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Council Letter Supports Nickerson Road Diet

News   June 21, 2010 at 5:19 pm Josh Cohen

Today, the City Council sent a unanimously-signed letter to Mayor Mike McGinn supporting the W. Nickerson rechannelization project. The letter is a significant shift in position for the council members, some of whom have voiced concerns and discussed ways to block the project since the Mayor announced it in May as part of his Walk Bike Ride campaign.

The “road diet” will re-stripe Nickerson from two lanes in each direction to one lane with a dedicated center turn lane, add sharrows and bike lanes, and improve pedestrian crossing safety. It received the support of pedestrian and bicycling groups and the ire of business and industry interests.

In addition to offering support, the council letter requests a comprehensive study of the effects of the rechannelization on travel time of vehicles and freight, and requesting an explanation of how the Mayor will maintain former-Mayor Greg Nickels’ commitment to retain access for freight on Nickerson during the deep bore tunnel construction.

The council letter references comments made by the 36th-district legislators at June’s Council transportation committee meeting. Reps. Mary Lou Dickerson and Reuven Caryle each cited an April 15, 2009 letter from former-mayor Greg Nickels which promised a commitment to ensure “adequate and efficient access for freight and vehicles as well as for neighborhood residents along the State Route 99 corridor.” The council letter requests an explanation from Mayor McGinn on how he will “follow-through and meet the commitments made by Mayor Nickels.”

The council letter also cites a letter written by the Seattle Bicycle Advisory Board to transportation committee chair Tom Rasmussen supporting the Nickerson project and recommending that “SDOT perform before and after monitoring to ensure that the rechannelization project is functioning for all roadway users.”

The council seconds SBAB’s recommendations and urges the Mayor to follow them. The council letter specifically requests a study that includes: ” … a data matrix that compares time travel of vehicles and freight before and after the rechannelization: this would include time travel and average vehicle speeds along Nickerson as well as how long it takes vehicles and trucks to turn onto Nickerson Street.”

The requests for information and studies aside, the council letter voices support for the Nickerson project and recognizes the connection between improved alternative-transportation infrastructure and their carbon-neutrality goals. They write:

We also recognize that in order to address our commitments to climate change and do our part to comply with state law regarding VMT and CO2 reductions, we face the challenge of maintaining mobility for people and goods, while simultaneously reducing vehicle miles traveled on our roads …

Again, we support the laudable goals of the rechannelization projects to improve safety for all traffic and for pedestrians and bicyclists and we support this effort on W. Nickerson Street as well. But, knowing how complex and challenging the next several years will be for people who live and work the west and northwest side of the City due to all the transportation projects, we will monitor the project closely and will recommend that the rechannelization be reversed should the project not work as planned.

Construction on the W. Nickerson project is slated to begin in mid-July.




  • Priscilla

    It seems unreal that while the Mercer Mess is being untangled, the Ballard and Fremont Bridge begin their busiest season and the Alaskan Way construction begins that this would be a priority. Obviously none of these people live in Magnolia or know what it is to get east to west. The Fremont Bridge opens an average of every 15 minutes all year round. Brilliant—NOT.

  • Gomez

    They could take a page from the Montlake/University Bridges and keep the bridge down during rush hour.

    I guess it depends on how many vehicles actually use that road and why.

  • http://www.dougunderground.com DOUG.

    This is great news and reflects the new blood in the City Council. Richard McIver was an obstructionist on this project and it's awesome to have Mike O'Brien, a true advocate for cyclists, sitting in his chair.

  • morning

    Ballard and Fremont bridges remain closed to boaters weekdays from 7:00 to 9:00 a.m. and 4:00 to 6:00 p.m., except national holidays. (See Footnote 1 below.) The University bridge remains closed to boaters weekdays from 7:00 to 9:00 a.m. and 4:00 to 6:00 p.m., except national holidays.

  • Gomez

    Well then, there you go. I stand corrected.

    What's the problem, then?

  • http://www.joeszilagyi.com/ Joe Szilagyi

    Beats me. Getting in and out of Magnolia has never been hard for me, when I drove, or when I bus it. With a tiny ounce of foresight and one trip to any number of websites I can be downtown, QA, Capital Hill, or Ballard with little effort. Yeah, Nickerson is 'busy' but even at rush hour it's not like it's some trying urban nightmare. Being forced to spend 10-15 minutes driving east/west through the guys of a major metropolitan core is a luxury compared to some cities. Elliot/15th is much worse.

    Except, you know, if you bus, and then it's a quick nap.

  • I B Bus Drivin'

    I see you are a bus rider, and I don't see from this article that it has occurred to anyone in the city or among the bike-ped advocates to see how this might affect the bus. The city plans to do this to other thoroughfares which tend to be the same streets the bus routes use. Bus drivers have something in common with the environmentalists and bike-ped crowd–they don't like cars. Buses have a problem though that some of these folks forget about–they assume the bus will just “be there”–won't it? Well, the bus needs a street. and if it doesn't have a ddedicated lane it will be stuck in traffic and too slow to attract riders from their cars. If Nickerson is going to be down to one lane, will the bus be holding up traffic every time it stops to pick people up? what if it has a breakdown or has to pick up a wheelchair? Hopefully these questions have been asked and answered to and everything's going to work out. But of all the groups that were consulted in making this decision, I didn't see any mention of metro or the bus driver union..so..? Please, everyone, don't forget that the lowering of carbon has to include realistic plans for the bus.

  • Gomez

    How has it negatively impacted the scheduling for the 16, 26, 30 and 44, routes, all of which travel along road dieted corridors?

  • http://www.joeszilagyi.com/ Joe Szilagyi

    @Gomez, you tell me? I rarely take those.

    The 24 & 33 since we got the dedicated lane on Elliot is rarely if ever late any longer. Whenever I drive, it still sucks.

  • Gomez

    BTW, Joe, I was responding to the guy above… but comments stopped nesting. Sorry about that.

  • archie

    It's a priority because it's an incredibly cheap way (just paint for re-striping) to drastically improve the safety of the corridor without reducing its auto carrying capacity.

  • Bmerlin

    If BikeTrike would get off the duff and take the Sunset bus out to 11th NW and Nickerson, BikeTrike would observe that the Canal Bike Trail runs all the way from beneath the Fremont Bridge to 11th NW and a little observation would establish that 2/3 of the bicyclists going to or from the Ballard Bridge take the trail–must be better or safer or something better.

    Retraction!!!

  • Guest

    Is it my imagination or does the (http://www.publicola.net/wp-content/uploads/201…) letter from the council to the mayor have an adversarial tone even though they are in agreement?