi Marianne, this is exactly the kind of feedback that SDOT needs. Our best opportunity for input is on May 9th from 5 until 6:30PM at the Community Center. SDOT will publish some information on this web site in the next few days and a mailer will be sent out as well.
Lionel Job says
There is going to be an SDOT meeting on May 9 on this and other topics. I’ll post a small article in the web site and a message in the board.
In a nutshell, the city is planning a lane reduction for the purpose of having a dedicated bus line to increase service and reliability in the area. The proposal I saw appears to encourage biycles to use other streets. So, this is an extension of the strategy used in the CD.
It is also planning to upgrade several crossings from Interlaken to facilitate 24th ave crossing, and it has some proposals to protect the streets east of 24th from drivers attempting cuts through the neighborhood. I’ll post the map depicting all of this. Please attend the meeting. All points of view need to be heard. Traffic and street safety are big issues.
Of course the real problem is that WSDOT has cooked up plans that pretty much push their throughput problems on 24th and Montlake blvd in the form of future backups and the UW and the Corps of Engineers have not done anything to help alleviate the other backups at the bridge and the triangle. We may need helicopters to avoid this mess. The city doesn’t really control traffic or for that matter transportation in our area. Our current mayor pushed for this situation when he was in Olympia. Now we are stuck with it.
Paul Freiburger says
Is any consideration being given at all to the majority of Montlake residents that do not want lane reductions on 24th? It is obvious that anything that impedes traffic on 24th will cause more traffic on side streets, thus INCREASING the danger to pedestrians and bicyclists (the opposite of the stated goal). Please don’t just plow ahead because the city has some funds available; that isn’t in anyone’s best interest. Thanks.