The South Spokane Street Viaduct Project moves forward next week with preparations to build a brand new 1st Avenue westbound on/off-ramp.  That new ramp is set to open in late 2011, but to get there crews have to, as of Monday, for up to five months, reduce the eastbound 1st Avenue S off-ramp to one lane of travel and make 1^st Avenue S between S Hanford Street and South Spokane Street one lane in each direction.  Meanwhile, the old 1^st Avenue off-ramp is scheduled to close permanently on May 17th (just as the old 4^th Avenue S Ramp did in January). 

Remember, this all leads to good things! Plus, there is good news RIGHT NOW to share: work to build the new 4^th Avenue off-ramp is showing great results.  The cool pictures say more than alphanumeric characters ever could…

What do you think of electric bikes? Some long time bike commuters grumble when they see an electric bike pass them up the hill (especially if they are pedaling hard to catch up with it). There are some electric bikers, however, who have their own personal code of ethics to not pass anyone that is working hard to pedal up a hill.  But the photo of a mom using an electric bike as a minivan alternative for carpools to school made everyone smile. Sightline’s blog has recently been discussing how electric bikes could be part of our future.

Here at SDOT, we are encouraging our employees to consider using the bikes in the City’s fleet instead of a car. Here is one employee’s testimonial after trying one to get to a meeting at the Port of Seattle. “I had a meeting at the Port of Seattle, on the waterfront, and elected to take a City motor pool electric bike. I recommend it to all. It took 15 minutes door-to-door. Parking was at the front door….The bike is comfortable, easy to use and has a bit of pep, even though the bike is 40 or so pounds. One can either pedal, travel on electric power or do both simultaneously.”

Check out the discussion on Sightline’s blog; and think about if electric bikes could be part of the solution for you. Check out SDOT’s Way to Go! website, it features stories of lots of people getting around and enjoying the benefits of driving less.

You’ve probably had a question for SDOT before and didn’t know what number to call. To help direct you to the right divisions and staff we have a list of our frequently called numbers on our site. Maybe you have had a question about trees, street maintenance, or parking issues. While you can call our main line 206-684-ROAD (7623), you might want to try calling the lines dedicated to those specific issues. Also, if you have a street maintenance issue, you can report it online here. Click here for our frequently called numbers.

To address the economic downturn, city employees will be taking unpaid furlough days to help with the city’s budget.  The Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) will participate by splitting the furloughing of its staff between two days in each furlough period.

Please expect to see reduced staffing at SDOT on the following days:

Please be patient with our staff as there will be fewer employees to assist you on these days.  While we may need to adjust our business practices due to the reduced staffing, SDOT remains committed to providing first rate service to our customers.

If you have any questions about the city’s furlough policy or SDOT’s service adjustments, please contact the department by calling 684-ROAD.

Thank you for your understanding.

Crews working on Phase II of the South Ship Canal Trail - 6^th Avenue West to 11^th Avenue West – “rolled” out about 2/3 of the required paving Wednesday.  It was smooth trails until rain started, dousing this weather-dependent work (asphalt likes it dry, dry, dry!).  The new background-blending black fencing gives the trail both improved safety and pleasant aesthetics…

Paving trail behind Foss Maritime Co. along W Ewing Street

Newly paved trail looking east toward 6th Ave. SW

Crews plan to start work up again Monday, westward toward 11^th Avenue West.  Once the trail is paved, the team goes on to install concrete warning pads; detectable warning plates; bollards; mineral aggregate for the trail shoulders; signing; hydro-seeding and more.

Do you have questions about who’s responsible for an alley? Perhaps you would like to know how to address a safety concern by repairing damages to the road. We want to help provide information on SDOT’s and the community’s roles. SDOT is responsible for maintaining the city’s public right of way, which includes those alleys that meet City of Seattle standards. That being said, alley maintenance funds are scarce, so repairs may only be made to address safety and mobility problems. Large repairs and improvements to alleys are the responsibilities of the property owners right next to the alley.

Those interested in making improvements to their alley will want to look at our website for more information. There are important considerations like drainage that may require consulting with the City before doing any work. Click here for more information on alley improvements.

If you want to report potholes on an alley that is public right of way you can let us know online here or by calling 206-684-ROAD (7623).

SDOT invites you to attend an open house to discuss the 15th Avenue South Multi-Modal Project.  This project aims to improve 15th Avenue South between South College Street and South Columbian Way for pedestrians, bicyclists, drivers, and transit. 

Containing elements of the Pedestrian Master Plan and the Bicycle Master Plan, this project will add new bicycle facilities from S College St to S Columbian Way and install four new curb bulbs and two new crosswalks at S Lander St.  A right turn pocket will be installed at 15th Ave S and S Spokane St and 15th Ave S will be repaved from Beacon Ave S to S McClellan St.  The new travel lanes will be wider to accomodate Metro transit.

Come see how the designs are progressing and give us your feedback.  

Thursday, March 11th from 4:30-6:30 p.m. at the Beacon Hill Library (2821 Beacon Ave S)  

15th Ave S looking north from S Forest St

We’re pleased to announce that SDOT will upgrade the existing pedestrian signal to a full traffic signal at 28^th Ave NW and NW Market St. this month.  The project will take approximately four weeks from the time the work begins to the time the signal is fully operational. During the installation work, one signal poles will be installed on the southwest corners of the intersection. Note that while the installation is taking place, parking in the immediate area will be restricted.

We get a lot of questions here at SDOT about why we decide to make signal changes in various locations.  This location meets the criteria for a new traffic signal because of the high volume of traffic, collision history, the distance to the next signalized intersection as well as nearby bus stops.

The signal is being funded through the SDOT General Fund and Bridge the Gap Fund.  For more information about our signal program, click here.

If you live in the Capitol Hill area you’ve probably been following the Capitol Hill Parking Project over the past year. The final parking plan that has been developed has been informed by inclusive community outreach throughout the project. One of the plan’s recommendations is to add additional blocks to the restricted parking zones in the neighborhood (Zones 4 and 21). We will be hosting a public hearing to share more information about this and to hear your comments. Please join us next Tuesday, March 9 from 6:30pm to 8pm at Seattle Central Community College (1710 Broadway, Room 1110).

If you can’t make it out that night, feel free to submit your comments through March 15 by:

Emailing: ruth.harper@seattle.gov

Sending a fax to 206-684-5053

Mailing:
Attn: Ruth Harper
700 5th Avenue, Suite 3768
PO Box 34996
Seattle, WA 98124-4996

Click here for more information on the project. We look forward to hearing from you.

In 2010, SDOT is repaving major sections of S Dearborn Street, Virginia Street, Olive Way, and Airport Way.  As early as next month, the rehabilitation of Dearborn could start and is expected to wrap up in June.  The Bridging the Gap paving program kicked off in 2007 and has been quickly making for a long-term smoother ride downtown – albeit a tougher one during construction.  Crews will make pavement improvements on S Dearborn Street from Fifth Avenue S to 10th Avenue S, including base repair, pavement overlay, curb replacement, reconstruction of pedestrian and traffic islands and widening of the bike lanes to five feet, where possible.  Crews will also be installing bicycle friendly drainage grates, and installing bicycle traffic detectors at traffic signals.

For updated information as the project moves forward please visit us on the web.