The Seattle Department of Transportation will begin intermittent nighttime lane closures on Mercer Street today, Monday, August 29, as part of ongoing work on the Mercer Corridor Project.
Night work is scheduled to take place intermittently between 7 p.m. and 5 a.m. over the next two weeks. SDOT says that up to three lanes of Mercer Street will be closed overnight at Westlake Ave N, Terry Ave N and Boren Ave N during the work to accommodate storm drain, water main and gas line crossings along Mercer.
More information on the Mercer Corridor Project here.
The I-5 Mercer Street on and off ramp closure scheduled to take place this weekend, from late Friday night, August 26 to early Monday, August 29, has been canceled. From SDOT:
This cancellation is being made in order to accommodate the many nearby events taking place this weekend which are expected to draw large crowds. The cancellation of this weekend’s scheduled closure will likely result in an extra weekend closure possibly in October.
The next planned full weekend closure of the I-5 Mercer Street on and off ramps is scheduled to take place from 11 p.m. on Friday, September 9 to 5 a.m. on Monday, September 12. From SDOT:
Additional full weekend closures in September may be announced—further notification will be provided as dates are finalized.
Detour route maps are available on the project website at: www.seattle.gov/Transportation/ppmp_mercer.htm. Detour routes shown will be signed on roadways and may be heavily used, particularly Denny Way both eastbound and westbound.
During these closures, the I-5 on-ramp at University Street will be concurrently closed to provide more efficient traffic flow around the closed Mercer Street exit lane. Fairview Avenue N will also be closed between Mercer Street and Valley Street and Mercer Street will be closed to through traffic between Westlake Avenue N and Fairview Avenue N. All detour routes will be clearly marked.
Travelers are encouraged to carpool and use alternate modes of transportation. Transit
Once again the Seattle Department of Transportation will be closing down the Mercer Street on and off ramps to I-5 for two full weekends this month in order to do ongoing work required for the Mercer Corridor Project. The closures will take place from 11 p.m. this coming Friday, August 12 until 5 a.m. on Monday, August 15, and again from August 26 to 29 during the same hours.
Detour signs will be posted around the area, but if you’d like to look up the detour routes beforehand, you may download them both here:
In addition to these two closures, WSDOT will be concurrently closing all lanes on SR 520 from 11:00 p.m. Friday, August 26, to 5:00 a.m. Monday, August 29, between Montlake Boulevard and I-405 in Bellevue. (SR 520 from I-5 to Montlake Boulevard will remain open to traffic). Details on this closure and detour maps can be viewed here.
SDOT will also be implementing a number of other nighttime lane closures related to the Mercer Corridor Project throughout the month:
Beginning as early as Monday, August 1, northbound Westlake Avenue N will be closed overnight between Mercer Street and Valley Street. Northbound traffic, including King County Metro bus routes, will be detoured to Terry Avenue N from 7:00 p.m. to 5:00 a.m. for approximately one week. Southbound traffic will remain on Westlake Avenue N. For King County Metro bus information, please visit Metro Online at www.kingcounty.gov/metro and check the “Alerts Center.”
Beginning as early as Monday, August 8, nighttime lane closures will occur intermittently on Mercer Street at both Boren Avenue N and Terry Avenue N to accommodate water main installations lasting approximately three weeks. Up to three lanes of Mercer Street will be closed overnight, and Boren Avenue N and Terry Avenue N will have intermittent closures to through traffic between Republican Street and Mercer Street. Work hours are expected to be 7:00 p.m. to 5:00 a.m.
See a map of all of SDOT’s ongoing and upcoming construction projects citywide here.
Looking for something fun to do in the neighborhood this weekend? Check out Queen Anne’s weekend happenings:
Join in one of the historic Olmsted walks on Saturday with an all-day 12-13 mile walk from Ballard (leaving from Aster Coffee at 5615 24th Ave. NW at 8:30 a.m.) to Queen Anne by way of Discovery Park, Magnolia Blvd, Kinnear Park, and Queen Anne Blvd. Details here.
Pick your own lavender on Saturday and Sunday at the Interbay P-Patch’s U-Pick Lavender Sale. Swing by the garden, at 2451 15th Ave W, between 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. either day. Cost is $3 for a small bunch and $5 for a large.
Listen to some fun and quirky tunes by musical due “Team Andrew,” who will be swinging by El Diablo at 4 p.m. on Sunday to share their music, and meet with fans during the Seattle stop of their International Tour. Check out their “surreal hip hop” in this music video.
If you venture out of Queen Anne this weekend, keep in mind that traffic is going to be tight both coming and going due to the SDOT’s Mercer Street I-5 on and off ramp closure all weekend long. There are also quite a few special events taking place around town this weekend, including the Capitol Hill Block Party, Chinatown and West Seattle Parades, the Roosevelt Bull Moose Festival, the Swedish SummeRun, various Seafair related events, and quite a few more. Many of these events will mean lane closures, and all will cause higher traffic congestion, so watch out. Download SDOT’s full weekend traffic advisory here (.pdf).
The Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) is again closing down the Mercer Street on and off ramps to I-5 this weekend, from 11 p.m. on Friday, July 22, to 5 a.m. on Monday, July 25, to do some construction work related to the Mercer Corridor Project.
SDOT will also be concurrently closing all lanes on Broad Street between Westlake Ave N and 9th Ave N during the same times. Crews will be taking advantage of the anticipated reduced traffic volumes due to the Mercer closure during this time to perform some storm drain work in the intersection of Broad Street and 9th Ave N. From SDOT:
Travelers who planned to use westbound Broad Street over the weekend will be detoured to southbound Westlake Avenue N to Denny Way for access to the Seattle Center and downtown Seattle, or to northbound Westlake Avenue N to 8th Avenue N for access to lower Queen Anne and Dexter Avenue N.
As with previous weekend ramp closures, the I-5 on-ramp at University Street will be concurrently closed to provide more efficient traffic flow around the closed Mercer Street exit lane on I-5. Fairview Avenue N will also be closed between Mercer Street and Valley Street, and Mercer Street will be closed to through traffic between Westlake Avenue N and Fairview Avenue N.
Updated detour route maps are available on the project website at: www.seattle.gov/Transportation/ppmp_mercer.htm. Detour routes will be signed on roadways and may be heavily used, particularly Denny Way in both directions. Travelers are advised to consider alternate routes, SR 99 or alternate I-5 exits and entrances, and to carpool or use alternate modes of transportation.
The Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) will be closing down the I-5 on and off ramps at Mercer Street again this weekend, as part of ongoing work needed as part of the Mercer Corridor Project.
The closure will begin at 11 p.m. on Friday, June 17, and go until 5 a.m. on Monday, June 20. Detour route maps are available here. From SDOT:
Detour routes shown will be signed on roadways and may be heavily used, particularly Denny Way both eastbound and westbound. Travelers are advised to consider alternate routes to their destinations such as SR 99 or alternate I-5 exits and entrances.
After this weekend’s closure, the Mercer Street access to and from I-5 will not be closed again until the weekend of July 8-11, and is scheduled to take place during the same hours. From SDOT:
During these closures, the I-5 on-ramp at University Street will be concurrently closed to provide more efficient traffic flow around the closed Mercer Street exit lane. Fairview Avenue N will also be closed between Mercer Street and Valley Street and Mercer Street will be closed to through traffic between Westlake Avenue N and Fairview Avenue N. All detour routes will be clearly marked to support traffic flow around the closures.
SDOT is advising travelers heading to the Fremont Solstice Parade and Fair to use SR 99 or to the alternate I-5 off-ramps at Olive Way (northbound) or Stewart St. (southbound) and Denny Way to Westlake Ave. N. More information on routes to the Fremont Fair can be found at the fair website.
Travelers are encouraged to carpool and use alternate modes of transportation. Transit information can be found at:
Starting next week the Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) will begin lengthening the left-turn lanes on Elliott Ave W at W Mercer Place, as part of Phase II of the Mercer Corridor Project.
In preparation for the project, SDOT will be working on adjusting the rim of a utility access hole along Elliot Ave W this week. All construction will take place on weekdays only, during non-peak travel times. Crews will complete the work over the next three to six weeks. From SDOT:
Starting next week, SDOT crews will first remove the current asphalt island, traffic post, overhead sign and concrete curb. Next, they will pave and restripe the roadway which requires fair weather. Finally, they will adjust the traffic signal timing and install a new overhead sign.
The left-turn from Elliott Ave W onto W Mercer Place will remain open during construction, and signage will guide through traffic, according to SDOT. Drivers should expect congestion and added traffic due to the work and lane restrictions. The work will not interfere with access to nearby businesses, and all closed lanes will be re-opened to traffic during the morning and evening peak commuting periods. For more information, visit the project website.
The closure will begin at 11 p.m. tonight, Friday, May 20, and continue through 5 a.m. on Monday, May 23. After this weekend the Mercer Street on and off ramps will not be closed again until the weekend of Friday, June 17 to Monday, June 20 (also from 11 p.m. until 5 a.m. on those days respectively). From SDOT:
During these upcoming closures, please note that Mercer Street will be fully closed to through traffic between Westlake Avenue N and Fairview Avenue N, including access from Mercer Street to southbound Fairview Avenue N that had been maintained during previous closures. The I-5 on-ramp at University Street will be concurrently closed to provide more efficient traffic flow around the closed Mercer Street exit lane. Fairview Avenue N will also be closed between Mercer Street and Valley Street.
Updated detour route maps are available SDOT’s project website. Signs indicating detour routes will also be visible around the closure. SDOT advises commuters to be prepared for heavy congestion along these detour routes, particularly on east- and westbound Denny Way, and to use alternate routes when available.
The Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) is preparing for more weekend-long closures at the Mercer Street on and off-ramp to I-5 throughout May.
Work that is part of Mercer Corridor Project will shut down the on and off-ramps for at least two weekends this month: Friday, May 6 to Monday, May 9, and Friday, May 20 to Monday, May 23. The Mercer Street exit and on-ramp may also be closed for a third weekend, from Friday, May 13 to Monday, May 16, pending final coordination with other major work projects in the area.
The I-5 on-ramp at University Street will be concurrently closed to provide more efficient traffic flow around the closed Mercer Street exit lane. Fairview Avenue N will also be closed between Mercer Street and Valley Street. All detour routes will be clearly marked to support traffic flow around the closures.
Mercer Street ramp closures are required for utility installations on Fairview Avenue N at Mercer Street, including water, sewer, electrical and communications line installations, as well as to align the existing on- and off-ramps with the future westbound lanes of Mercer Street.
During weekend closures, Metro Transit plans to reroute its bus service on routes 70, 71, 72, 73 and 83 off of Fairview Avenue N from 11:00 p.m. on Friday to 5:00 a.m. on Monday. Buses will be rerouted via Eastlake Avenue E: northbound between Mercer Street and Galer Street; and southbound from Galer Street to Thomas Street. Rerouted buses will serve posted stops on Eastlake Avenue E, but will not make any stops on the cross streets between Eastlake and Fairview.
Queen Anne-ers used to taking the Mercer Street on ramp and exit will have to find another way to and from I-5 this weekend. The Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) will be closing down the I-5 on and off ramps at Mercer Street in the first of four upcoming weekend closures due to utility improvements and ramp re-alignment work needed as part of the Mercer Corridor Project.
The closure will begin at 1 a.m. on Saturday, April 16, and run until 1 a.m. on Monday, April 18. There will also be a concurrent closure of the northbound I-5 on-ramp at University Street to improve safety and provide more efficient traffic flow around the closed Mercer Street exit lane.
Detour routes will be clearly market during the closure, though you can download the official detour maps here for access to I-5 and from I-5. From SDOT:
Three additional full weekend closures are tentatively scheduled and closure hours are anticipated to be Friday at 11:00 p.m. to Monday at 5:00 a.m.; further notification will be provided as the dates are finalized:
May 6 – May 9
May 13 – May 16
May 20 – May 23
Travelers are encouraged to carpool and use alternate modes of transportation. Transit information can be found at:
King County Metro at www.kingcounty.gov/metro, or by calling 206-553-3000
Sound Transit at www.soundtransit.org
Community Transit at www.commtrans.org
During weekend closures, Metro Transit plans to reroute its bus service on routes 70, 71, 72, 73 and 83 off of Fairview Avenue starting at 11:00 p.m. Friday night and lasting up to 5:00 a.m. Monday. The buses will be rerouted via Eastlake Avenue East: northbound between Mercer Street and Galer Street; and southbound from Galer Street to Thomas Street. Rerouted buses will serve posted stops on Eastlake Avenue, but will not make any stops on the cross streets between Eastlake and Fairview.
For more information on the closure and the Mercer Corridor Project, check out the project website.
The open house, held from 4 to 7 p.m. in the Northwest Rooms Plaza of the Seattle Center, gave the public a look at different possible plans for the street while providing a forum for comment and criticism with SDOT representatives. In the Rainier Room, posters of the different plans, stages of development, area studies and traffic analysis were displayed with a short video presentation at the front of the room.
“It’s been a good conversation and I think we had a good turnout,” said SDOT Project Manager Eric Tweit.
SDOT presented five alternative plans for West Mercer Place: Alternative No. 1 adds a sidewalk to West Mercer Place, Alternative No. 2 adds a sidewalk and a bike lane, Alternative No. 3 and No. 4 add the sidewalk and bike lane and extends the merge lane on West Mercer Place. Alternative No. 5, which can be a standalone or combined with any of the previous 4 alternatives, would extend the left-turn lanes on Elliott Avenue West. The illustrations of alternative No. 1 and No. 2 can be seen here, No. 3 and No. 4 can be seen here, and Elliot Avenue West left-turn lane extension with the alternatives summary can be seen here.
“More traffic is going to try to use Mercer, so the question became can West Mercer Place handle it? Do we need to or do we want to even increase the capacity?” said Tweit. “We were pretty concerned about what the cost and impact would be, so this is really the culmination of that evaluation of whether there is a benefit to doing it.”
The changes in traffic through West Mercer Place with the Mercer Corridor Project and the replacement of the Alaskan Way Viaduct prompted many of those who live in that area to voice their opposition. (See our past coverage of public meetings and community events surrounding this debate here.)
“We recently heard from a lot of reasonably and understandably concerned people who live on West Mercer Place, so this is an opportunity… for people to see and comment on the project,” said Tweit.
Tweit said that those he spoke to were opposed to the addition of a lane on West Mercer Place, and, along with the increased traffic, many of them were concerned about the possible loss of parking in the area. He said of the alternatives, No. 1 and No. 5, those that made the least amount of change to the area, were most popular.
Community representatives, from organizations like the Queen Anne Community Council, the Greater Queen Anne Chamber of Commerce and the Department of Neighborhoods were on hand to speak to the public and SDOT officials. Queen Anne Chamber of Commerce Director of Marketing Mary Chapman said she was glad to see SDOT taking input from residents and businesses in the area and thought it was a positive sign.
“I feel that the mayor did not listen to us in terms of the Nickerson street road diet, [the Queen Anne Chamber of Commerce] does not support the road diet, but we really hope that they will be listening more actively as the plans for West Mercer are being developed by the Seattle Department of Transportation,” said Chapman. “We highly suggest that everybody make comments and do so very soon so that they can get as much realistic input from the people who live in the neighborhood as possible.”
FOLKpark volunteers were on hand to present their conceptual plan for Lower Kinnear Park and the proposed Uptown Loop, a collection of pedestrian and bicycle routes that circle and traverse lower Queen Anne. FOLKpark Chair Debi Frausto said that, as the Mercer West Project coincide with Kinnear Park projects, they hope they can leverage dollars with SDOT to save money on different aspects of development, like design and surveys.
“There are things where there are overlaps between us, like at entrances to the park. Let’s work together so that where we do them coordinates with pedestrian crossings, bicycle safety and those types of things so that we’re not designing in isolation,” said Frausto.
The next step for SDOT is to present the alternative plans to the local community organizations and councils and evaluate public comments. This will last through April, after which SDOT will make a recommendation to Mayor McGinn.
Comments on the alternative plans or other ideas and considerations can be e-mailed at mercerwest@seattle.gov.
Update 4:40 p.m.: Traffic moving through West Mercer Place is projected to reach more than 800 vehicles every hour by 2015, according to figures by KPFF, an engineering firm used by SDOT. These figures, presented at the open house, take into account the waterfront construction during that time. Between 590 to 660 vehicles per hour are expected to move through West Mercer Place after the Mercer Corridor and waterfront construction is completed, compared to the estimated 372 an hour that move through the street now.
The Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) is holding an open house concerning changes along West Mercer Place, part of Phase II of the Mercer Corridor Project, on Tuesday, March 15 from 4 to 7 p.m. at the Seattle Center Rainier Room.
For those just joining the discussion, many Uptown residents are concerned about the impact proposed plans to widen West Mercer Place and West Mercer by one lane could have on the surrounding neighborhood. These concerns include cutting into the western edge of Lower Kinnear Park (removing land and trees), and increasing Mercer’s role as a major corridor to and from I-5 for for trucks and freight vehicles.
A group of residents opposing the plan have created the West Mercer Mercer Place Facebook group, where they call neighbors to action to prevent this phase of the project. With the motto “don’t truck up our neighborhood!” the West Mercer Mercer Place group has held a letter writing rally opposing the traffic expansion, and put the issue to Mayor Mike McGinn at a town hall in Magnolia last week. Miss that meeting? Watch the video, courtesy of the Seattle Channel, below:
Nighttime work for Seattle Department of Transportation’s Mercer Street project will begin as early as March 3 and will continue for approximately two weeks. Up to three lanes of Mercer Street will be closed overnight at Ninth Avenue North. This closure is required for the installation of underground utilities. Night work hours will be from approximately 7 p.m. to 5 a.m.
For more project information, please see SDOT’s project Web site.
A group of West Mercer Place residents submitted to the Alliance a letter voicing their opposition to plans for expanding West Mercer Place and West Mercer by one lane. The letter, covering such concerns as freight traffic, pedestrian sidewalks and parking, was addressed to Mayor McGinn, the Seattle City Council, and SDOT. The residents asked that the Alliance to send it as representative of their position. The vote on the motion to adopt the letter was approved.
Held in the Uptown Metropolitan Market’s restaurant space, residents voiced their concerns and passed out fliers at the meeting. One issue addressed was the possible reallocating of 15 to 20 feet of land from Lower Kinnear Park to expand into an additional third lane of West Mercer Place, an area that is home to some 24 old-growth trees, according to one opponent, and would require the construction of a concrete retaining wall along the easternmost edge of the park. They also announced a “letter writing rally” (see the event flier here and Facebook event info here) to oppose the West Mercer traffic expansion.
“This Mercer West Place expansion, I don’t believe it’s going to stop there – I think this is a trend that we’re going to see over the next few years and beyond, for the continual aggression of traffic into our neighborhoods,” warned Pennington. “We have to take a stand on it now.”
SDOT Deputy Project Manager for the Mercer West Project Eric O’Brien attended but didn’t speak until the end of the meeting. He passed out a FAQ sheet on the possible changes to West Mercer Place and said he was available to speak to individuals after the meeting adjourned.
The FAQ sheet said they are “looking at the feasibility of several changes to West Mercer Place in the future. We may do a few of these or we may do none of them,” noting that SDOT expects to complete and present its results in March.
Seattle City Councilmember Mike O’Brien, chair of the Seattle Public Utilities and Department of Neighborhoods, was a guest at the meeting and spoke on the restructuring of the Department of Neighborhoods due to the budget cuts. Although O’Brien said the mission of the department is the same, he doesn’t believe that they’ve seen the last of the cuts, and further “refining” is likely.
“The question is how do we meet the neighborhoods’ goals, the citizens of Seattle’s needs with fewer resources, and I don’t know what the answer is,” O’Brien said.
He also spoke on the concerns of West Mercer and West Mercer Place residents, advising them to stay organized, attend meetings, perform letter or e-mail campaigns, encouraging them to reach out to city council members, and “if you want to get really creative and dress up in customs and stand in the street, that gets our attention too.”
“Folks who live closest to these things have a very important powerful voice, but they’re not the only voice in the city… everyone will be heard,” said O’Brien, adding, “I have some serious concerns with doing much to widen that roadway.”
Also discussed at the meeting:
Co-President Rick Hooper provided a new construction report regarding four new projects in development for apartment buildings in Uptown under the Multifamily Property Tax Exemption Program. These projects are not yet under construction.
Co-President John Coney reported that the governor has recommended in her draft budget a 50 percent cut in the Regional Mobility Grant line item, which would have adverse consequences for the Ballard RapidRide line, such as putting future lines at risk.
Secretary Jean Sundborg discussed the three-day rummage sale the weekend of Feb. 25 held by the Uptown Alliance and FOLKpark to raise money for different projects in Uptown. She also reminded everyone of the Clean and Green event this Saturday beginning 9 a.m. at Counterbalance Park.
Coney announced there is a town meeting with the mayor Tuesday, March 1 5:30 p.m. at Blaine School in Magnolia.
It was found that the recently installed lights at Counterbalance Park were not designed for the outdoors. Parks and Recreation has ordered the parts to correct the matter, but the completion of the project is expected to take some time.
The next Uptown Alliance meeting will be Thursday, March 10 at the same location (Metropolitan Market). A report from SDOT on the Mercer West Project, including plans for West Mercer Place, is expected at that time.
The redevelopment of West Mercer is part of phase II of the Mercer Corridor Project, and is anticipated to begin in the summer of 2012.
According to the SDOT website, this phase of the project, among other things, will provide freight with a route to and from 15th/Elliott Avenue West by adding a second eastbound lane, and improving key intersections to accommodate large trucks. The plan would also add a sidewalk to the narrow street that borders Lower Kinnear Park. But residents in the West Mercer Place area are concerned that the project will turn the residential street into a commercial truck thoroughfare.
A letter written by Rob Pennington, spokesman of a group of concerned residents in the West Mercer Place neighborhood, was submitted to the council’s transportation committee, intended to be sent to Mayor McGinn and the Seattle City Council as representative of the council’s official position. The primary issues outlined in the letter include the concerns over the truck routes and better conditions for pedestrians, bicyclists and businesses.
From the letter:
Uptown is a destination community, surrounded by a residential neighborhood that should be enhanced for pedestrian, bicycle and transit use with improvements to our North and South traffic flow. As projects proceed with the North Portal of SR 99 and the Mercer East Corridor, we believe that the concerns of West Mercer Street and West Mercer Place residents and businesses merit consideration over stakeholders outside our neighborhood.
The council ultimately voted against adopting the letter as it was written amidst protests from some of the citizens in attendance. Instead, a letter addressing Queen Anne transportation and incorporating Pennington’s West Mercer Place issues will be written and sent from the council.
Here are some of the highlights from the other issues discussed at the meeting:
Updates from the Department of Neighborhoods from Central Team Neighborhood District Coordinator Christa Dumpys. There have been staff reductions and consolidations with the budget cuts, but Dumpys still remains the contact for Queen Anne and Magnolia. Both the director and deputy director of the Department of Neighborhoods have left, and the interim director starts on Friday. The Queen Anne/Magnolia Neighborhood Service Center has closed, and Dumpys is now working out of the Central Neighborhood Service Center on 23rd and Jackson, but her phone number and e-mail are still the same.
Council member Don Harper gave a summary of the Solarize Seattle program. In brief, the program will give tax credits and a bulk rate discount to Queen Anne residents who purchase solar panels for their home. More information can be found at solarizeseattle.org.
Don Harper also spoke about the current state of the Smith Cove land trade. Certain issues (the inability to have an athletic field within 200 feet of a shoreline, and the Port of Seattle’s disinterested in making changes to the road) regarding the land in Interbay between the west yard and Smith Cove make the land swap unlikely, but Harper is proposing that the council asks the Port of Seattle for 50 more feet of Shoreline Parkway on the West Yard.
The area bounded by Denny Way, Broad, and Aurora, squeezed between the Seattle Center and South Lake Union, has been called by many names, but is probably most known as the “Uptown Triangle.” Some like to call it the “the lost triangle.”
The 36-acre area just southeast of Queen Anne, highlighted in pink above, is currently filled with wide roads and industrial buildings. But over the last year the Uptown Alliance and representatives from the Queen Anne Community Council have been working to get the city to redevelop the area, alongside development plans already in the works for the nearby Mercer corridor and deep bored tunnel projects.
In September QACC Land Use Regulation Commission and Planning chair Craig Hanway presented the City Council’s Committee on Built Environment with a plan (.pdf) to fix up the space. From the report:
A 36 acre area in Seattle’s Uptown Urban Center [is] surrounded by a vibrant community, rich with jobs, public amenities and cultural assets. However, the Triangle remains neglected and underutilized. It’s time to heal the scars created by Broad Street and the “Mercer Mess”.
At 12 p.m. on Thursday, January 27 Hanway and Uptown Alliance and QACC transportation chair John Coney will present the recent planning recommendations for the Uptown Triangle in a public forum.
With ideas on everything from building bike lanes and parks, mixed-use retail and apartment complexes, and promoting connections between the urban centers of Lower Queen Anne, South Lake Union, and downtown, Hanway and Coney envision creating a more residential, family friendly, transit-served, bike and pedestrian friendly neighborhood with its own identity. The ultimate goal of the Uptown Triangle development project is to create a vibrant urban community that serves as a crossroads between the high-tech, telecommunications, and arts and global health hubs that surround it.
Some of the early ideas being considered for the Uptown Triangle include:
Adding a major bicycle route to John Street;
Running streetcar lines on Thomas Street, 5th, and Republican;
Envisioning Thomas Street as a café-lined thoroughfare with ground-floor retail;
Townhouses on John Street, Taylor, and 6th;
Diversity of housing types and affordability;
Transit and walkable links to Denny Park and the Seattle Center;
Using trees and green space to offset the urban environment at the Harrison Street portal to the SR 99 tunnel.
Thursday’s meeting will take place at GGLO Architecture, at 1301 First Avenue, Suite 301 (located on the north side of the Harbor Steps, across from the Seattle Art Museum). The QACC and Uptown Alliance are eager to hear comments from the community about the plan. For more information, contact John Coney at 206-283-2049.
There will be some nighttime closures and road work around Lower Queen Anne this week as part of the east phase of the Mercer Corridor Project, according to SDOT.
The temporary intermittent night work (originally scheduled for last week, but delayed due to the weather) began last night, and will continue through Friday, December 3, however SDOT says the work may be extended into next week if necessary. Most of the work, they say, will take place between the hours of 7 p.m. and 6 a.m. along the following streets:
Mercer Street:Nighttime closures of two to three lanes of Mercer Street between Dexter Avenue N and Westlake Avenue N. No more than one lane of Mercer will be closed prior to 9:00 p.m.
Broad Street: Nighttime intermittent restrictions of westbound Broad Street to a single lane near Ninth Avenue N.
Terry Avenue N: Nighttime closures of Terry Avenue N between Mercer and Valley streets.
Westlake Avenue N: Nighttime restrictions of Westlake Avenue N to one lane in each direction in areas between Aloha and Republican streets.
Beginning Monday, December 6, SDOT and King Country Metro will also implement new temporary bus stops in the project area, at the request of local residents who have been inconvenienced by stop closures due to the project.
Full details on the route changes can be found on the Metro website, www.kingcounty.gov/metro, in the “Alerts Center”. The following routes will be affected:
Route 17: New southbound temporary stop on westbound Aloha Street near Eighth Avenue N.
Route 30: New northbound temporary stop on Westlake Avenue N between Mercer and Valley streets. This is a joint stop with the Route 17. New southbound temporary stop on westbound Broad Street between Westlake Avenue N and Ninth Avenue N.
For Mercer Corridor Project and construction information, email mercerinfo@seattle.gov or call the 24-hour Construction Hotline at (206) 419-5818.
Although some Queen Anne community members have concerns, SDOT says it prefers the so called “curved” option for 6th Ave North around the new Gates Foundation campus on Lower Queen Anne. During last night’s meeting of the Queen Anne Community Council, SDOT laid out the pros and cons of both the curved option and the straight option. It’s all part of the Mercer Corridor Improvement Project that will widen Mercer and convert it to a two-way operation going east and west.
The curved option for 6th Ave N (seen below) would go around the Gates campus instead of cutting through it.
Half signal at the intersection of 6th and Mercer
Traffic on Mercer going west won’t stop at the intersection
No left turn from Mercer onto 6th
Protected lane barrier for drivers turning left from 6th onto Mercer
No pedestrian crossing at 6th and Mercer
Pedestrian crossings only at Taylor and Dexter
6.5% grade
The straight option (below), which SDOT is moving away from and is not supported by the Gates Foundation, would cut through part of the Gates campus and under one building.
Full signal allowing all movements at intersection 6th and Mercer
Pedestrian crossings at 6th, Taylor and Dexter
4.5% grade
Although the straight option may looking more appealing at first glance, SDOT says the costs will be much lower by going with the curved option. Some members of the council and residents in the audience worried that SDOT is trying to “choke” traffic and make it more difficult for drivers. They also expressed concerns about freight mobility, saying the higher grade of the road on the curved option might prove difficult for truckers.
One other interesting detail came out in the meeting. SDOT is considering an additional lane on Mercer Place all the way up the hill from Elliott Avenue, instead of the current quick merge into one lane at the bottom of the intersection. One person urged SDOT to consider sidewalks on Mercer Place if that change is made.
SDOT will host an open house on the Mercer project on September 21 from 4:30 to 7:30pm in the Seattle Center’s Lopez Room.
What the completed curved option would look like (looking south toward downtown)
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The Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) is again closing down the Mercer Street on and off ramps to I-5 this weekend, from 11 p.m. on Friday, July 22, to 5 a.m. on Monday, July 25, to do some construction work related to the 
Night work on the SDOT’s 
According to the SDOT website, this phase of the project, among other things, will provide freight with a route to and from 15th/Elliott Avenue West by adding a second eastbound lane, and improving key intersections to accommodate large trucks. The plan would also add a sidewalk to the narrow street that borders Lower Kinnear Park. But residents in the West Mercer Place area are concerned that the project will turn the residential street into a commercial truck thoroughfare.
