SDOT says:
Crews from the Seattle Department of Transportation will install a new, marked crosswalk and new curb ramps at the intersection of Northeast Pacific Street and Latona Avenue Northeast [where the Burke passes Dunny Lumber] on Wednesday and Thursday, May 8 and 9, to provide improved access to the Burke-Gilman Trail.
The new, marked crosswalk will indicate the preferred crossing location for pedestrians on Northeast Pacific Street. The new curb ramps will improve access for people with mobility challenges. A wider curb ramp on the southwest corner of the intersection will also improve access for bicyclists.
The community requested this project through the Neighborhood Park and Street Fund, a city-administered program that works with communities to prioritize and build neighborhood projects.
- Wednesday: SDOT crews will install a 12-foot wide ramp on the southwest corner of the intersection. Cyclists will dismount and walk their bikes near the work zone. Latona Avenue Northeast will be closed to southbound vehicular traffic between Northeast Pacific Street and Northeast Northlake Way continuing into the evening until this work is completed.
- Thursday: crews will install new curb ramps on the northwest corner. Traffic on Northeast Pacific Street will be restricted to one lane shared by both directions of traffic with the assistance of traffic flaggers from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
(Image from Google Maps)
// where the Burke passes Dunny Lumber
Shouldn’t that be “Lunny Dumbar”, the famous wooden female astronaut?
Either that, or “Dunn Lumber”.
/rob
This is good news for pedestrians and northbound bicyclists. But next SDOT needs to install a curb cut and signage a block to the west, at 2nd and Pacific (as promised).
Right now the marked southbound bike route (via Thackeray and 2nd) dead-ends at a pretty gnarly interchange with the Burke-Gilman Trail. (And, yes, I’ve rattled SDOT’s cage numerous times to get this done…)
What are people’s thoughts on this change? I have only seen it in passing in a car, but I was expecting the Burke Gilman entrance to be wider than it ended up. On a sunny day, this is a very heavily used pedestrian intersection. Maybe the other side of the Burke needs similar treatment.
Doug – keep it up. Pacific is a dangerous road for bikers and it would be great if there were further improvements to make Wallingford a more bike friendly place.
I don’t have any valuable insight into this problem (though I agree that this is a dangerous spot for bikers and I’m excited that it might be addressed.) …But do I have a question related to safety of bikers and pedestrians on the BG Trail in this general area, so I’m just going to throw it out here:
There is a stretch of the trail near this location (or possibly closer to the intersection with Stoneway — I can’t remember exactly) where markings on the trail indicate that bikers should stay to one side and foot traffic to the other side. I’m not referring to the portion of the trail where it splits off into two separate paths, with walkers sent up to the sidewalk just north of the trail (you’d hit this if you were traveling from Gasworks to UW.) I’m thinking of a stretch of the trail between Gasworks and Stoneway where arrows simply indicate that walkers/bikers should stay to one side or another.
Anyhow I understand that such a separation would help pedestrians stay safe, similar to the intentions and markings on the Greenlake loop. However, it is always difficult for me to violate the “stay to the left” rule of thumb whether I’m biking or running, and it doesn’t seem to me that other trail users are following the markings.
Okay, my relatively simply question has gotten pretty long. 🙂 It’s a long-shot, but if anyone else knows what I’m talking about and has an answer, please let me know! 🙂
Some of the trail is “all users keep right”, some is divided according to mode. At the west end of the trail, 9th NW and NW 45th, it’s keep right, but then switches to divided for a few blocks, back to keep right along the canal. I think. I’m as fuzzy on the details as you are.
It’s hard to imagine what they were thinking. They can’t rely on trail users to be paying enough attention to notice that the rules change every couple of blocks, and of those that notice, likely more than a few are going to do what makes sense to them anyway. And it doesn’t seem to make any sense to divide the trail.
For me, sidewalks are a safer and more peaceful pedestrian route. It would be worth reconsidering the whole mixed-use notion of the trail – it’s very useful for bicycles, doesn’t serve pedestrians so well.
Thanks Donn — it’s actually helpful to know that someone else thinks the trail markings are confusing, if not dangerous.
And, I did mean to type “stay to the RIGHT” — oops. 🙂