Folks, we need to start a petition drive or something. SDOT is seriously considering adding a sharrow at Latona and 40th. I know, right? A sharrow! Another example of big, lefty government gone amok. What are they thinking?
Also, what’s a sharrow?
The Seattle Bike Blog is apparently more clever about these things than we, having attended Wednesday’s Wallingford Community Council meeting at the Good Shepherd Center, where they heard SDOT’s plan:
The project will install an uphill bike lane on the east side of Latona, which is a one-way street. Currently, Latona is one very wide lane with bus service. There is street parking on the west side, but not the east.
The project will also install sharrows on Thackary, which is the downhill arterial counterpart to Latona.
So, what’s a sharrow, again? A sharrow is a street marking “placed in the center of a travel lane to indicate that a bicyclist may use the full lane. The name ‘sharrow’ was coined by Oliver Gajda, of the City and County of San Francisco Bicycle Program, as a combination of shared lane and arrow.”1
And why is it being added to at 40th and Latona? Well, as anyone who has tried to ride their bike up from the Burke Gilman knows, getting across 40th and then navigating up and across the rest of the hill is a bit of a dodgy experience (aside from the fact that the hill from the Burke to 40th is stupid steep…at least it’s short).
Anyway, we’re pretty much sure we’re for it, unless we’re against it. For the fullest discussion you could possibly imagine of the relative benefits of sharrows, chicanes and greenways, we recommend reading the comments section of the Seattle Bike Blog’s article on the topic.
Now, can we talk about a bicycle lift, instead?
1) Q: Is there any safety data or statistics SDOT has that sharrows make biking safer? A: No. We feel sharrows alert motorists to expect cyclists on the street.
Virginia Coffman from SDOT
Sounds like a good use of resources.
Great news. Great idea. I especially like the bike cut-out at the intersection of Latona and 40th.
As the Seattle Bike Blog points out, it would be good to combine this with a safer crossing across Pacific to/from the BGT. Currently there are no crosswalks or signage, and the curb cuts are not aligned with 2nd, making for a dodgy connection.
Checked with SDOT and the sharrow on Thackeray will work in concert with existing traffic-calming measures (chicanes, Metro buses drive 20 mph on this arterial with an unposted speed limit of 30mph, large planting strip trees we planted at SDOT’s suggestion). Second the: Great news. Great idea.
Forget sharrows. Both Thackeray and Latona (mostly Latona down by 40th, Thackeray up by 45th) could benefit from increased enforcement of the existing one-way signs… I don’t know how many times I’ve gone to turn onto Latona from 40th only to have a car come south on Latona.
Bicycle lift: Yes!
I also attended the WCC meeting on Wednesday and was glad to hear that SDOT plans to complete the Latona/Thackeray portion of the Bicycle Master Plan this summer. Is the plan perfect? No. But it’s better than what we have now (nothing). I support it.
Having commuted by bike on Latona and Thackeray for the past 15 years, I’d say the sharrow (down) and bike lane (up) is the best combination we have available at the moment given the limited city-wide bike/ped budget and the evolving bike vs. car “culture” (many better solutions have been implemented in other cities in the world but we can’t afford them and they might meet with a lot of resistance from car drivers).
I agree with Doug that the biggest issue/problem with the plan is lack of improvements at Pacific to/from the Burke Gillman Trail. Cars move very fast on Pacific and, during rush hour, the stream is nearly constant. Marked crosswalks (or “cross-bikes”) at both intersections and curb cuts on the south side at 2nd Avenue would be a great addition to this project.
By the way, at the WCC meeting, I asked Virginia (SDOT) about plans for repaving Latona/Thackeray south of 45th and possible possible “traffic calming” improvements on Latona. Answer: Not part of this project, contact Ben Hanson regarding the repaving schedule. If and when the repaving happens, I would like to see curb bulbs (like on Thackeray) and/or “speed cushions” (like on NE 56th between Latona and 1st) to help slow traffic and reduce wrong-way driving.
Here is the SDOT link to project that was listed on the info sheet provided at the WCC meeting:
http://www.seattle.gov/transportation/bikeprojects/thackerylatona.htm
Three cheers for the project, and for cyclists. I’d love to learn the re-paving schedule as well. Roads everywhere in the city are in such bad shape this spring that they probably have their hands full and budget overextended.
Biking, yes! Sharrows, yes! Seattle was recently named best walkable US city; can cycling be far behind?
Hoyt, Las year I was told by SDOT that their is not enough traffic and not enough fast moving traffic for traffic calming improvements. I applied for neighborhood money to go towards curb bulbs on Latona and was denied.
How we got traffic calming on Thackeray (1998) was by borrowing a speed “gun” from Seattle Police Dept and doing a vehicle speed study on several days and several times of day. As I recall, the fastest vehicle was Jaguar going 51 mph (a daily deal, weekday afternoons). We noticed patterns including that vehicles raced through when the freeway was backed up and also when the light was green at 45th. SDOT told us to plant street trees as they tend to “narrow the visual corridor.” We did, and learned that planting trees slowed traffic but trees growing didn’t. Eventually, SDOT met with the Seattle Police and Metro with our information in hand on the corner of 43rd and Thackeray to see for themselves. (Something on the order of a miracle not to mention that it was two city and one county agencies represented.) The resulting street configuration was designed by SDOT and Metro agreed to have their “coaches” voluntarily drive 20mph so the buses were also calming traffic twice an hour, more during peak times, by driving slowly. Those are not curb bulbs as they are not attached to the curb: they are called chicanes as in chicanery. They prevent cars from speeding around a paused bus. The design also included alternating side of the street parking. The installed chicanes were temporary; after all was in place and working well, a grant was written for the permanent chicane in the 4200 block. The temporary chicanes work just fine and we were waiting for the street to get resurfaced to apply for grants for permanent ones, still are as it keeps getting postponed (slow and steady wins the race). And we found the brightest blooming plants we could (2 foot height limit) to grow in them. This was accomplished by the William Makepeace Thackeray Traffic Calming Consortium (actually two people, MANY hours over more than a year) but needed 60 per cent approval and signatures of both sides of the involved blocks (4300 and 4200).
I think the bike lane on Latona may serve to make it seem less wide open and may actually calm traffic. Metro will not have speed cushions or bumps on their routes as I recall. The key was presenting the problem in great detail and once we graduated from a post it note to a file folder (way back when) SDOT people went about solving the problem. And now the trees are really big (healthy, thriving Right Tree Right Place planting strip trees with tended tree pits . . .).
@vespalove: I am happy to share how we did it if you want to try another approach.
Nancy. Oh, I know how you did it. SDOT had a few comments when I mentioned what Thackeray had! LOL You ALWAYS get the job done. I did the petition, for what SDOT called half traffic circles on 5th Avenue. I would like to see what happens with the bike lane and proceed from there. JSIS parents want to work on some traffic calming.
I wouldn’t mind having one of the speed guns. I will have to get friendly with the many police that are always at Uptown Espresso.
Demonstrate to SDOT all the nuances of speeding without suggesting how it be resolved (especially when the light is green at 45th when a vehicle makes the light at high speed). In the meantime, if JSIS parents could thank the school bus drivers who drive 20mph or less on Thackeray that would be great (notice the positive and praise it); the school buses that travel down Thackeray and turn right at 42nd going to other schools) do not observe this mandate for the most part and the District is unresponsive even though they agreed to the voluntary 20mph back in 1998.
WTF!? And Mayor mcschwinns war on cars goes on. Enough with slowing traffic down with bikes. When the hell did it become ok to play in the street with your bike?
What great news that we will get a bike lane and sharrows! That is great!
Obviously this is NOT so that bicycles play in the streets ( though that would be ok with me) but to increase the livability in our neighborhood for all different types of transportation! I am thrilled!
WTF@14: Bicycles predate cars. When did it become okay to drive on my bike path?
Maybe the sharrows will help the bicyclists figure out which way to go on 2nd Ave.
Now, if we could just figure out a way to get bicyclists (and cars) to stop at the stop signs on 42nd between 2nd Ave and Latona we’d be doing good.
I love sharrows as a traffic calming device. I like marked crosswalks for the same reason. But we’re told marked crosswalks are a hazard because peds become complacent and fail to look both ways. Wouldn’t marked bike lanes present the same problem? Decision-makers who think statistics will be different for sharrows because your average bicyclist is more cautious than your average pedestrian should spend more time down here at-grade with the rest of us. In my observation, they definitely are not!
Non-motorized modes of transportation are reclaiming the spaces they lost sixty or so years ago when cars took over urban streets. Imho, if McSchwinn wants to spend our tax dollars on something really useful, some of them should be used to remind everybody–peds, bicyclists and drivers alike–about their part in keeping the streets safe. ‘Militant pedestrianism’ isn’t turning out to be a very good solution.
He might also consider severely limiting the right-on-red turns in pedestrian areas. The concept was put in place to move increasing auto traffic efficiently, but it’s far too dangerous to pedestrians and bicyclists now.
@14
I’m not playing. I’m going to work and doing errands. It’s been going on since the 1870s, by the way.
Who is running fo rthe Wallingford Community council?
@WTF: Many states won’t allow bikes on the sidewalks, and consider them to be vehicular traffic only. What’s your point, other than trolling?
Sharrows are totally not necessary! A competent adult bicyclist following all the normal traffic laws and rules of the road does not need sharrows. This has nothing to do with “big lefty government”. It’s about wasting taxpayer money and assuming that bicyclists are children.
Mike@22: The sharrows are for motorists, not bicyclists.
I wish something could be done about 2nd Ave. NE between 40th and 42nd — folks seem to get all excited when gravity gives them assist down the hill and they pour it on.
@22
Yes, I read Effective Cycling, too. I still support sharrows.
Sharrows serve as a gentle reminder to everyone that bicyclists DO in fact belong in the street, and that the road is for sharing. They signal to bicyclists who may be unfamiliar with an area that the safest course of action may be to merge and flow with the traffic. It also alerts motorists to give space to bicyclists in that area and allow them to merge. I give plenty of kudos to Seattle drivers for being courteous to bicyclists. As a driver and a bicyclist, I feel that sharrows work well to improve the on-road relationship between the two.
FYI, I contacted Ben Hansen at SDOT and got the following additional information on the project, below. I was also told that the target repaving schedule is “end of June and early July.”
On 5/9/2011 1:50 PM, Hansen, Benjamin wrote:
“By way of this e-mail, I’m copying Chris Luedke (who is managing our SDOT crew paving programs) and Christina Legazpi (who works in our SDOT Traffic section on neighborhood traffic projects).
Paving on Thackeray, between NE 42nd St and NE 45th St is scheduled for this summer. Mr. Luedke will be able to give you a more specific range of dates. The other streets in the couplet, 2nd Ave NE (SB), Latona Ave NE (NB) and NE 42nd St, are on our needs list for future years. In getting these streets paved, we have been challenged by fluctuating budgets and emergent needs around the city.
Ms. Legazpi will be able to assist you with traffic calming. As a start, I’d recommend you have a look at the SDOT neighborhood traffic website:
http://www.seattle.gov/transportation/neighborhoodtraffic.htm
Keep in mind that these streets are classified as arterial bus routes (which is one reason they are prioritized for paving). Any traffic calming measures proposed would need to be compatible with that use. Certain solutions, speed cushions as an example, could have undesirable effects such as noise and vibration when the buses cross them.
I hope the information here is helpful. Please let me know if you need anything else.”
Benjamin Hansen, P.E.
City of Seattle / SDOT
700 5th Avenue, Suite 4150
Mailing: P.O. Box 34996
Seattle, WA 98124-4996
206.684.5304
Way to go Hoyt. Count on the William Makepeace Thackeray Traffic Calming Consortium as at the ready to help if needed!