Crews installing the final striping on 35th Ave NE
We’ve reached a major milestone | Construction is wrapping up
With paving and striping complete on 35th Ave NE, a major project milestone is behind us and we appreciate the community’s patience throughout construction. We still have some final restoration including landscaping, curb ramps, and other miscellaneous items to complete, throughout the corridor.
The contractor will rebuild or retrofit some of the curb ramps so they are in full compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) standards. While the curb ramps may appear accessible, some of them do not meet the strict regulations under ADA requirements. These design standards are important to ensure that all people have the proper accommodation to travel throughout the city. We’ll provide an update on the timing of that work through the project email listserv.
Evaluating how 35th Ave NE is working | After striping
As we have seen on other streets with a new striping configuration, there is always a period of adjustment as people get used to the changes. We have also heard from many of you over the past several weeks providing feedback, observations, and questions. Below is a summary of what we’ve heard and an update on our continuing evaluation.
Speeding and aggressive behavior
We are gathering speed data on 35th and will base changes to the posted speed limit on the observations and data. In addition to studying speeds, we will be reviewing collision figures to see if there is a change in aggressive driving and the number of collisions.
We’re also hearing feedback about driver behavior and speeding being used to intimidate people riding bicycles in the street. As with any city street, people riding bicycles have a legal right to ride in the roadway with vehicles. We’ve included those messages in our project email updates and we encourage everyone to slow down and be courteous to one another.
Drivers using the center turn lane as a passing lane
It is against the law for a vehicle to drive in a center lane for the purpose of overtaking or passing another vehicle. However, there have been observations of people choosing to do so. To discourage this behavior, we plan to adjust the striping and install vertical posts to transition the center turn lane to left–turn pockets at NE 80th St, NE 73rd St, and NE 68th St. This will shorten the center turn lane and discourage its use as a passing lane. This change will be implemented over the next few weeks.
Additional crosswalks
We’re evaluating additional crossing enhancement requests at NE 50th St, NE 77th St, and NE 87th St. This evaluation includes taking pedestrian counts at these intersections. We’ll collect this data before the end of the school year to get the most accurate counts possible. As a reminder, we installed a new flashing beacon at NE 80th St and another flashing beacon at NE 60th St is expected to be installed by the end of the year.
Additional parking near the library
We worked with the Northeast Branch of the Seattle Public Library last year to add new 2-hour parking on NE 68th St. We’re continuing to work closely with library staff to determine if additional changes are needed to make parking more available throughout the day. Also, we’ve made changes to accommodate requests for new load zones for other businesses along the corridor.
For more information about this project, please visit: www.seattle.gov/transportation/35thNEpaving.htm