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)

SDOT is warning to drivers to be prepared for heavy congestion around Seattle Center this weekend.  Up to 50,000 people are expected to attend this year’s Bumbershoot festival.  Plan on heavier traffic than usual between the I-5 Mercer Street ramps and Seattle Center.  There are no road closures.  Bumbershoot runs from 11am to 11pm on Saturday, Sunday and Monday.

From the Bumbershoot archives

Our partners at the Seattle Times say Saturday “Standard” tickets to mainstage acts Bob Dylan and The Decemberists are sold out. Standard tickets for Sunday (Weezer, Hole, Rise Against) and Monday (Mary J. Blige, Drake and J. Cole) are going fast.  “Economy” tickets for all three days are still available.

140 trees will soon be torn down as part of the Mercer Corridor Improvement Project.  The folks over at Publicola report many of the trees are in the direct right-of-way that will become the new two-way Mercer Street.  SDOT tells Publicola that the rest of the trees could pose a danger to construction crews.   SDOT will replace those tree with 280 new ones, but a spokesman couldn’t tell Publicola how many of the trees being torn down are mature trees.  SDOT also plans to put in shrubs and a rain garden.

The project is estimated to cost $295 million. It will widen Mercer Street to become a two-way boulevard, reconstruct Valley Street for local access, improve transit connections, install bicycle lanes and widen sidewalks. Read more on the Mercer Corridor project here.

WSDOT’s work on the Aurora Bridge continues and drivers who plan on crossing it this Sunday could face closures, this time going both ways.

This Sunday crews will continue work to remove and replace more than 1000 rivets and bolts for the construction of a safety fence to deter suicides. Drivers can expect additional closures for rivet removal in September. Crews are working Sundays because rivet busting is too noisy to do at night. Nearby residents can expect to hear construction noise from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m.

• From 6 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. on Sunday, Aug. 29, crews working for WSDOT will close two of three northbound lanes to remove and replace rivets on the east side of the bridge.
• From 1:30 p.m. to 1:45 p.m. all six lanes on the bridge and the southbound Fremont Way on-ramp will be closed while crews move construction equipment to the west side of the bridge. WSDOT scheduled this brief full closure at 1:30 p.m. to help southbound traffic heading to Sunday’s Mariners’ game.
• At 1:45 p.m. crews will reopen all northbound lanes and one southbound lane.
• Two southbound lanes and the southbound Fremont Way on-ramp will remain closed until midnight while crews work on the west side of the bridge.

If that’s not confusing enough, WSDOT has these suggestions on what to do to avoid closures and delays:

• Taking southbound SR 99 across the bridge before 1:30 p.m. Another option is using southbound SR 99 after 7:30 p.m., when delays caused by the closure will be very short.
• Taking northbound SR 99 across the bridge after 2:30 p.m. Drivers also should consider using northbound SR 99 in the morning before traffic volumes increase.
• Checking traffic conditions before hitting the roads. Check SR 99 traffic and I-5 traffic and tune into to radio traffic reports.

The two alignment options for 6th Ave N on Lower Queen Anne will be the main topic of discussion at the next meeting of the Queen Anne Community Council.  The meeting takes place September 1 at 7pm at the Queen Anne Community Center.  Representatives from SDOT and the Gates Foundation will be on hand to talk about the options that SDOT hopes to decide on later in September.  Below, you’ll see the two options on the table from SDOT’s website (click here for larger view).

The work to install four light poles on the Ballard Bridge is taking longer than expected. Seattle Department of Transportation crews will once again close northbound curb lane from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Expect delays coming into Ballard during the closure.

The lane closure on the Ballard Bridge, which has been impacting traffic this week, will continue  into next week.

Photo courtesy the Seattle Department of Transportation

Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) crews have been installing brackets for light poles on the bridge. Marybeth Turner with SDOT tells us the work will continue on Friday and Monday. The curb lane in the northbound direction has closed each morning until 2 p.m.

“Four light poles are being replaced as a temporary measure until next year when all of the lighting on the bridge will be replaced,” Turner writes in a press release. “When SDOT has completed this preparatory work, Seattle City Light crews will install the four replacement poles.”

We wanted to update you on the latest move involving the pedestrian overpass that will link lower Queen Anne to the waterfront.  The City Council voted 9-0 to remove restrictions on spending for the project.  That means SDOT can move forward with its plan to start construction early next year.  The bridge would start at Thomas Street and go all the way across to Myrtle Edwards Park.

Meanwhile, the Council also voted 9-0 to approve a property tax exemption for the new Avalon Queen Anne apartments at the old Mountaineers Club site at 3rd and Harrison.  In return, the developer is offering “affordable” rates for some of the units which we detailed here last week.

We just got this alert from SDOT. Anyone driving down Nickerson Street tonight.. be warned!

Here’s a follow up to a story we brought you a few days ago. We’re getting our first look at what the pedestrian overpass from lower Queen Anne to the waterfront will look like.

The overpass would run from Thomas Street on Queen Anne all the way across to Myrtle Edwards Park.

Images from the City of Seattle and Hewitt

Members of the City Council’s transportation committee were briefed on the project this morning and voted 3-0 to move forward with it.  If the full Council decides to remove restrictions that limit SDOT’s spending on the project, construction could start early next year.  You can read more about the project details and funding here.

Many Queen Anne residents have dreamed of a pedestrian/bike overpass that would link them to Myrtle Edwards Park and the waterfront.  We’ve learned that bridge is one step closer to becoming reality several years after it was first proposed.

Proposed location of overpass

SDOT wants to build a bridge from the east side of Elliott/Western Avenues at Thomas Street all the way across the railroad tracks to Myrtle Edwards Park.  Just this week, a recommendation was made at the Puget Sound Regional Council to provide a $3.96 million grant for the overpass.  If the PSRC Executive Board approves it, that grant would represent the final funding for the $10 million project.  SDOT tells us they could start construction in the first quarter of 2011 and finish it one year later.

The city’s Department of Planning and Development also recently issued a ruling that found no serious environmental problems with the project, but there will be some conditions.  Several trees would be removed along W. Thomas Street and some streets in the immediate area would be reconfigured.  More than 70 people submitted comments about the proposed bridge and only three of them expressed concerns.

If you haven’t driven down Nickerson Street in the past few days, you’re in for a shock. The road is now almost entirely one lane in each direction as crews quickly push ahead with the road diet project.

The new center turn lane is now in place stretching almost the entire length of Nickerson. The new bike sharrow markers are also being painted. Crews are still replacing the asphalt on the part of Nickerson near the Fremont Bridge. The entire project should wrap up by the end of this month.

All lanes of the Ballard Bridge will be open the rest of the week. According to a release from the Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT), crews don’t need to close one northbound lane as they’d been doing the last three days to install light pole brackets. “Plans have changed and no lane closure is needed for this work today or tomorrow, August 5 and 6. Work will resume at a later date,” the release from SDOT states.

During the closure, traffic into Ballard was pretty slow-going.

The Uptown Alliance’s Planning and Transportation Committee is hosting a discussion on the Mercer West Project redevelopment, along with representatives from SDOT, from 5 to 10 p.m. tonight, Wednesday, August 4, at the Queen Anne Neighborhood Service Center, located at 160 Roy St.

The Mercer West Project is the final leg of the larger Mercer Corridor Improvements Project, and deals with the street reconfiguration that would make Mercer a two-way street connecting I-5, SR99’s deep bore tunnel north portal, Elliott Ave/15th Ave W corridor, and the neighborhoods of South Lake Union, Uptown and downtown.

Because so much of this corridor lies in Lower Queen Anne—extending from Dexter Ave to Elliott Ave—the neighborhood will be directly affected by the work. The project includes a new, wider Aurora Ave overpass above Mercer, and two-way configurations for Mercer St., W. Mercer St., and Roy St. From the Uptown Alliance’s event description:

SDOT plans to complete the Mercer West Project prior to the opening of the deep bore tunnel segment of SR99. For a period following 2016, the Central Waterfront segment of SR99 will not be fully accessible, as the Viaduct and the connector bridge from Elliott Ave. and Western Ave. are demolished and replaced. In that period there will be freight and general traffic increases in the Mercer Corridor.

Tonight’s meeting will give members of the community an opportunity to hear a presentation on the Mercer West Project, and speak with SDOT Deputy Project Manager Eric O’Brien and KPFF Project Manager for Mercer West Monica Moravec.

For more information contact John Coney at 206-283-2049, or via email at djohnconey@aol.com.

Get ready for some slow going and a lot of noise on Nickerson Street.  Starting tonight at 7pm until Wednesday at 6am, crews will grind off the existing asphalt on Nickerson between 4th Avenue N and Etruria Street.  Nickerson will be reduced to one lane during the grinding with alternating traffic.  Police will be on hand to guide drivers through the mess.  There will also be short-term traffic restrictions on cross streets.

This is all part of the controversial Nickerson Street road diet that you can continue to track here.

Traffic note: Seattle Department of Transportation crews plan to install light pole brackets on the Ballard Bridge this week. The northbound, right lane of the bridge will be closed from 9 a.m. to 3p.m. Monday, August 2 through Friday, August 6. Pedestrians will be assisted on the sidewalk by a traffic flagger. This work could be delayed if emergency work is required an another location.