Seattle Sun Newspaper - Vol. 7, Issue 10, October 2003

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Seattle neighborhoods threatened

by Aurora and L.C. Way road change proposals

By JAMES BUSH

The battle to protect access to Lake City Way businesses continues as transportation planners review a community proposal to set asides plans to install medians south of the Lake City business district.

Speaking at a Sept. 8 meeting at the offices of the Lake City Chamber of Commerce, Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) Director Rob Spillar pledged to review and respond to an alternate proposal prepared by planner Ray Robinson (prime consultant on the 1999 neighborhood plan) for the chamber, the Thornton Creek Alliance, and the North District Neighborhoods Stewardship Group. "There was a lot of initial feedback and we've been listening," said Spillar.

But neighborhood merchants were unconvinced they were getting a sympathetic ear after a contentious June 24 public meeting on the city's Lake City Way construction plans. Their squeaky wheel approach got the attention of Mayor Greg Nickels, who helped organize the Sept. 8 meeting with representatives of SDOT, the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT), Metro Transit, and the mayor's office.

Both sides are racing the clock. Spillar says the current plan would put the Lake City Way construction contracts out to bid in December, with work getting underway next spring.

At issue are city proposals to add median dividers in several locations along Lake City Way between Northgate Way and Northeast 123rd Street. Business owners say the dividers would cut off motorists who now use the continuous center left turn lane on Lake City Way to access businesses on the other side of the street. Losing access across Lake City Way would be annoying to destination businesses and deadly to merchants (such as the owners of gas stations and drive-through restaurants) whose customer base includes many passing motorists.

The city is also proposing to create a transit lane (known as a Business Access and Transit Lane, or BAT lane) on the east side of Lake City Way, which could be used for on-street parking during off-peak hours. A parking ban would be imposed on the west side of Lake City Way, between Northeast Northgate Way and Northeast 123rd Street.

Robinson says he expects to see a formal city response to the community proposal by the third week of October.

City and state officials say the Lake City Way changes are intended to address three issues: safety, transit reliability, and the carrying capacity of the street. The Lake City Way (State Route 522) corridor handles about 40,000 automobile trips per day. Spillar says that about 1,400 accidents have occurred on the Seattle stretch of Lake City Way over the past ten years, at least 250 of which would have been prevented by access control measures such as medians. "Two hundred and fifty may not sound like a lot, but it is a lot," he stated. "Given that they're the most dangerous type [of accidents], I can't ignore that."

But meeting participants were unimpressed with Spillar's answers when quizzed over how motorists might access businesses on the other side of the street. His suggestion that drivers can make U-turns at intersections got a poor reception, given the street's relatively narrow right of way and the potential traffic hazard which would be caused by U-turning vehicles. "Have you ever studied doing U-turns out here?" demanded Bill Pierre, Jr., whose several family-owned auto dealerships are located on the affected portion of Lake City Way. When Spillar simply reiterated that such turns are legal, Pierre told him: "if that's your answer, that's not an answer."

Likewise, few were impressed by the assertion that Lake City Way motorists could simply turn at a later intersection and "drive around the block" to access businesses. In a later interview, Tony Del Mastro, a former auto dealer and community volunteer for three decades, noted that Spillar's suggestion ignores the unique geometry of neighborhood streets. Lake City Way slashes diagonally across the street grid, says Del Mastro. "We don't have square blocks where you can just go around the block sometimes you have to go three blocks."

Beyond that, nearby residents aren't thrilled with diverting commercial traffic onto neighborhood streets. "We see that as causing a lot of increased traffic for the neighborhoods," says Cheryl Klinker, who works with both the Thornton Creek Alliance and the neighborhood plan stewardship group.

The neighborhood's alternative plan omits most of the medians and retains the two way center left-turn lane in most locations. It also removes a proposal for an extended left-turn pocket at 30th Avenue Northeast, whose curbing would cut off access to North 123rd Street from the northbound lanes of Lake City Way. The plan further calls for allowing off-peak hour parking in a second BAT lane (transit lane) that SDOT has proposed be constructed on the west side of the street.

Robinson says he realizes that transportation planners have their own agenda for the Lake City Way corridor. "Their mission is to get as great a volume of cars through it as possible," he says. "However, we would like it to function without a strongly negative effect on the neighborhood."

Establishing a balance between Aurora Avenue's dual functions as business strip and state highway has proven equally contentious. The Aurora Avenue Merchants Association recently filed a lawsuit against the city and state, charging that new parking restrictions were implemented without proper environmental review.

So, what's the next step for the Lake City coalition? "I think that the community is patiently and respectfully waiting for what Mr. Spillar comes back with," says the ever-politic Robinson. "Depending on the degree of positive response we have several options to pursue."

Asked if taking legal action against the city and state is among the options under consideration, Robinson gave a one-word answer: "Yes."

The Lake City Chamber of Commerce will host a community meeting on the issue on Tuesday, Oct. 7 at noon at the Lake City Elks Club. All nine Seattle City Council members will be invited. The chamber requests that interested persons RSVP for the meeting at 363-3287.