WSDOT and the City of Seattle have posted the SR 520 West Side Final Concept Design Draft and it is available on Montlake.Net Everything 520 Page and here.  A printed copy will also be available for review at the library later today. This draft was prepared with input from Montlake Community Club members in cooperation with the city appointed 520 coordinator, SDOT, and the WSDOT and city’s design team.  In August, the Seattle Design Commission conducted a thorough review of the plan and made specific recommendations that touch both the interchange in Montlake and the Portage Bay Bridge.  While the draft marks some significant progress from previous WSDOT proposals in terms of pedestrian and bicycle mobility solutions, some concerns exist.

In response to this draft, Montlake Community Club board member Lionel Job, Montlake Neighborhood Greenways, Neighborhood Greenway activists, and pedestrian and bicycle groups have sent the letter below to Mayor Murray with council members, state representatives and senators in copy.  The letter thanks the city and WSDOT for their cooperation in the last 18 months, highlights concerns with the lack of flexibility with the layout of the off and on ramps and suggests a number of improvements that could ease some concerns.

WSDOT’s draft will be reviewed this month by the City Council. Furthermore, this concept design was used as an element for the 2015 Transportation budget presented by the governor in Olympia.  If the budget is passed, based on the Final Concept Design, WSDOT will gain access to the funds and approval to build.  This draft represents only a 5% design and may change; however, it can be used to obtain 100% of the project funding.  Therefore, it is critical that neighbors review the draft and submit comments without delay.  All comments should be sent to the city council members, posted here or following this post WSDOT Seeks Community Feedback on “Rest of the West” Design.

Letter

Dear Mayor Murray, 

Thank you for your leadership building a transportation system that moves people efficiently throughout the region, and creates healthy places to live, work, and play. We are glad you share our vision of a modern transportation system that furthers Seattle’s economic, social justice, climate, livability, public health, and safety goals. We want to start by thanking you for the significant improvements that have been made to the SR-520 design over the past year. The collaboration between SDOT, WSDOT, and consultants has resulted in better solutions than previous iterations.

We understand WSDOT has unduly constrained this collaborative effort, and been unwilling to reconsider some of the underlying assumptions. By locking down the requirements for the number of access ramps and the Montlake interchange configuration, WSDOT has closed the door to innovations that would significantly improve the comfort and safety for people walking and biking (such as options X, Y, and Z on page 44 of the SR 520 Final Concept Design document). We recognize these constraints are unlikely to be reexamined before funding is secured this legislative session.

We recommend the following changes that would make this project safer and healthier for Seattle. This $1.5 billion project will be set in concrete for the next eighty years. It must work for kids walking to Montlake Elementary, elders walking from the Husky Light Rail Station to the Arboretum, or a physician in scrubs biking from the Central District to the UW Medical Center. We urge you to continue to lead us towards a better transportation future.

Top SR-520 Design Innovations and Remaining Opportunities

We support the following design innovations proposed by WSDOT

1. North-South: A Montlake Cut walking and biking bridge will alleviate the failing level of service on the existing bridge for people walking and biking. Alignment B would add the most value to Seattle’s transportation system by connecting to the proposed protected bike lanes on Montlake Boulevard and to the future UW Light Rail Station. This connection is part of the 2014 Seattle Bicycle Master Plan.

2. North-South: The “Land Bridge” will provide a useful and iconic connection over the SR-520 highway mainline.

3. East-West: An E Roanoke Greenway and short E-W protected bike lane along E Roanoke St will form the critical East-West connection in this system for people of all ages and abilities.

4. East-West: The Portage Bay Bridge Trail will be a critical piece of the healthy transportation infrastructure for the city and region. This facility is part of the 2014 Seattle Bicycle Master Plan.

We strongly recommend the following design improvements

1. North-South and East-West: Given that separated above grade options have been taken off the table for now, it is incumbent upon WSDOT to create the safest possible Montlake interchange pedestrian crossings along both sides of Montlake Blvd for people of all ages and abilities. To accomplish this, all on-ramp and off-ramp conflict points should be raised crosswalks, lane widths should be reduced to NACTO standards, turning radii should be consistent with NACTO standards, and the on-ramp storage lanes should be narrowed to a single lane at pedestrian crossings. These improvements are consistent with WSDOT approved NACTO and SDOT’s ROWIM.

2. North-South: A two-way protected bike lane on the east-side of Montlake Blvd from E Roanoke St, across a new walking and biking bridge, to the University Light Rail Station at Husky Stadium is important to creating a safe and convenient system for people biking through this area. This facility is part of the adopted 2014 Seattle Bicycle Master Plan.

3. North-South: Funding for neighborhood greenway improvements along the Lake Washington Loop from the SR-520 Lid south will simultaneously improve a key link in the non-motorized system and improve the livability of the neighborhood by mitigating cut-through traffic from the relocation of the eastbound SR-520 ramp. These improvements are part of the adopted 2014 Seattle Bicycle Master Plan.

Thank you for your continued commitment to improving the SR-520 project. Please see our full comments in the attached letter.

Sincerely,

Barb Chamberlain, Washington Bikes

Bob Edmiston, Madison Park Greenways, Seattle Board of Park Commissioners

Cathy Tuttle, Seattle Neighborhood Greenways

Dennis Shaw, MD, Montlake Greenways

Elizabeth Kiker, Cascade Bicycle Club

Forrest Baum, University Greenways

Jerry Fulks, Arboretum Neighbors for Safer Streets

Lionel Job, Montlake Community Club Transportation Committee, Montlake Greenways

Lisa Quinn, Feet First

Mike Archambault, Capitol Hill Community Council, Central Seattle Greenways

Shefali Ranganathan, Transportation Choices Coalition