Here is the 4th of 5 projects submitted for the Neighborhood Project and Street Fund. Your feedback is welcome and helpful as the Wallingford Community Council and other groups decide which projects to endorse.
Mark contributed to this application on behalf of the Northlake Safety & Security Team, which is committed to finding solutions to improve the safety and security of the residents, workers, students, cyclists, joggers, customers and visitors that share this unique community.
The proposed location of our project would improve access to and from the Burke Gilman Trail through the only stair access along Northlake Way that connects down to the Seattle Waterway 17 park, parking, offices and restaurants.
Northlake Way lacks vital traffic signals, street lamps, sidewalks and visibly marked crosswalks to protect the growing number of pedestrians. This has encouraged vehicles to drive faster than what is safe or appropriate through the neighborhood which connects Fremont and Ballard to Wallingford and the University of Washington. This is unsafe to both pedestrians crossing the road and vehicles entering/leaving parking along Northlake Way.
Apart from the residents, workers, students, cyclists, and joggers, there are also a substantial number of patrons crossing the sidewalk to enter/leave Westward, a nationally acclaimed restaurant located at 2501 N Northlake Way. During the fall and winter months there may be as many as 300 patrons a day, while during the spring and summer the number soars to 800 patrons a day. Westward is just one of the many businesses in this area that contribute to the cultural and financial success of the community, providing employment opportunities and significant revenue that effectively benefits everyone.
We propose the addition of a clearly marked crosswalk that would incorporate the following: 1 curb bulb, 2 curb ramps, and a flashing beacon with in-pavement LED lights.
This project addresses the safety needs of pedestrians by providing a safe crosswalk that is clearly visible during the day as well as throughout the night. The addition of a flashing beacon will also alert drivers to slow down and to be more cognizant of cyclists and oncoming traffic that also share the road. This is especially important on N Northlake Way because of the lack of sidewalks and light poles on both sides of the road. This neighborhood has seen cars broken into, stolen, abandoned, garbage dumped weekly, aggressive panhandling, trespassing, assaults and two murders along this particular stretch all during just this last year. The increased visibility even at this section will not only help with pedestrian and vehicular safety, but the added light and improvements will help in deterring crime.
Sounds fine, but frankly this entire corridor needs an overhaul. There’s no traffic calming and tons of space for parked cars, with no viable avenue for pedestrians and bikes.
Yes, the BGT is right there, but having a bike lane (or sharrows at least) on this road, would keep the faster cyclists off the trail, making the BGT safer for walkers.
OOH! I like this one, but I am a pedestrian who walks there. Doug is correct, the whole area needs a rethink, but I fear that will happen when it gets built into luxury housing units. Can we keep this light industrial? And for how long?
Please keep the bikes to the BGT. Bikes and trucks are not good friends.
I also like this proposal.
I lived in a condo overlooking this section of Northlake for almost six years and I agree that it has many problems (I saw plenty of unsafe and unsavory activity, as well as frequent incidents of road rage between drivers, cyclists, and even pedestrians).
However, I do not think this crosswalk is enough of a solution to make it worth implementing. Yes– it might make drivers more aware of the crossing bike and foot traffic, but there still won’t be any decent sidewalks for pedestrians to get to/from the crosswalk, so you will still get people wandering onto the road as they try to dodge the parked cars that hug the edges of this narrow roadway.
I think a crosswalk would be more useful at Eastern and PACIFIC than Northlake. A crosswalk on Pacific would help people trying to get to the Burke-Gilman AND Westward and other businesses on the shore (as opposed to only being useful to people trying to get to Westward/shoreline businesses). There is a crosswalk across Pacific at 36th and another east of Eastern (maybe at 1st?), but neither has a flashing light. Improving those crosswalks and/or adding a third across Pacific at Eastern would be way more useful, I think. I regularly use the one at 1st when accessing the trail on my way to or from John Stanford.
What or who is the “Northlake Safety and Security Team?”
Hi Barb- I put in an ask to Mark to clarify. I haven’t heard of the group personally. We’ll see if he comments or not.
This project and any other of similer scope
is a real Neighborhood winner! Well worth
the safety improvement investment.
Might I also suggest that a crosswalk with
east/west stop signs be installed between the parking
lot and Ivar’s. The westbound sightline/visability for drivers,
and the lack of view for ped.s, astounds me that there
hasn’t been a death by auto in that location.
Sounds reasonable, but would the “beacon” flash constantly or only when pedestrians are present and activate it with a pushbutton switch?
Gosh, a lighted cross walk across 40th and Coriliss would receive my vote for the nth year. Although, I’m confident the WCC would undermine that propsal after it’s been approved. Or, at least that’s what they did last time.
Agreed that Northlake, Pacific, and 40th need to have serious traffic calming and other pedestrian safety measures in place. This project will be a start on that, but hopefully will not be the end.
there is now a crosswalk with a bulb for added visibility at Latona and 55th. This is a school crossing. It is well marked. Even so, not all drivers stop for pedestrians in the crosswalk. Some drivers cruise on through looking straight ahead. They are not on their phones or talking to a passenger. They are just oblivious.
A crosswalk, even with bright signs alerting drivers to its presence, is not a guarantee of pedestrian safety. It may give pedestrians a false sense of safety.
@Abigail,
This is definitely true. That said, SDOT and SPD need to remind drivers (through enforcement, if necessary), that *every* intersection, whether marked or not, is a crosswalk. Unfortunately, SPD does crosswalk stings approximately once a decade, and killing a pedestrian is good for a few months in jail at most, so there’s no incentive for any driver to remember this.
@Skylar. Please explain for me – what are “traffic calming” safety measures? Where can i see them in our area?
@Abigail,
“Traffic calming” would include lane narrowing (either through parking lane addition, or bike lane), curb bulbs, center turn lane w/ islands to prevent people using it as a passing lane, traffic lights, and maybe even actual speed limit enforcement from SPD.
Hello barbbsea,
The Northlake Safety & Security Team was formed about 2 years ago by local business oweners, employees, and community members seeking a way to share their concerns and to find ways to prevent crime, illegal dumping/parking, and to stay informed. At least once a week we send an email with updates, news stories, and photos illustrating developments in the area to NSS members and our local law enforcement representatives. Our main goal is to keep N Northlake Way safe for everyone!
It’s great to see all of the neighborhood comments on the proposals. Here are a few items of additional information regarding this one.
@Cameron Regarding a crosswalk at 40th and Corlis, I am not aware of the WCC ever undermining the proposal. I recall it was to be at 40th and Sunnyside, but the WCC support the project a number of times and got it approved by our District Council. That required the city to do a feasibility study as part of the grant process. SDOT came back with a very unreasonable cost and rejected the proposal. WCC never undermined the project.
As many have pointed out, the crosswalk would only be a small element in solving the Northlake problems. A big one is the lack of passable sidewalks to the crosswalk. Cars are not supposed to park close to the bank where they would block the walkway. However, they do that all the time, and it is necessary to walk in front of the cars close to the traffic.
Years ago, the WCC sought review of some elements of the design of the boat storage facility. The owners were required to put in a paved walkway – which they refused to do. When they recently applied for a permit for a building not normally permitted in a shoreline zone, WCC asked that they be required to comply with past conditions. The city finally agreed that they had not complied with their last permit, but said there was nothing it could do. A new permit was granted without proper public notice to the neighborhood and without proper conditions.
I notice that this proposal only mentions access to the restaurant, and not the public waterway. The community has been working for years to develop that as a public area. The restaurant now seems intent on co-opting the public area for itself.
In the past, the Community Council has been asked to review and rank all grant applications for projects within Wallingford for the District Council. This year for some reason, we were told that we were not to rank this restaurant proposal. What’s up with that? Why the exception from community involvement? In spite of that, Eric’s posting of all of the projects so the community can respond is an effort of the WCC. Thanks Eric.
@Lisa,
I’m not sure if the beacon needs to flash continuously, most likely this would be up to the city to decide. That said, I would like to see the in-pavement LED lights activated at all times.
@Lee,
This may be one element in solving Northlake problems – but it would be a great start! To be clear, we support public access to the waterway and park and would love to see a kayak launch area installed. Given the tight budget of these projects, and pedestrian safety being our first priority, we did not feel confident including that in our proposal.
I don’t see the point of putting a special crosswalk there. There is very little foot traffic and cars aren’t going as fast as they do on Pacific. There used to be a regular crosswalk until they repaved last year so it should just be brought back.
If you have money for LED lighting, put it to use to clean up the park and bring back the trail that was covered up by the Westward contractors when they cut down the trees.
(Most of the time, the park entrance is blocked by the Westward dumpsters.)
As others have mentioned, a crosswalk on Pacific would make much more sense. Crossing from Eastern to the BGT is downward scary as cars fly by and almost never stop.
@Northlake Safety & Security
Speaking of safety, Eastern to Pacific really could use a “right turn only” sign.
We’ve seen many accidents where people try to make a left. It’s a very sharp turn and you can’t see the oncoming traffic very well, especially in summer when the weeds are 3-4 feet high.
How does the Northlake Safety & Security Team feel about the paved walkway that the boat storage facility was supposed to put in?
Would it be fair to say that at least until the waterway is improved or at least restored to accessible state, the crosswalk is for people who park across the street to go to the nationally acclaimed restaurant? We were actually down there last weekend, and did have to wait for a car, to cross the street, but we had faced far more daunting obstacles on the way.
@don,
I agree. Who are the “residents, workers, students, cyclists, and joggers” that are trying to cross the street in that location?
This crosswalk will only benefit the Westward restaurant and the money could be spend better elsewhere (ie 40th or Pacific).
Is the native planting area restored, yet?
Is the land being used for parking, public or private property? If it is public land then it would be a terrific destination spot for north Lake Union access because persons with limited mobility could enjoy the view. The proposal should include signage to attract additional public usage of the resource.
Northlake traffic is just too fast. People speed through all day and night. There are also crosswalks for people trying to cross over to Gasworks and it’s hard to cross there, too. I don’t think a crosswalk sign and lights would do it. As many have pointed out, drivers ignore those. We need REAL traffic calming – maybe some speed bumps. Bikers and pedestrians are all over this area and drivers need to slow down and share the road, whether they like it or not.
This sounds like a great project. Joggers, students of UW, and employees all park in this section of Northlake Way. I see people running across the street many times during the day and someone has a very nigh potential of being hurt because the crosswalk isn’t visible until you are about 40 -50 feet from it. I also see many people using the stairs at the north side of the crosswalk to access the Burke Gilman trail. The upgrades and additional security that the project has potential to bring would be beneficial. It would be a great start to improvements on N Northlake Way.
@Kris
there is no parking on the south side of Northlake. Only Westward patrons need to cross the street there.
Maybe you’re thinking of Pacific or maybe another location?
There are individuals using the crosswalk to access the office spaces above the restaurant, Waterways Cruises, the dry-dock storage location nearby, and enjoy the park.
Upgrading the crosswalk would be beneficial to the safety of all due to increased visibility. The increased visibiilty would slow traffic down and increase the safety of individuals crossing the street.
I love how you folks can wring your hands and debate about installing a crosswalk when that area is literally a campground for a large population of drug addicted van/RV dwellers that climb the hill at night time and prowl your cars, garages, and public areas looking for things to steal. If you have a bike stolen in Wallingford, there’s about an 85% chance it first ends up in an RV at the base of those stairs in the picture. I showed the cops an RV based bicycle chop shop operating there a few years back and they did NOTHING.
@Kris
very few people cross the street there for Waterways Cruises or SkyLaunch. There are no sidewalks on that side of the street so it’s quite treacherous to walk there. SkyLaunch also has its own parking lot that is rarely full.
How many people work in the office above Westward? The place is not very big.
I don’t mind getting a crosswalk there; it just seems that there are other areas that have more foot traffic.