Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn’s ‘Walk. Bike. Ride’ initiative means some big changes for Nickerson Street.
It was announced today that this summer Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) will change West Nickerson Street to include one driving lane in each direction and a center two-way turn lane. The new configuration, between Warren Avenue North and 13th Avenue West, will reduce the number of motor vehicle lanes and add an uphill bicycle lane. The downhill traffic lane will have sharrows, shared lane markings for bicycles. There will be marked crosswalks installed at Jesse Avenue West, Cremona Street, and Dravus Street.
The city expects the changes on Nickerson to reduce vehicle speeds and collisions. The speed limit on Nickerson is currently 30 mph, but SDOT says that average speeds are significantly higher. The report claims that narrowing the space for motor vehicles has been shown to reduce travel speeds and the kinds of collisions common on Nickerson.
Our sister site, MagnoliaVoice, first reported in March, 2009 that the city was planning to reduce Nickerson to one lane of traffic each way and add bicycle and center turn lanes. The plan was not well received and after a number of concerns were raised, the city backed off the plan and put changes to Nickerson on hold.
Many organization and individuals in Queen Anne and Magnolia have spoken out against the change, as Nickerson is a thoroughfare frequented by many in both neighborhoods on the daily basis. The Magnolia Community Club (MCC) took a strong stand against the plan, saying that Nickerson is the primary route for Magnolia residents traveling to Fremont, Wallingford and the University district and that the route is already frequently congested. Randall Thomsen, MCC president at the time, sent a strongly worded letter to the city, stressing that Nickerson is the alternative to West Mercer Way to access the proposed bored tunnel that will replace the viaduct.
The MCC said that when the viaduct comes down there will be a substantial increase in vehicles seeking access to I-5 and the tunnel by using Nickerson. Even with four lanes, Nickerson will be congested. With only two lanes, it will likely be overwhelmed. The MCC said that the changes to Nickerson are meant to improve cialis from canada safety for bicycles and pedestrians but the improvements will be marginal when weighed against the potential for congestion. There are 19,300 vehicle trips on an average day on Nickerson.
The cost for the changes is about $200,000, coming from the voter-approved Bridging the Gap transportation funding measure. Work will begin this summer with completion by spring 2011.