#SeattleSqueeze Alert: More Uniformed Police Officers on downtown streets Mar. 25–27, 2019.

March 25, 2019 by Jeanne Clark

Uniformed Police Officers (UPOs) will be at key downtown intersections to keep cars, transit, and people moving.

To help keep transit moving during the first commute days of the buses coming out of the Downtown Seattle Transit Tunnel, with the help of our partners at King County Metro and the Seattle Police Department, we’re placing uniformed police officers (UPOs) at key downtown intersections on weekday evenings.

Beginning Monday, March 25, officers will help direct traffic, keeping bus lanes and intersections clear, and keeping cars, transit, and people moving. Officers will not override traffic signals; rather, they will ensure intersections are kept clear. This helps everyone traveling through Seattle at peak commute hours. Our traffic engineers worked closely with our partner agencies to identify the appropriate locations and number of officers staged.

If you’re not a bus, then you (generally) shouldn’t be in the transit lane.

Stay in your lane. If you’re not driving a bus, then you (generally) shouldn’t be in the transit lane. In some instances, you can hop into a bus lane to turn off the street, but for the most part, bus lanes are for buses, so please don’t use them to get around gridlock.

Please, don’t block the box. Keep the intersections clear.

Don’t block the box. Keep the intersections clear. When you pull into an intersection, make sure you can clear it before the signal changes to a red light. Wait your turn. Don’t be that person who holds up traffic and blocks the crosswalk – it’s not safe for anyone involved, plus, it negatively impacts those with mobility challenges. Also, there’s nothing like being honked at and getting the warranted evil eye from people trying to cross the street.

Thanks for doing your part to help keep Seattle moving safely during the #SeattleSqueeze!

#SeattleSqueeze, Seattle’s new normal.

Over the next five years, Seattle’s downtown will be in a state of transition to meet the needs of our growing city and region – #SeattleSqueeze. We’re making changes to our city and to our regional transportation system and help people get where they need to go safely and efficiently. New mobility projects are being developed and constructed to connect communities to downtown with fast, regular service and to create the public spaces our growing region needs. For more information, tools, and resources on #SeattleSqueeze, please visit our website!

###

Another new normal. Another new chapter. 7 buses make their final ascent to surface streets.

March 22, 2019 by Jeanne Clark

Image by Wyatt Olson via https://www.instagram.com/cvtydreamer/

Another new normal. Another new chapter.

Tonight, we bid our final farewell as the buses exit stage left and right of the Downtown Seattle Transit Tunnel platform.

By the time most of you wake up on Saturday morning (3.23.19), seven bus routes will have made their permanent ascent from the Downtown Seattle Transit Tunnel (DSTT) to Seattle’s surface streets. Another new normal, another new chapter for our growing city as we make changes to accommodate the Washington State Convention Center construction and future Link light rail expansion.

We’ve prioritized transit by streamlining and improving transit operations.

With these additional buses operating on downtown streets, we’ve partnered with King County Metro to streamline and improve transit operations as we continue to squeeze some more, #SeattleSqueeze. Here’s what we’ve delivered and what it means for you:

N E W !

We expanded Third Ave bus-only hours.

We expanded the bus-only hours on Third Ave from Stewart St to just south of Yesler Way. This means for seven days a week, from 6 AM in the morning to 7 PM at night, Third Ave is reserved for buses, bicyclists, and pedestrians.

N E W !

We installed ORCA transit card readers & real-time bus arrival signs.

New ORCA transit card readers and real-time bus arrival signs are at every single stop on Third Ave between Yesler and Denny. This means starting on March 23, you’ll be able to tap your ORCA transit card prior to boarding the bus to speed up your bus on-boarding.

Permanent off-board fare readers are already installed at 21 of the corridor’s 31 bus stops, and installation at the remaining ten stops is scheduled April through December 2019. Until permanent equipment is installed, transit operators will serve as ORCA boarding assistants and will scan riders’ ORCA cards using handheld fare readers at ten stops during weekday commutes between about 3 – 7 PM, the busiest period for boarding on Third.

N E W !

Peak-only bus pathways on 5th & 6th avenues.

To keep transit moving reliably, we installed a new bus pathway on 5^th and 6^th avenues to serve as a PM peak-only bus lane to help buses move travelers north. These buses are traveling to northeast Seattle and the Eastside, and we’re thrilled to be providing a quick and reliable commute for these travelers, as well as working with Metro to make sure our other downtown streets are clear for transit.

The King County Metro routes that will use the pathway include 74, 76, 77, 252, 255, 257, 301, 308, 311, and 316.

If you ride one of these buses, your bus route has changed.

If you ride one of these routes: 41, 74, 76, 77, 101, 102, 150, 252, 255, 257, 301, 308, 311, 316, 550, you will now get on and off at the new bus stops downtown.

NEW MAP: Bus stops on 2^nd to 6^th avenues.

Adjusting and prioritizing transit is a key way to making sure people can keep moving reliably and affordably throughout Seattle. We really appreciate our partners at King County Metro for their collaboration and hard work with us to make these critical transit improvements.

And finally, thank you, again and again, Seattle, for adjusting with us as we grow together as one of the best cities of the world!

#SeattleSqueeze, Seattle’s new normal.

For more information, tools, and resources on #SeattleSqueeze, please visit our website!

###

A free & fun activities for all at the High Point Play Area celebration on Sat, Mar 23!

March 22, 2019 by Jeanne Clark

Join the celebration!

Hey, everybody! Seattle Parks and Recreation (SPR) and Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) invite the community to celebrate the new High Point play area on Saturday, March 23, 2019, from 2 to 4 PM at the High Point play area located behind the High Point Community Center in West Seattle, next to the Walt Hundley Playfield at 6920 34^th Ave SW.

It’s free & open for all!

The celebration is free and open to all. The event will include a ribbon cutting, refreshments, face painting, music, a bike decorating station, low-ropes course challenge activities, and a children’s bicycle parade at 3 PM.

The High Point play area is newly renovated!

The renovated High Point play area is four times the size of the original play area and includes new swings, slides, and several climbable structures, as well as a new seating area.

The park features a rolling hill with a net climber and an overhead climbing structure. In partnership with SPR’s Greenways Initiative, the project incorporates a bike path that connects the play area and Walt Hundley Playfield to the neighborhood greenway currently in construction by SDOT along 34th Ave SW.

We’re hosting a design workshop for a decorative pavement park!

We’re hosting a bike decorating station and a design workshop for the decorative pavement park connection on 34^th Ave. SW. Phase 1 of the West Seattle Neighborhood Greenway is wrapping up in 2019 and will connect the High Point Community Center and Play Area to EC Hughes Playground and Roxhill Park.

The route will be extended to connect Camp Long and additional High Point Neighborhood parks in 2020. Come celebrate the play area, discover new greenway connections and participate in the 3 p.m. bike parade.

The West Seattle Bee Garden and Neighborhood House will help us celebrate the new play area with bike decorating supplies, bee educational materials, and button making activities.

We hope to see you there!

For more information, visit our webpage. If you have questions about the event, please contact Karen O’Connor at karen.o’connor@seattle.gov or 206.233.72929. To learn more about Camp Long and the challenge course visit their website.

###

CHAPTER 1 #SeattleSqueeze Data: Less driving, more transit, more biking!

March 20, 2019 by Jeanne Clark

Image courtesy of Chun Kwan, SDOT.

Approximately 250,000 people commute to and through downtown each day. With the new SR 99 tunnel now open, we’ve been analyzing the data from the closure to understand what went well, how we could have done better, and how we can keep the good changes going during the next chapter of the #SeattleSqueeze. Our entire region came together to take on this challenge and be part of the solution. Here are the results in a nutshell: people drove less, took transit, and biked more. Read on!

. D R I V I N G .

People drove less downtown.

One of our goals during the SR 99 closure was to prevent gridlock by having fewer cars downtown. We can’t say it enough, Seattle, we couldn’t have done it without the collective whole working together.

Peek the data!

We were able to produce comparable data by counting vehicles that came into downtown Seattle from location points north (at Mercer St) and south (at Holgate St) into the center city and compared the numbers to a baseline period back in September 2018. For every single day that SR 99 was closed, fewer vehicles drove into downtown. See that blue line in the data graphic to the right? That’s the baseline volumes in 2018. The green was the daily volumes during the three-week SR 99 closure. You’re the best, Seattle.

. T R A N S I T .

People took transit and shifted their commutes.

Peek the ridership data!

King County Metro tracked daily ridership along major corridors and on the water taxi. Bus and water taxi ridership varied during the closure, but ridership increased during two of the three weeks compared to January 2018. During each week of the closure, the percent of riders during the midday was higher as compared to the same month last year. That means there was a shift from commute times out of the peak/rush hours towards the midday.

Sound Transit’s Link light rail ridership during the three-week viaduct closure was up 14 percent from last year, to more than 79,000 daily boardings.

. T E L E C O M M U T I N G .

People changed their work schedules.

Based on a survey of some of the largest downtown employers, people used telecommuting as a great way to reduce commute trips downtown. We launched an Alternative Work Arrangement Pilot for Chapter 1 of the Seattle Squeeze. The City previously had 12.5 percent of employees that had alternative work arrangements, which included telework or flexible work hours. Now, 30 percent of Citywide employees are participating in alternative work arrangements, with 38 percent in the downtown core.

. B I K I N G .

People biked more.

Peek the bike data!

The number of people biking to and through downtown increased during the SR 99 closure. We installed bike counters at the Spokane St. Bridge, the Fremont Bridge, the Elliot Bay Trail, and 2nd Ave downtown. We saw 40,000 more trips in January 2019 compared to the same time in 2018.

We also expanded our free-floating bike share program and made it permanent. Our data shows that change paid off; we also saw a significant increase in people who used free-floating bike share. Peek the bike share data!

. I N F O | C O N T A C T .

Don’t miss a thing.

Keep up with all things #SeattleSqueeze by visiting our website.

###

We’re making emergency repairs to the University Bridge tonight.

March 18, 2019 by Jeanne Clark

Emergency repairs to the University Bridge – tonight.

We’re making emergency repairs tonight on the center lock of the University Bridge. Repairs will be made starting tonight at 11 PM until 7 AM Tuesday, March 19. We do not anticipate any traffic impacts or closures.

The University Bridge was built in 1919 and is a 217-foot, double-leaf bascule bridge that carries travelers over Portage Bay between Eastlake and the Unversity District.

For more information:

Visit our Bridges webpage for more on the 7 vehicular moveable bridges over navigable water – four of which are owned by us, SDOT! Contact our Bridge Operations and Structural Maintenance Manager if you have any questions.

Paul Jackson
Bridges and Roadway Structures
paul.jackson@seattle.gov
206.684.8325

###

See what’s moving Seattle this week! March 11-17, 2019

March 11, 2019 by Jeanne Clark

Image by Emerald City Comicon | https://www.emeraldcitycomiccon.com/

Here’s a snapshot of this week’s events moving Seattle that may affect how you get around. See our trip planning tools section of this post to help plan ahead.

T U E S . M A R 1 2

Link Up Student Concerts: At Benaroya Hall. Buses will stage on streets around the venue. Expect congestion in the area. Event hours: 9 AM – 2 PM. Estimated attendance: 3k per day.

W E D . M A R 1 3

Link Up Student Concerts: At Benaroya Hall. Buses will stage on streets around the venue. Expect congestion in the area. Event hours: 9 AM – 2 PM. Estimated attendance: 3k per day.

T H U R S . M A R 1 4

Link Up Student Concerts: At Benaroya Hall. Buses will stage on streets around the venue. Expect congestion in the area. Event hours: 9 AM – 2 PM. Estimated attendance: 3k per day.

Emerald City Comic Con: The Pacific Northwest’s comic and pop culture show. At the Washington State Convention Center. 8th Ave, Pike to Seneca, and 7th Ave, Pike to Union, will be closed from approximately 7 AM to 3 PM for queuing. Show hours: 10 AM – 8 PM/Thursday – Saturday, and 10 AM – 5 PM/Sunday. Estimated attendance: 20k per day.

F R I . M A R 1 5

Green Stripe Laying on 4th Avenue: This is a mini-parade to mark the route of the St. Patrick’s Day Parade down the center of 4th Ave, starting from 4th Ave & Jefferson St at 7 PM. Event hours: 7 – 8 PM. Estimated attendance: 70.

S A T . M A R 1 6

Irish Festival: The weekend Festival is held at the Seattle Center’s Armory, with booths selling Irish and Celtic products, Irish food and libations, Irish music, singing, dancing, the Irish Reels Film Festival, workshops, lectures, cultural displays, an Irish art exhibit, children’s contest, and activities. Festival hours: 12 – 6PM Saturday, 10 AM – 6 PM Sunday. Estimated attendance: 3k per day.

St. Patrick’s Day Parade: 48th annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade starts at 12:30 PM at 4th & James. The parade will travel north on 4th to Westlake Park. Event hours: 12:30 – 3PM. Estimated attendance: 3,500.

Monster Jam: At CenturyLink Field. Pits open 1:30PM – 5:30PM. Main event 7PM – 11PM. Estimated attendance: 35,000.

S U N . M A R 1 7

St. Patrick’s Day Dash: 35th annual run starts and finishes at the Seattle Center. 1K dash for kids starts at 8AM. First of 3 waves for the 5K starts at 8:30AM. The route will use streets in South Lake Union, Belltown, and Downtown. Event hours: 8AM – 12PM. Estimated attendance: 6.000.

Irish Festival: The weekend Festival is held at the Seattle Center’s Armory, with booths selling Irish and Celtic products, Irish food and libations, Irish music, singing, dancing, the Irish Reels Film Festival, workshops, lectures, cultural displays, an Irish art exhibit, children’s contests, and activities. Festival hours: 12PM – 6PM Saturday, 10AM – 6PM Sunday. Estimated attendance: 3,000 per day.

Emerald City Comic Con: The Pacific Northwest’s comic and pop culture show. At the Washington State Convention Center. 8th Ave, Pike to Seneca, and 7th Ave, Pike to Union, will be closed from approximately 7AM to 3PM for queuing. Show hours: 10AM – 8PM Thursday – Saturday, and 10AM – 5PM Sunday. Estimated attendance: 20,000 per day. https://www.emeraldcitycomiccon.com/

Trip planning tools

For an expanded list of upcoming constructions and events, visit our website!

Traveler’s Map

Our map has real-time traffic and travel times, including construction, events, and incidents.

Project & Construction Coordination Map

See up-to-date information on current and future construction projects in the right of way, as well as other events that may impact traffic.

WSDOT mobile app

The WSDOT mobile app has Seattle traffic and travel information for the state of WA.

For other trip planning and transit, bike and car share, carpooling, parking, and ridehailing tools, visit our Seattle Traffic website!

###

March 9-11: Road work for pedestrian improvements at the intersection of S Myrtle St & Beacon Ave S.

March 8, 2019 by Jeanne Clark

Swift Ave S, S Myrtle St, and S Othello are two-way arterials serving south Seattle. The streets link Holly Park and Beacon Hill to Interstate 5 (I-5). Our goal is to improve the safety, accessibility, and comfort for all users.

From March 9 to 11, 2019, we’ll be making sub base repairs to the road and pour concrete on Swift Ave S. We will also continue work on pedestrian improvements at the intersection of S Myrtle St and Beacon Ave S.

Here’s what you can expect:

S C H E D U L E

Starting on 7 AM on Saturday, March 9, we will be demolishing concrete on Swift Ave S. This will be followed by a concrete pour as soon as 5 PM and completed by 2 AM. The road will remain closed Sunday to allow the concrete to cure. We’ll return Monday at 12 AM to place temporary asphalt over the road panels. Traffic will return to normal by Monday, March 11 at 6 AM.

C L O S U R E | D E T O U R

Northbound lanes on Swift Ave S between S Graham St and Beacon Ave S will be closed. Traffic will be detoured to S Graham St via Beacon Ave S. Traffic will return to normal by Monday, March 11 at 6 AM. Please follow marked pedestrian detours.

N O I S E

Expect loud noise, dust, and vibrations while crews are working.

T R A N S I T

King County Metro route 107 will be rerouted. For information on changes to King County Metro stops, please visit kingcounty.gov/metro/alerts.

P R O J E C T O U T C O M E

We’re repaving about 1.75 miles of Swift Ave S, S Myrtle St, and S Othello between S Albro Pl and Martin Luther King Jr Way S. We’ll remove the old top layer of the road, placing new asphalt, and repainting lane lines. We’re also making improvements to the existing bike lane along Swift Ave S / S Myrtle St between S Albro Pl and Martin Luther King Jr Way S by making it wider. There will be some parking consolidation along S Myrtle St east of Beacon Ave S.

Want more information about this project?

Visit our website!

If you have questions or concerns, please contact the construction outreach team at swiftmyrtleothello@seattle.gov, or 206.256.5227.

Thanks for your patience as we make these safety improvements.

###

This Sunday: Landscape maintenance work on Mercer.

March 8, 2019 by Jeanne Clark

Daylight Savings Time starts on Sunday, March 10, 2019.

This Sunday, March 10, our Urban Forestry Landscape crews will be performing landscape maintenance on Mercer and 6^th Ave N. The work may require us to close an eastbound right lane between 5^th and 6^th avenues N on Mercer. We’ll be on site from 7 AM to 3:30 PM.

Thanks for your patience!

Urban forestry work zone. Please use caution.

###

The Levy to Move Seattle programs & projects for 2019.

March 7, 2019 by Jeanne Clark

The $930 million voter-approved Levy to Move Seattle provides funding for projects that improve safety for all travelers, maintains our streets and bridges, and invests in reliable, affordable travel options for Seattle.

Back in April of 2018, we developed the Updated Workplan Report following a comprehensive assessment of the Levy to Move Seattle by the direction of Mayor Durkan. The workplan outlines a clear and measurable plan to deliver citywide transportation projects and services funded in part or in full by the voter-approved Levy. The nine-year transportation Levy to Move Seattle aims to take care of the basics while also making investments that will allow our transportation system to keep pace with our growing city.

This week, we shared our 2019 Planned Levy Accomplishments with the Levy Oversight Committee. The 2019 Planned Accomplishments document is intended to be read alongside the Updated Workplan Report.

Here’s the skinny on how the two documents complement one another:

U P D A T E D W O R K P L A N R E P O R T

(The long-term plan.)

The Updated Workplan Report is our long-term plan for the remaining years of the Levy and it outlines:

Our delivery plan for all 30 Levy programs.
Adjustments to deliverables for four of the programs with identified challenges that were the result of a more detailed review during the Levy Assessment.

2019 P L A N N E D A C C O M P L I S H M E N T S

(Our 2019 focus + notes about any changes.)

Project delivery is a fluid process where timelines shift, more or less funding is identified or allocated for various reasons, or resource allocation sometimes gets adjusted. This is why we’ forecast what we plan to accomplish each year.

The 2019 Planned Accomplishments outlines our 2019 focus and captures what’s changed from the Workplan Report.

In the 2019 Planned Accomplishments, we assessed project risks, challenges, and updated information about our crews and contractor availability. You can count on most of our 2019 plans in the Workplan Report to still happen. Take a look at what’s changed below.

–

From here, we’re focusing our energy on delivering and reporting back every quarter on our progress against what we outlined for the 2019 Planned Accomplishments.

Want to learn more? Visit our Levy Oversight Committee webpage.

###

March 7-12, 2019: Removal of asphalt along 25th Ave NE as we get ready for paving.

March 6, 2019 by Jeanne Clark

25th Ave NE connects the Ravenna and Roosevelt neighborhoods to many local retail establishments and services. It’s also a transit route with service connecting northeast Seattle to the U District, Link light rail, and downtown Seattle. We’re in construction to repave 25th Ave NE to improve safety, accessibility, and comfort for all users. From March 7-12, 2019, we’re grinding the top several inches of asphalt on 25th Ave NE so we can repair the base of the street. This work is weather dependent and subject to change.