Join in the public meeting for the North Entry and Multi-use Trail projects for the Washington Park Arboretum on Wednesday, June 8, from 6:30 to 8 p.m. at the Graham Visitor Center in the Arboretum.
This is a great opportunity to be involved with the future of the Washington Park Arboretum. This project provides scoping and conceptual design for a redeveloped North Entry and the development of a Multi-use Trail from the intersection of East Madison to the Montlake and University neighborhoods.
The 520 bridge is a floating no-go zone for cyclists. Though a number of buses cross the bridge, many cyclists still experience delays during peak hours. If you combine biking and transit you know that few things are more frustrating than missing a bus just because the bike rack is full.
But there is hope! King County Metro Transit has increased its service across the bridge by 130 new bus trips every day! Since each bus has a three-bike rack that means an additional 390 cyclists can portage their bikes daily across the bridge.
It gets even better. Cyclists can catch a FREE ride on out-of-service or dead-headed buses crossing the bridge. Catch a bus at either the Montlake (eastbound) or Evergreen Point (westbound) station and then get off at the first stop on the other side. The out-of-service buses will say “Terminal,” “Bellevue Base” or “East Base.” You’re most likely to catch an eastbound bus during weekday morning peak hours and a westbound bus during weekday morning and afternoon peak hours.
The additional bus service commenced Oct. 2, in anticipation of spring 2011 tolling. Tolls will help fund a new bridge, which will feature a bike and pedestrian path. With tolls as high as $3.25 for peak trips, driving across the SR-520 Bridge will soon cost you more than time in traffic, so take advantage of the opportunity to bus your bike across the bridge.
Don’t know how to put your bike on the bus? This video makes it easy: http://bit.ly/aGaFIz
In case you’ve missed it, there’s been some controversy over the plans to replace the 520 bridge and connecting infrastructure. The debate spans all possibilities, including some of the most viable of all, as detailed in Richard Conlin’s recent proposal.
Of these, my personal favorites include the “Cloud Suspension Bridge” and the “Sustainable Surface” alternative. The first of which would employ nanotechnology to suspend a bridge by trillions of nanowires, while the Sustainable Surface option would pump liquid nitrogen into pipes submerged in Lake Washington, creating a frozen surface to support east-west transportation via dog-sled. Though the most desirable option from a cyclist standpoint is the “Greener Than Thou” proposal…which would rebuild the bridge with only a pedestrian/bike path.
Unfortunately, Conlin’s proposals were released on April 1…
All jokes aside, the debate is now at a critical point. In April, once the public comment period on the Draft Environmental Impact Statement is closed (Deadline April 15), the state will begin the process for selecting a ‘Draft Preliminary Preferred Alternative,’ with a public hearing to follow in July. Comment here!
Meanwhile, the Seattle City Council, concerned by the alternatives on the table, hired consulting firm Nelson Nygaard to conduct a thorough review of the project to determine if key transit, bike and pedestrian connections could be improved and how to lessen neighborhood impacts. The executive summary of those recommendations can be reviewed here. The Seattle City Council will be meeting on the following dates/times to review these recommendations (public comment opportunity on Thursday):
MONDAY, April 5, 2010
9:30 a.m. – 11:30 a.m. Council briefing and discussion on City Council SR 520 report
THURSDAY, April 8, 2010
5:30 p.m. – public comment meeting
Prior to the April 15 comment deadline, we’ll post Cascade’s comments on the SR 520 alternatives. In general, however, our recommendations support Nelson Nygaard’s, with emphasis on improving the transit and nonmotorized connections, and reducing the built footprint of the project as a whole – with key attention to the urban interchanges. The context of this project, in our minds, does not warrant a ‘bigger, better, more obtrusive’ design, but rather a design that is of the human-scale and supports movements by foot, bike and transit through the corridor.
