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Why A Road Diet Could Work For Montlake

October 29, 2016 by Kathy Laughman 10 Comments

montlake-watercolor250x250The recent article on the progress of the Montlake Business District Development project has generated several comments about the proposal to reduce traffic lanes from four to three on 24th Avenue E (the “road diet”).  The general concern is that this change could result in worsening the traffic back-ups on 24th Avenue E and increase more cut throughs on our residential streets.  Certainly none of us want this to happen, and a “road diet” would not occur until SDOT studies its possible effects on cut-through traffic.

According to the Walkable and Livability Institute: “Drivers tend to use primary roads that provide the most direct and efficient route to a destination.  Well- designed road diets do not divert drivers onto other roads.  While traffic often drops during construction, it typically returns to normal or increases within six months of completion. “

Since the 1970’s The Seattle Department of Transportation has completed 40 neighborhood projects that included right sizing or road diets. (Download this PDF to see a List of Projects.) They have found that these “rechannelizations” (or road diets) actually reduce speeds and collisions.  They are especially beneficial and safer for pedestrians since they have fewer lanes to cross.  It is critically important to ensure we all, especially children, have a safe way to schools, park facilities, transit and shopping. The City has found that significant amounts of diversions do not occur.  If it does happen, they can use traffic calming devices like speed bumps, traffic circles or diverters to discourage cut-through traffic.

The reality is that we are an urban neighborhood and traffic will not go away. The entire city is now that way.  To reduce congestion the city would need to add capacity with roadway widening and more traffic lanes which it will not do and would not work if we want to have livable residential areas in the city.   The city’s policy is shared use streets, providing multi-modal transit and bicycling facilities and making streets safer and more comfortable for pedestrians by reducing speeds and narrowing intersections where they can.   The overall result is that commuters have to adapt, use bus or bike instead of cars and understand the commute drive will take more time.

That said, if we want a safe and viable business district that serves and is connected to the Montlake community, we need to find ways to reduce speeding on the 24th arterial which is dangerous to pedestrians, and we need to find ways to support and enhance our business district.  Adopting the “road diet” promises to do both if the results of SDOT’s traffic study show Montlake is eligible for this change.    

As a longtime resident (living at the corner of 25 Avenue E. and E. Miller Street for 40+ years) I know the frustration of traffic and understand the fear that slowing down traffic in one area can have the unintended consequences of drivers “discovering more convenient routes.”  The solution is to develop a traffic calming plan for the residential streets. Representatives from the Montlake Community Club continue to meet with SDOT to discuss this matter.  Our goal is to develop a neighborhood wide plan that will eliminate cut through traffic.  We will be reaching out to the community to identify the best ways to achieve this goal on a street to street basis.

Living in Montlake should not mean sacrificing the opportunity to develop our business district for fear of increased traffic.  We, as a community, are organized and working to find solutions.  We want any changes made to re-energize the Montlake business district to work for the entire community.

Click the Image for a PDF list of other Seattle Right-Sizing and Road Diet Projects

Click the Above Image for a list of other Seattle Right-Sizing and Road Diet Projects

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Filed Under: Montlake Flyer

Montlake Residents Speak for Neighborhood at Seattle Design Commission Meeting

July 12, 2016 by Kathy Laughman 1 Comment

Several Montlake residents attended the Seattle Design Commission (SDC) meeting on Thursday, July 7th to listen and comment on WSDOT’s plans for construction of the SR 520 Rest of the West Project.  Those attending were Jon Decker, Kathy Laughman, John O’Neil, Lionel Job and Barbara Wright.

The meeting agenda called for WSDOT to discuss its Request for Proposals (RFP) process and the role that the Commission will have in that process.

The commissioners asked for clarification on several points made by WSDOT.  Among them were:

  • How does WSDOT plan to have transparency in the design process and finality of design decisions if it plans to utilize a design-build method in this phase of the construction?
  •  What process does WSDOT have for mitigating environmental and quality of live concerns the residents in the surrounding area will have during the duration of construction, especially since the construction will take 11 – 12 years to complete?

Barbara Wright and Lionel Job, chosen earlier to speak for the group, expressed their concerns about WSDOT not being open and not honestly taking the community needs into consideration.  Lionel mentioned the example of discovering on the day of the June 28th WSDOT Open House  that there was a plan to demolish the Montlake Blvd Market and the 76 Station to make way for a construction staging area.

The intersection of SR 520, Montlake Blvd. and Montlake Place is the second busiest intersection in the city. Barbara & Lionel asked the Seattle Design Commission to consider this fact and how this constant traffic and the planned construction will impact the surrounding communities. They hoped the Commission would urge the City to take an active and transparent role in working with WSDOT to protect the integrity of the environment and surrounding neighborhoods.  Both the Council and the Mayor’s Office need to be actively involved in the project (design, implementation, and construction) to ensure we build a transportation project, they said.

John O’Neil, Montlake Community Club board trustee for transportation, also spoke in regard to the safety and environmental concerns that the long construction period will have on the students at Seattle Prep High School.

The Seattle Design Commission will be presenting recommendations to the City Council at its 9:30 a.m. briefing meeting on July 18th.  The public may attend this meeting but is not traditionally permitted to make comments. Therefore the group which attended the recent SDC meeting has sent a list of written concerns that will be used to brief the Council in advance of this meeting.  The City Council will then be up to update on the concerns that the surrounding neighborhoods want to address regarding the SR 520 Rest of the West Project’s impact on their communities.

A follow-up article will be posted to the Montlake Flyer with the details after the July 18th meeting.

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Filed Under: 520, Action, Arboretum, Business District Improvement Project, Coalition, Montlake Flyer, Page Two, Traffic

Montlake Community Club Seeks Board Members

March 31, 2016 by Kathy Laughman Leave a Comment

The MCC is currently recruiting members of the community to serve on the Board of Trustees for 2016-2017.  These positions are open to anyone who lives or works in Montlake and wants to engage with the community in a leadership role as a board member.

There are many areas in which a board member can be involved: block watch, snow brigade, art and music, beautification, welcoming new neighbors, web editor, annual all Montlake yard sale, traffic issues, bicycle and pedestrian safety, etc.

Those interested are encouraged to send a short statement which details their experience with the neighborhood, why they are interested in joining the Board and what experiences and skills they can apply to serving as a board member to secretary@montlake.net  by April 12.

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Filed Under: Events, Montlake Flyer

3rd Annual All-Montlake Yard Sale Invites Vendors

September 17, 2015 by Kathy Laughman Leave a Comment

Yardsale 2015Kind Neighbors! Step Forth Once Again.

Join The Great Cleansing; The Ritual of Release; The Autumnal Purification

It’s the 3rd Annual All-Montlake Yard Sale!

And there is still room for you!!!

Take this opportunity to clear out, get rid of, share the wealth, lighten the load, create space, make room, and give it up! Set up your sale in your own yard or team with your neighbors.

We’re looking for yard sales in every corner of Greater Montlake.

Write ASAP to yardsale@Montlake.net but before Friday, Sept. 26.

Give the following important information:

    • Name
    • Address
    • Phone number & E-mail address (for our use only)
    • Names of neighbors teaming with you (if any)
    • Brief info on the kinds of items you may be offering and you may submit photos for consideration to be included in the sneak peek slideshow

We’ll do the advertising, provide you with yard signs, and supply shopper maps. YOU get out the word to your extended family, friends, acquaintances & strangers–Tweet, Facebook, Instagram, Sit In, Fly-Overs —

The All Montlake Yard Sale is sponsored by your Montlake Community Club

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Filed Under: Events, Montlake Flyer, Page Two Tagged With: yard sale

All-Montlake Fall Yard Sale Looking for Participants

August 31, 2015 by Kathy Laughman Leave a Comment

YES!  It’s Almost Time for The Third All-Montlake Fall Yard Sale

Saturday, October 3

Yardsale 2015This is your “First Call” to get in on the third All-Montlake Fall Yard Sale. We’re alerting you early to give you plenty of time to get your act together so you can participate. This year will be the third one and it’s now becoming a tradition for our Montlake community to come together for this neighborhood-wide event.

For the last two years your Montlake Community Club has organized a total-neighborhood yard sale and invited everyone to participate. The MCC committee did the advertising, the signage, the map making, and helped participants with organizing tips. Last year there were over 50 different sale sites across the neighborhood.

SO, we’re serious. Let’s Do It Again, Even Better AND Bigger!

Here is how you can start:

  • Put Saturday, October 3, Yard Sale into your calendar
  • Start a list of stuff around your place that’s gotta go.
  • Check with your neighbors to see who’d like to join you for a real lollapalooza of a sale.
  • And, Sign up to participate. Send a message to Yardsale@Montlake.net with the following important information:
    • Name
    • Street Address
    • Phone number & E-mail address
    • Names of neighbors teaming with you (if any)
    • Any brief info on the kinds of items you may be offering

We invite you to contribute 10% of your proceeds to the Montlake Community Club toward our yard sale expenses and other MCC neighborhood projects we’re planning for you in the coming year. We welcome your participation even if you are unable to make a contribution, however.

JOIN THE COMMUNITY! JOIN THE YARD SALE! JOIN THE FUN!

 

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Filed Under: Montlake Flyer Tagged With: yardsale

All-Montlake Yard Sale A Smashing Success

November 3, 2014 by Kathy Laughman 1 Comment

Young Sales ExpertIt’s been a few weeks since your Montlake Community Club hosted the outrageously successful 2nd annual All Montlake Yard Sale. What a glorious day it turned out to be for both shoppers and neighborhood vendors! Even the weather was on our side–full sunshine and 70 degree temperatures. Sadly, the weather has gone south since then, but we DO have the memories of that perfect fall day in Montlake.  From E. Shelby to E. Galer and from Lake Washington Blvd to 16th Avenue E, the neighborhood was alive with shoppers and neighbors catching up with each other.

Neighbors VisitingOver 60 vendors put up their bright yellow MCC yard sale signs. That’s twice as many as last year! They hauled out their goods, set up their tables, poked those signs into the yards and got down to business–lots of business. We saw neighbors joining together in 3’s & 4’s to share the work, lure in buyers, and hawk their wares. The minor traffic jams from shoppers cruising the streets for bargains and rubber-necking to catch a glimpse of the yard treasures were reminiscent  of the old football Saturdays when Montlake was a parking lot for fans going to the games. And how about the Montlake Boulevard Market! Their great reader board sign and welcome to shoppers and yard hosts alike get them a gold star thank you.

Lots of ShoppingWhat we like best–“We” being your Montlake Community Club Board–is that we could feel a joyful sense of community that day: neighbors working together; people chatting with their neighbors; old-timers and newcomers saying howdy and exchanging names; then later, the generous filling of the Big Blue Truck for a worthy cause. And, it doesn’t hurt that contributions to the MCC are trickling in from satisfied happy yard sale hosts who are showing their gratitude for the hard-working MCC committee who did the planning, organizing and marketing of the event.

Success breeds success, so Neighbors, Let’s Do It Again next year!

Save your “do not needs” and “do not use items.” And hope for sunshine. We’ll meet again next year for the 3rd Annual All Montlake Yard Sale.

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Filed Under: Events, Montlake Flyer Tagged With: yard sale

Montlake history archive gets help from UW student, seeks new material

January 24, 2014 by Kathy Laughman 1 Comment

Allan & Mark Seidenverg washing Allan's 1960 Austin Healey in front of the family house at 1815 E. Calhoun St.  - November 1964

Allan (right) & Mark Seidenverg (left) washing Allan’s 1960 Austin Healey in front of the family house, across from Montlake play field, November 1964

A new effort to document Montlake history is under way, thanks to the help of a few neighborhood history stewards and the talents of UW student, Matt Swope. Matt has taken on this job as a service learning project for university credit through the UAA Carlson Center. Some of his work will be collecting oral histories of long-time residents of Montlake, scanning documents for Montlake.net and cataloging information by subject area.

The collection will enable present and future residents to have access to the story of how the Montlake neighborhood developed and has maintained  itself as a community in an urban setting. Matt will be working under the direction of Anita Bowers who has been instrumental in developing this project. Residents who would like more information are welcome to contact Anita or Kathy Laughman, who is assisting her, at history@montlake.net.

Photo Details: Longtime Montlake resident Allan Seidenverg and his younger brother Mark washing Allan’s 1960 Austin Healey 3000 BN7. The photo was taken in front of the family house. Allan bought the Healey with earnings from his Seattle Times paper route three months after turning 16 in August 1964. The Healey cost $1,500. At the time of this post, Allan has lived in Montlake 56 years. He was 4 when his family bought their house across from the Montlake playfield. He lived out of Montlake for 5 years after graduating from the UW. He is 65.

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Filed Under: History, Montlake Flyer

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From The Flyer:

  • Interested in the Montlake Community Club or want to learn about how to engage in our neighborhood? March 15, 2023
  • Mr. Johnson’s Final Warehouse Sale Saturday 3/11! March 3, 2023
  • University District Food Bank is looking for volunteers to help serve our residents of Northeast Seattle at risk of hunger!  February 16, 2023
  • Mr Johnson’s Antiques Saturday Sale 2/18! February 16, 2023
  • Join a Zoom with Rep. Nicole Macri focused on the 520 project on February 7 January 27, 2023
  • Petition for construction options of 520 viaduct across Portage Bay January 9, 2023
  • Shop to Support Glam and Tonics! December 10, 2022
  • Montlake Elementary School project community update meeting Tuesday December 13 at 6:00 December 9, 2022
  • Neighborhood meeting to address Portage Bay Bridge construction and impacts December 5, 2022
  • Plan ahead for Turkey Trot Impacts on Thanksgiving Morning November 23, 2022

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