SDOT shares quarterly report for Reconnect West Seattle – Quarter 3, 2022
SDOT shares quarterly report for Reconnect West Seattle – Quarter 3, 2022
A West Seattle community member crosses SW Henderson St at 17th Ave SW where we installed a pedestrian crosswalk sign that flashes to let people driving know to stop for people crossing. Photo: SDOT
Thu, 10/20/2022
by Ethan Bancroft for SDOT
We are excited the West Seattle Bridge has reopened for everyone who lives, works, and visits West Seattle. During the closure, we completed more than 300 traffic mitigation projects to reduce the effects of detour traffic in South Park, Georgetown, Highland Park, and throughout West Seattle.
To date, we have completed 63 of the 70 Reconnect West Seattle Implementation Plan projects from 2020-2022. We’ve also completed 55 of the 64 Home Zone project elements. You can read more about these projects in our latest quarterly report (Q3 2022) or in the upcoming work section below.
Overview
Reconnect West Seattle was developed in response to the unexpected closure of the West Seattle High-Rise Bridge in March of 2020, which dramatically impacted West Seattle and nearby Duwamish Valley communities. Through Reconnect West Seattle, we worked towards a vision to restore travel across the Duwamish and reduce the effects of increased detour traffic in the Duwamish Valley neighborhoods. The Reconnect West Seattle Home Zone program focuses on pedestrian and safety improvements in the neighborhoods of South Park, Georgetown, and Highland Park.
Each quarter, we share a “mini-report” letting you know what we’ve done recently to help advance the Reconnect West Seattle projects, as well as a preview of what you can expect to see next.
Quarterly report contents
We recommend you check out these sections of our latest quarterly report (Q3, 2022):
- Pages 5-9: Work recently completed
- Pages 10-12: Preview of upcoming projects
- Page 13: Mobility Action Plan update
- Pages 14-18: Tracking our goals
- Pages 22-36: List of projects and their status
- Please note: Within the appendix, the neighborhood-wide Home Zone projects are not shown as “complete” until all individual improvements within the Home Zones are complete. That means these projects are still listed as “in construction” at this time.
Recent highlights
In Quarter 3, we’ve been hard at work designing and implementing improvements throughout West Seattle, including:
- Building a new pedestrian improvement at 16th Ave SW and SW Cambridge St
- Designing a new ADA-accessible walkway along Dallas Ave S, while also supporting tree preservation
- Planning intersection improvements at Dallas Ave S and 14th Ave S. This upgrade is in final design and construction is anticipated to begin in 2023.
South Park, Georgetown, and Highland Park residents faced heavy traffic impacts from the West Seattle Bridge detour route. To help with those impacts, we completed several Home Zone project improvements such as sidewalk repairs on Henderson Pl SW, median island upgrades for traffic calming at 16th Ave SW and SW Elmgrove St and at SW Cloverdale St, and installed new walkways on 6th Ave S.
As part of traffic mitigation efforts, we completed 25 overhead sign replacements, replaced one crash cushion on the ramp from Harbor Island to the East Marginal Way Grade Separation, completed 7.1 lane miles of paving in West Seattle, completed sidewalk beveling (smoothing) in the West Seattle Junction, and restriped Diagonal Ave S from improved operations.
Upcoming work
Most Reconnect West Seattle projects are permanent improvements that were installed while the bridge was closed. Seven remaining projects are scheduled for construction following the bridge reopening, as shown on the map below.
Several of the intersections shown in the map are being improved soon. At Dallas Ave S and 14th Ave S in South Park, we’re building a new pedestrian signal and making bike improvements, in addition to repairing some of the sidewalks on Dallas Ave S.
We’ll be making pedestrian crossing improvements at SW Roxbury St / 4th Ave SW / Olson Pl SW, as well as SW Holden St and 12th Ave SW. At Highland Park Way SW and SW Holden St, we’ll build a permanent traffic signal in addition to pedestrian improvements.
West Marginal Way was a main detour route during the West Seattle Bridge closure. At the Duwamish Longhouse on West Marginal Way, following work by BNSF, we will be building a permanent pedestrian signal to make it safer and easier for people to access the Longhouse. Additionally, a new bike lane along West Marginal Way is planned to complete the all-ages-and-abilities bike network between South Park and the West Seattle Bridge Trail. With the bridge reopened, we’ll collect updated traffic speed and volume data as well as Duwamish Trail and driveway crossing counts as we continue planning for building this bike connection and improving visibility for all travelers.
