Tonight: Public Hearing for the "Last of the West" Project: Let's connect Montlake & Portage Bay

The recent transportation package fully funded the "Last of the West" phase to the State Route 520 Bridge Replacement Project through Montlake and Portage Bay.

The City of Seattle is taking comments on a resolution that will guide the design of this project and ensure that the project creates more safe, convenient and comfortable transportation choices for those who wish to walk, ride a bicycle, use transit or drive. By improving connections in Montlake, we can create both a healthy, economically vibrant and interconnected neighborhood and region. Over the last year many improvements have been made to this project to enhance connectivity and safety for those who bike and walk. Please thank the City for including the following priorities that Cascade and partner organizations have been asking for in the SR 520 Final Design. The resolution includes:

A bicycle-pedestrian bridge over the Montlake Cut.
A new walking and biking bridge over the Montlake Cut just east of the current bridge to connect with protected bike lanes on Montlake Boulevard.

The Portage Bay Bridge Trail.
This is a critical piece of transportation infrastructure for the city and the region and will allow people to walk, run and ride all the way across the lake on SR 520. 520 land bridge. The “land bridge” is a great improvement over the prior lid design and this direct connection from the arboretum is great.

Cascade and our partners continue to strongly advocate for the following improvements to this 1.6 billion dollar project:

• Inclusion of a protected bike lane on the east side of Montlake Boulevard from the Sound Transit Station at Husky Stadium to E. Roanoke St. This is the desire line for many travelers and is already part of the Seattle Bicycle Master plan adopted in April 2014 and will be a natural connection for using the proposed bicycle-pedestrian bridge over the Montlake Cut.
• A neighborhood greenway along the Lake Washington Loop which will improve North/South bike and pedestrian connections through Montlake and reduce cut through traffic in surrounding neighborhoods.
• Improved greenway crossing treatment at Roanoke & Montlake Boulevard. This will help create an all ages and abilities connection across 24th Ave E. The design should include raised crosswalks.
• Improve crossing of all 520 on/off ramps along Montlake Boulevard. North and south connections for pedestrians and others using the sidewalks along Montlake boulevard are not safe or comfortable. We urge the City to reduce lane width to NACTO standards (10’ with 11’ for busses) and make each crossing a single lane crossing. These crossings should Include raised crosswalks at all the off-ramps and on-ramps and on ramps to increase safety.

Please attend the public hearing tonight:

Wednesday, Sept. 16 at 5:30 p.m.

University Christian Church

4731 15th Ave NE in the University District

If you cannot attend the hearing provide comment to the Chair of the Transportation Committee, Tom Rasmussen, at tom.rasmussen@seattle.gov.

Would you like to help us ensure the “Last of the West” 520 Bridge Replacement Project is done right? Join our Connect Portage Bay team.