Over the last few weeks the, Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) installed protected bike lane (PBL) projects on both ends of the University District. The neighborhood is popular for bicycle commuting, with over 5,000 bike daily trips to the University of Washington campus. The projects are a step towards implementing the city’s Vision Zero plan to eliminate traffic deaths and fatalities, and they will encourage even more residents, students, and employees to bike. These projects are low-hanging fruit however, and key connections to the Burke-Gilman Trail and between the north and south ends of the neighborhood remain unfulfilled.
Ravenna Boulevard
In the north is a project centered on Ravenna Boulevard. That street has existing bike lanes buffered by paint, and with this project the lanes are upgraded to “protected” status with the simple addition of plastic bollards to more clearly delineate their separation from driving lanes. As I described in a previous article, the eastbound bike lane is also extended two blocks to get bicyclists safely up the hill to 15th Avenue NE. Dashed green lanes were added at intersections to make drivers more aware of people bicycling.
PBLs were also added on Cowen Place, which is wide enough to preserve two lanes of parking, and the Cowen Park Bridge, which was recently narrowed from four lanes to two lanes due to engineering concerns.
Another big change is the redesign of a dangerous intersection, Cowen Place and 15th Avenue. A huge curb radius on the north side of the intersection and a complete lack of crosswalks encouraged vehicles to speed through the area. Now the intersection has been made into an all-way stop with crosswalks and PBL markings. 15th Avenue is broken into two segments to square up the intersection, a tactic that encourages stop sign compliance and to facilitate the heavy bus traffic that moves between Cowen Place and the north part of 15th Avenue. The bus stops at this location were temporarily relocated two blocks south (right next to my old apartment, actually), but they won’t be used once the U-Link bus restructure move buses off of 15th Avenue next spring.
Below is a video of the 15th Avenue and Cowen Place intersection in action.
