The City of Seattle is considering the permanent closure to vehicles of the road (see image below) that connects Green Lake and Wallingford with Phinney Ridge and Greenwood. However, there has not been any community outreach on this decision. Residents who have experienced the negative effects of this road closure have started a petition to reopen the road and invite all impacted to consider signing it.
The street was originally closed to automobile traffic as part of the construction on Green Lake Way and eventually the closure become part of the city’s “Stay Healthy Streets” initiative during the Covid-19 restrictions. The stretch of road offered additional space next to the Green Lake path to run or ride bikes and remain physically distanced.
We previously reported on the partial reopening of this street back in March. However, shortly after it was opened to southbound traffic, it was closed again. According to District 6 Councilmember, Dan Strauss, “many of our neighbors were driving the wrong way on the street, or driving in the closed portion of the street. This is why West Green Lake Way North has been closed in both directions once again until a better design is created.“
So, it has remained closed, creating significant impacts for many people and organizations. Prior to Covid-19, this was a heavily used arterial connecting east and west neighborhoods. Based on a sample of traffic data for W Green Lake Way N – pre-pandemic, the “Average Daily Traffic (ADT) = 11,531” cars utilizing W Greenlake Way N, based on 7 day, 1-Hour Detailed Report, dated June 1-June 8, 2018, as reported by Seattle Department of Transportation (see below). With this traffic now being diverted south to 50th or north to 80th Streets, absent of alternative solutions, residents have reported a 20-30 minute increase in commuting time.
The city has not presented any data to show how many people are using the closed road to walk, bike or run.
Businesses on both sides of the barricade record a noticeable drop in patronage. Organizers spoke with Green Lake Crew, the Putt-Putt course, R&R hair salon, and Fresh Flours, to name a few. My family participates in North Central Little League at the Lower Woodland fields and teammates from Phinney Ridge have reported such extended times to reach practice, that they are considering dropping out.
The “Stay Healthy Streets” initiative has issued a survey asking for input on whether certain streets should remain closed permanently, but West Green Lake Way N is curiously missing. (Side note: The Stay Healthy Streets closure of N 44th St. in Wallingford is included on the survey and those interested should be sure to respond and share thoughts on it.)
A recent meeting with Councilmember Strauss indicates that the road will remain closed “until a two-way, protected bike lane is installed.” Everything is “ready to go”, but there is some hold up related to the mayor’s office preventing the work from moving forward. No reason is given as to why the street cannot be open in the interim while the city’s issues are being sorted.
In a recent email from the Dept of Transportation, the city said “we have not yet made a decision about the long-term configuration for this street, and are still evaluating options to balance the needs of people who want to walk, roll, bike, and drive in this area.”
I don’t know about you, but I’m confused why this road remains closed. It seems a solution exists to meet all residents’ needs without shutting down a major thoroughfare. There are now permanent signs and street crosswalk barricades installed. The time to make any changes is now.
For more information on the many impacts of the closure, please review and consider signing the Petition to open W Green Lake Way N.
This closure is ridiculous and the road should be reopened. There are two trails around Green Lake already for runners, walkers, scooters, strollers, etc… What there isn’t, is plenty of parking for the thousands of people visiting GL from all over the city. Doing away with two decent-sized parking lots off W Green Lake Way N has put an incredible strain on the lower Woodland lots which are often overflowing already with users of the fields and skate/bike parks. The closure has also put additional strain on East Green Lake Way N and N 50th as vehicles that would normally take the W Green Lake Way N route to 99 or to Phinney, have to use an alternate route. I run at GL frequently and have seen very few pedestrians or bikers using that short closed stretch of road. Certainly not the numbers that would be needed to justify vacating it.
I completely agree with you!
I love the closure. It makes Phinney ridge much more accessible to me on my bike and also is the only street I feel safe enough to let my 5yo bike on with me. I am also a driver and while it is sometimes annoying to have to re-route and wait in traffic, I keep reminding myself about how awesome it is to feel so safe. For us, it is definitely worth the tradeoff (a few minutes each day for the ability to use a healthy mode of transport and not feel threatened).
I also support SDOT keeping the road closed while they figure things out. This should be the default position throughout the city!
Here’s a more informative article: https://www.theurbanist.org/2021/06/25/final-stretch-of-protected-bike-lanes-around-green-lake-put-on-hold/
The road closure is inconvenient, sure, but I’d rather see it stay closed because the improvement it provides to users of the park outweighs the benefits of saving a few minutes in my car.
That’s great, unless you live on an affected arterial, and now see more traffic before it’s closed. The fact is, it’s hardly used. Maybe the city imagines hundreds of people taking leisurely strolls down it, but it doesn’t happen.
The users of the park are now the homeless encampments above in Woodland Park and the RV’s along west side of park. With access reduced and parking lots closed regular Park lovers can no longer go to the Green Lake Park as easily.
I completely agree, @wildnwonderful… I have a hard time believing people are walking or biking in that part of the road closure.
I’m dubious of the claim that commuting times have increased by 20 to 30 minutes due to this closure, whose permanence I support.
I’m an avid cyclist, but it’s super clear to me that this tiny stretch of road should be reopened to cars immediately, and anyone who does not see that really has their mode warrior blinkers on. I say this as someone who advocates for cycling improvements in many places, such as over I5 at NE 45th, along Stoneway and Greenlake Way, and on NE 47th. It’s really been shameful how SDOT has been ignoring the bike master plan as they do work on places like Green Lake Way and route 40 improvements.
However, using the pandemic as a back door to closing down an arterial and then telling drivers “ha, gotcha suckers!” when the pandemic draws to a close and traffic backs up is a ticket to turning people against cyclists. Cycling improvements are desperately needed in key locations. Do you claim to care about cycling? Then please put energy into cyclist mobility and safety, not into screwing over everyone that drives a vehicle.
Give me a break. In most decisions related to transportation infrastructure, the City of Seattle bows down to automobiles. There’s no “gotcha suckers” going on here. And anyone who’s going to turn against cyclists because (as you called it) “this tiny stretch of road” is permanently shut to cars (which it won’t be) was never pro-cyclist in the first place.
The author’s anecdote of Little League parents from Phinney Ridge threatening to pull their kids out of baseball at the Lower Woodland playfields because of “extended times to reach practice” is laughable. I ride 50th frequently. Yes, there’s traffic at 50th and Stone, but it’s, what, a three minute wait to get through the intersection? And, come on, it’s less than a mile to walk (or ride) from Phinney to the park. What a great way to get to practice…on a safe street.
Most people are not “pro cyclist”. That doesn’t automatically mean they’re “anti cyclist”, but I guess that’s something to work towards, isn’t it?
It’s more like a 10 minute wait to get through the intersection.
You think the City of Seattle bows down to automobiles…???