Work on the first phase of the Central Area Neighborhood Greenway is underway creating new bike route markings, new stop signs and better pedestrian crossings along a route connecting 21st, 22nd, and 25th Ave from John to Jackson. You’ll note that SDOT is also adding “approximately” one speed hump per block on the route.
CHS included the work in our list of transit projects to look forward to in 2015. The “Hybrid” option for a bicycle and pedestrian friendly parallel to the 23rd Ave corridor will begin at I-90 and pass up through the Central District along 26th and 25th Ave before a jog over to 22nd north across E Madison to Capitol Hill. Through a mix of signage, pavement markings, speed bumps, roundabouts and other traffic-calming features, the route will complement a $46 million overhaul of 23rd Ave. When complete, the 23rd Avenue greenway is likely to be the longest greenway in the city.
Seattle Bike Blog says the first phase of work is slated to be wrapped up later this winter. SBB also provides insights on some of the most important bike and pedestrian work still to come to make the greenway a reality.
If the plan doesn’t get mucked up for the northern end of the route, the area should connect nicely to Montlake’s bicycle and pedestrian resources included in the Seattle-side 520 replacement project.
Updates and more here:
Phase 1 runs between E. John Street and S. Jackson Street along 21st Avenue E, 22nd Avenue E, and 25th Avenue S. Installation elements include:
- Bicycle pavement markings
- Stop signs on all streets crossing the greenway
- Flashing beacons for pedestrians and bicyclists at arterial crossings: 25th Avenue S and E Yesler Way; 25th Avenue S and E Cherry Street
- Enhanced pedestrian traffic signal at 22nd Avenue E and E Union
- Approximately one speed hump per block on the route
This work will necessitate some temporary on-street parking restrictions, pedestrian and cyclist detours, and some light construction noise. Access to businesses and residences will be maintained except when temporary restrictions are necessary. Normal work hours will be 9 AM to 4 PM. Installation is expected to be complete in late Winter 2015.
UPDATE 2/25/2015: Depending on your definition of “begins,” you might want to mark a different start date for the actual work on the project. SDOT says that the contractor’s work is *now* underway:
Central Area Neighborhood Greenway installation begins
SEATTLE –A contractor working for the Seattle Department of Transportation began work today on Phase 1 of the Central Area Neighborhood Greenway. The contractor expects to complete this phase of the project by spring, enabling Central Area residents of all ages and abilities to enjoy a calmer and safer route to walk and ride bikes. This phase of the greenway will run between East John Street and South Jackson Street on residential streets parallel to 23rd Avenue, including stretches of 25th Avenue, 22nd Avenue, and 21st Avenue East.
Much of the work to be done involves the repair or upgrade of curb ramps and sidewalks where the neighborhood greenway crosses arterial streets. Crews will work south to north, one intersection at a time, at the following locations:
- 25th Avenue and East Yesler Way
- 25th Avenue and East Cherry Street
- 25th Avenue and East Columbia Street
- 22nd Avenue and East Madison Street
- 21st Avenue East and East John Street
One of four crosswalks at each intersection will be closed during ramp construction. Typical working hours will be 7 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday.
Other elements of Phase 1 greenway implementation include bicycle pavement markings on the route, stop signs on streets crossing the greenway, and approximately one speed hump per block. Flashing beacons for pedestrians and bicycles will be installed at 25th Avenue and East and Yesler Way and also at 25th Avenue and East Cherry Street. An enhanced pedestrian traffic signal will be located at 22nd Avenue and East Union Street.
SDOT expects all phases of the Central Area Neighborhood Greenway project will be completed by the end of the year, extending the route from East Roanoke Street to Rainier Avenue South on residential streets parallel to 23rdAvenue.
Neighborhood greenways are residential streets made safer and calmer for people of all ages and abilities to walk and ride bikes. Greenways can provide access to schools, trails, parks, transit, and neighborhood businesses. For more information on the Central Area Neighborhood Greenway, please see the project web page. Also, see a map of Seattle’s completed and planned neighborhood greenways.
Has anyone seen any work crews yet? I have been riding the route wanting to take pictures of the greenway installation but haven’t yet found any sign of this starting.
There are some activities underway on 23rd Ave. I can double check to see if we should count them as greenway work/pre-work or to find out if there’s a delay.
Looks like an invasion route for white gentrifiers. Oh wait, it is.
I think you’re confusing greenways with highways. Greenways are investments for the little guys, the locals, the neighbors, the people walking to destinations around their homes to places of play & learning & worship. If anything, they’re making residents safer from the white gentrifiers that are showing up with their cars. If there are any white gentrifier invasion routes, it’s the roads that lead into all the new residential parking garages…
I think you’re confusing greenways with social programs intended to support those “little guys.”
While greenways are lovely and are certainly for locals, they do little to make the area more affordable. In fact, they probably have the opposite impact, increasing “walk scores” and such for all of those evil “others.” Increased home values, increased property taxes, etc.
It’s popular here to demonize cars and techies and all of the usual suspects, but are projects like these–which may or may not be necessary, I dunno–really the solution to making the area more affordable? They seem to target mostly young, urban, affluent people.
Good luck trying to make that crossing at 23rd & E. Columbia cyclists – it’ll be loads of fun seeing how that works with four lanes of almost non-stop traffic. Why didn’t SDOT just extend it one more block, so that cyclists would cross at the light on E. Cherry where there’s already sharrows in-place?
SeattleBikeBlog breaks it down, the crossing will be on Cherry until 23rd is repaved and a proper crossing installed on Marion.
Yeah I live at 25th and Marion, that part of 23rd desperately needs a marked ped crossing. It’s extra dangerous because drivers often hit the gas to make the light at 23rd/Cherry, and nobody yields to peds since it’s 4 lanes.
COMTE, 23rd Avenue is set to go through an extensive rebuild process, which will make it have one travel lane in each direction and a 2-way left-turn lane. SDOT is well aware of the need for a safer crossing of 23rd, but the street is going to get torn down to the dirt, pretty much, so they aren’t going to put anything in right now that would just have to get torn out and redone anyway.
From the Bike Blog piece: “One of the most important elements of the route, however, will not be ready until the 23rd Ave repaving project is finished in 2016. The greenway route will someday cross 23rd at Columbia Street, which is a future neighborhood greenway candidate itself. But until that crossing is completed as part of the high-budget repaving project, the neighborhood greenway will be routed across 23rd at Cherry, according to project planners.
“The plan currently is to detour greenway traffic onto E Cherry St across 23rd,” said SDOT Communications Advisor Maribel Cruz in an email. “The thought process behind this was that there is already an existing signalized intersection there that will provide the safest crossing possible. The interim solution will likely be in place for 15-18 months while the larger 23rd project catches up.””
Like the bike route changes on 21st, 22nd and 25th because it separates bikes and cars while giving bikers a great north south route. Dont support the 23rd ave changes because it diminishes the usefullnes of one of the last remaining north south route that actually moves traffic-sometimes. The road diet prescription will substantially lengthen vehicle trips on that roadway, despite contrary statements from those supporting the changes.
In regards to gentrification, these changes will increase property values along 23rd, as the overall environment becomes more pleasant- although less efficent for car travel. If you own one of those properties on 23rd, your home will be worth more. That is not necessarily a bad thing.
[…] Greenway: The Central Area Greenway is under construction with new markings, speed bumps, and […]
Change of plan: note that the previous/existing maps of the whole project showed the greenway staying on 21st Ave. E. north of Madison.
Neighbors pointed out the issues of a 2 way greenway on the one-way (southbound) blocks of 21st Ave E. going past Meany School and Miller Playfield. I note that the new map (above) now shows the greenway jogging over to 22nd Ave E. at Thomas and hence avoiding the southbound (and parked) school-buses on that block of 21st Ave E.
Moving the greenway to the Thomas-Republican block of 22nd Ave E. may also help with the long-standing issue of cut-through traffic on that block. (another neighborhood idea that had been suggested and previously ignored).
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