In response to the Aurora Avenue Merchants Association's letter to the editor (published in the July issue of the Seattle Sun) on the State Route 99 North Corridor Study, we would like to clarify the study's purpose, the improvement options currently being considered, and their anticipated benefits.

Our goal in working with the Aurora community is to make the corridor safer for vehicles and pedestrians, to keep traffic moving and to ensure access to businesses for everyone.

With more than 1,100 accidents since 1998, Aurora is in need of close attention now and long-term solutions for the future. As part of the study, traffic engineers documented that a significant number of sideswipe, angle, and head-on accidents occur as a result of turning movements related to the center turn lane.

Many of these accidents could be avoided by creating pedestrian islands in the center of the roadway, with mid-block, left-turn pockets. These median treatments would minimize the number of accidents, allow vehicles to turn left mid-block to access businesses, and provide a haven for pedestrians crossing Aurora.

For many, Aurora is the preferred alternative to I-5. When Aurora is clogged with an accident, traffic backs-up and shifts to parallel neighborhood streets such as Meridian, Roosevelt, Greenwood, and 15th Avenue NW. These neighborhood streets become the alternative when drivers experience gridlock on Aurora.

By making Aurora safer, we can prevent these tie-ups and overflow traffic into residential areas.

Based on the Study's findings, we are currently considering a preliminary recommendation to designate two new Business Access and Transit Only (BAT) lanes. By modifying the current shoulder in a short section of Aurora, buses will be able to travel more efficiently, without taking any travel lanes from other vehicles. Moving buses and right-turning vehicles into the new BAT lane increases capacity in existing lanes of traffic, enabling more people to move through this busy corridor.

In addition, parking restrictions will remain where they currently exist and be added in two other areas during the a.m. and p.m. peak hours to allow business access and faster transit . For these reasons and many others, we are working to address safety issues, keep auto traffic and people moving and improve transit speed and reliability.

The end result of these efforts will be an improved corridor that meets the long-term needs of businesses, neighbors, and visitors.

We look forward to partnering with the Aurora Avenue Merchants Association and other community stakeholders in identifying the safest, most appropriate traffic solutions for all users of the corridor. To find out more about our project, please visit our web site www.wsdot.wa.gov/projects/SR99.

- CHARLIE HOWARD, Director, Planning and Policy Office, Northwest Washington Division, Washington State Department of Transportation

- GRACE CRUNICAN, Director, Seattle Department of Transportation, City of Seattle

- RICK WALSH, General Manager, King County Metro Transit