We’ve heard from plenty of pedestrians and bikers who wouldn’t mind one bit if it stayed closed forever, but Sound Transit has announced that the construction project that required the closure of the Olive Way exit from I-5 is drawing to a close and the offramp will reopen sometime after May 17.
Before that happens, though, ST says it needs to close another I-5 ramp — this one the Cherry St on-ramp — to finish the work and get I-5’s exits and entrances back to normal in the area. The details from ST are below. Sound Transit tells CHS the work that needs to be completed before the Olive Way exit is reopened is weather dependent so it’s possible the opening could slip later in the week of the 17th. The exit was closed a year ago in May 2009 so that contractors could prepare the ground beneath the highway for the light rail tunnel boring machines that will pass beneath after excavation on the project begins in 2011.
Before reopening the Olive Way Off-ramp to its original configuration, the Cherry Street On-ramp to northbound I-5 must close.
Drivers should plan ahead
The Cherry Street on-ramp to northbound I-5 will be closed for three weeks beginning the week of May 3, 2010. During the closure, all drivers will be allowed to use the Cherry Street entrance to the I-5 express lanes from 5th Avenue, which is normally restricted to carpools and transit. The Olive Way On-ramp to northbound I-5 will remain open. Parking will be prohibited on the south side of Madison Street between 7th Avenue and Summit Avenue from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Saturday.
I mean I agree with leaving it closed forever. Has anyone really missed it that much?
While I do walk downtown and cross the exit at least once a day and have certainly appreciated the ease of crossing as a pedestrian I am eager for the off ramp to reopen! It can’t come soon enough. I am excited to learn it may indeed reopen in May as planned a year ago since earlier this year at a Sound Transit construction update meeting it sounded like it would probably not reopen until at least mid-summer.
I think wanting it to stay closed is pretty short-sighted and selfish.
The same number of cars still come through, but they all have to turn right onto Pike and that’s three lanes, and it’s much, much harder and more dangerous for pedestrians and bikes than the one lane Olive off ramp.
Yes, it’s nice not to have a car, but just like drivers need to watch out for you, think about how easily the tables could turn and you find yourself having to drive to the east side and suddenly it seems like it really ought to be convenient for both car and foot traffic.
I live on the hill and would never move to the east side, but after getting laid off from my downtown job where I could walk, I ended up having to take a job that forces me to either drive 30 minutes or spend three hours walking and busing every day. I’ve always moved close enough to my jobs that I can walk, but this time I don’t get to choose. The job market sucks, and I have to put food on the table, just like a lot of other people around here.
Anon,
When I do drive somewhere, I’d rather it be slightly inconvenient as my presence in a car in the street is inconvenient. But maybe that’s just me. And maybe it is selfish, but so is the person speeding off or on the freeway making our streets a dangerous and unfriendly place to be. I wouldn’t mind the reopening if WSDOT took the closure as a chance to undo the error in the original construction by removing the smooth gentle curve off the freeway onto our streets and replacing it with a hard right angle turn requiring a stop. The gentle turn only makes sense if someone is transitioning from one freeway to another, but from the freeway to a street where people live, walk, and bike; we should be making it very apparent freeway speeds are no longer allowed, nor necessary.
I’m one of the drivers excited to have this ramp back open. For the past year I’ve been adding 5-20 minutes to my daily drive to either take 168 or Madison St. The Madison St. route cuts right through a dangerous stop sign (for pedestrians) on Pike while 168 is just a waste of gas. Both take roughly the same amount of time.
I agree that the Olive Way exit crossing is poorly marked and cars rarely yield. How about installing some better signage here? ST has done a great job with pedestrian crossings so far in the project.
a vegetarian option?
I really don’t see the problem. As you exit I-5, it’s a steep incline, and there’s a very well marked crosswalk. I’ve driven it hundreds of times and I’ve never been tempted to take it quickly. I’ve also crossed it on foot hundreds of times and can only think of a couple times that people failed to stop. I’ve also never heard of an accident there.
Let’s face it, this is a well designed intersection and a success for safety and convenience for all parties.
Because nothing has ever happend to you, it can’t be a problem.
Man I hope so
I also live near here and I have to say that I have not had any problems. With that said, I understand how some people could. If the intersection was reconstructed with a “hard” right, it would be a better design for a couple of reasons.
First, you could reclaim some of the road space for the planting strip near Melrose. Second, it would slow down the drivers and essentially give a cue to the driver that they are now on a city street. Third, even if you do take this turn as a merge, the actual capacity is likely low as a motorist still has to do a look over the shoulder to merge over.
All that being said, the rebuild won’t be a part of the ST job. It’s out of scope, not designed, and not funded. I guess it’s go the City to see about a small grant.
Uh, yes. Its a pain not having it.
Would rather not get stuck in 520 traffic going to the lakeview exit, would rather avoid the mess that’s the entire James/Madison exit.
It’s the only straight shot into the heart of Capitol Hill from I5. Maybe sound transit will let you use their tunnel machine when they’re finished and you can move the exit underground, would be fine by me as long as it’s still there.
To the pedestrians, take the ipod off and pay attention, to the drivers, get off the phone and pay attention.
GOD WHY ARE THERE SO MANY ANIMAL CARCASSES ON THE WALLS
But when i drove more, i hated the closure. I don’t care, it’s better to be back open and isn’t going to inconvenience my walking/busing.
I agree that this exit is needed, because both Madison and James streets are often very congested, even outside of rush hours, and the Olive Way exit is a much more direct route to Capitol Hill.
However, I also agree that the merge from the off-ramp to E Olive needs to be changed, because it is quite dangerous as currently designed. When one walks westbound across the crosswalk, it’s impossible to see the oncoming vehicles (and they see you) until the last minute, and often they are traveling too fast….I’m surprised that there haven’t been more injury-accidents there, if that in fact is true. I think requiring vehicles to come to a complete stop would make it much safer, and not that many vehicles use that offramp so there would be no backup. And I hope someone from WSDOT reads these comments!
Good God yes. I shudder to think how much more carbon we’ve emitted with this exit closed.