@nicksattele: “Hearing from sources that the union st busway will soon be reorganized into the union st carway. Now it will be much easier to drive to central Capitol Hill!”
With reporting by Matt Dowell
A year after its opening, a component of the RapidRide G overhaul of the Madison corridor across downtown, First Hill, and Capitol Hill is being unwound, the Seattle Department of Transportation says.
Work is scheduled for this weekend to fully de-construct one stretch’s bike and bus-friendly features.
SDOT says the changes represent the benefits of its efforts to stay in communication with the neighborhood. Transit advocates are planning to protest.
“Over the last few months, communications were restarted primarily at the request of Dunn & Hobbes, the owner of the Chophouse property, Hunters Capital, and Madrona Real Estate along with business representatives on 12th Avenue north of Madison Street,” said SDOT.
The work will undo changes made to Union near the busy 12th Ave and Madison intersection made to ease the flow of bus, bike, pedestrian, and car traffic as the corridor was overhauled for the RapidRide G “bus rapid transit” project that opened a year ago.
“While development in the area is meant to maximize the appeal of dense urban living, coming off the impacts of COVID and challenges of major street and sidewalk construction, representatives had specific concerns about customers who drive from the Eastside or neighborhoods like Madison Park and Madrona,” SDOT said in a statement. “They are having a hard time getting to their destinations or are confused by the new traffic pattern.”
After a year of “monitoring street operations, talking with local businesses, and coordinating with Metro,” SDOT says it has now agreed to make adjustments near 12th and Union, highlighted by the reinstatement of right turns from westbound Madison to Union.
A city rep told CHS that he’s seen an SDOT crew with a jackhammer on the scene already.
A diagram of the RapidRide changes to Union made prior to last year’s opening
“Work to make these changes is scheduled to continue on Saturday, October 4, at 8 AM,” the city says. “Neighbors should expect several hours of noisy construction during hydroblasting — a process that uses high-pressure water to remove old pavement markings before new striping is applied. The first day of work was last weekend.”
Organizers at the Transit Riders Union are planning a protest for Saturday morning.
The work to undo the small portion of the RapidRide G transformation comes just over a year since service on the $144 million line debuted with ambitious public transit goals — and a few hiccups. Last spring, King County Metro said it was implementing “Advanced Service Management” to streamline performance for the route.
A year later, the county says ridership is strong. Meanwhile, SDOT is hoping unwinding some of the changes made in this area of the route will help keep the peace with the neighborhood..
The full list of changes coming to 12th and Union:
- Street circulation: Converting a half block of the Route 2 bus-only lane to general-purpose traffic, allowing right turns from westbound Madison St to Union St into the business district. The eastern half of this block will remain one-way westbound for buses and cars. Mid-block, traffic will be able to circulate in both directions to provide access to parking garages, but no eastbound vehicle traffic will enter from the 12th Ave intersection. This is consistent with how the street operated pre-construction.
- Transit and pedestrian improvements: Adding a pedestrian signal on the west side of 12th Ave at Union St now that the right turn will be allowed for general purpose traffic. Also supports reopening the Route 2 bus stop at this location.
- Bicycle access: Redirecting people biking eastbound to the north side of Union St sooner, to shift the crossing from midblock to the all-way stop controlled intersection at 11th Ave and Union St.
UPDATE 10/2/2025: In a Thursday update posted after CHS asked about how the issues around Metro’s bus route along Union off of the RapidRide G line impacted the decision to remove some of the block’s features, SDOT has tried to clarify the situation — and it says the decision to remove the red bus lane has been reversed.
“This project affects about ¼ of a block on E Union St west of 12th Ave. Since construction of the G-Line concluded in 2024, this 50-foot portion of street has not been used for its intended purpose of serving Metro Route 2,” SDOT says in the update. “We’ve been moving forward with plans to support the return of Metro Route 2 and at the same time, explore additional options to address concerns raised by several local businesses.”
The update does not explain why the area “has not been used for its intended purpose of serving Metro Route 2” but we’ve asked SDOT for more information.
But the city does confirm Metro’s plans for Rt 2’s resumed service in the area.
“With the addition of a pedestrian signal at the crosswalk, Metro plans to shift westbound Route 2 to East Union Street and this more direct, reliable pathway. Westbound Route 2 is the only bus route that operates on this section of roadway, with one bus stop and service about every 15 minutes,” the update reads. “Once SDOT’s work is completed, including road paint and pedestrian signal work, Metro’s team will take steps to prepare to transition the westbound route to travel from Madison to Union as soon as possible this fall. A timeframe for that transition is in development.”
You can read the full update here.
UPDATE x2: Metro has arrived to help make sense of the situation:
The bus lane on East Union Street just west of East Madison Street is the correct width, however a crosswalk that westbound Route 2 buses would drive through four times an hour at peak is unsignalized and created ambiguity over who has the right-of-way, presenting a safety concern for bus operations. Out of an abundance of caution, Metro has been operating Route 2 on an alternate westbound path to avoid this stretch of roadway even after RapidRide G Line construction was completed.
“Once SDOT’s work is completed, including roadway paint and pedestrian signal work, Metro’s team will take steps to prepare to transition the westbound route to travel from Madison to Union as soon as possible this fall. A timeframe for that transition is in development,” Metro’s update sent to CHS reads.
Make sense?
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Does anyone know what time the protest is? I have never been so pissed off about such a (relatively) small infrastructure change before as I am about this.
7:00 am on Saturday 10/4
As a cargo bike user who bikes through Union, I like the removal of the bike lane curbs here. The tight chicane of curbs was hard to navigate a cargo bike through without hitting the concrete. The straight lanes will work better. Now if they could just install bike sensors to trigger the light cycle.
Handicapping Eastsiders because they never learned how to drive in a city is misguided. Navigating traffic and parallel parking are required skills for driving. We shouldn’t be pandering to people that only know how to angle park in a lot.
I, for one, am happy to see this. It wasn’t just confusing and difficult for Eastsiders, but anybody in a car. It isn’t pandering to anybody, just as building them in the first place wasn’t pandering to cyclists who can’t look both ways. Safety is safety, and a confused driver is unsafe to everyone. We should be trying to streamline our already (uniquely) difficult streets for everyone’s benefit.
I will also say that it is intensely frustrating to see taxes spent on building and then again on removal of this failed effort. I think we should be less reactionary with our infrastructure, and more intentional and thoughtful when we make changes like this, so we don’t waste so much of our money on bloated contractor pay.
Kinda riding on my coattails aren’t ya?
Agree 100% as I also ride cargo bikes with trailers through there. I stopped today to ask if they were going to install a beg button, but apparently that is not on their work order. Yuck. He pointed to the sign that says to use the ped signal which is fine, but how do I get the ped signal to *change*??
This makes me so sad.
Residents in this neighborhood spent a lot of time with sdot during the planning for the rapidride project, but people who live and own places on this block were completely kept in the dark about the ‘process’ for this revision.
the city has made it clear that they don’t believe residents in this neighborhood matter (or are even aware that they live here). during the ‘safety’ forum last October after the shooting on 11th ave, Tim Burgess openly and sarcastically scoffed at the one question put forth by neighborhood residents at the meeting. couldn’t have imagined anything more disrespectful.
there is room for improvement; the circulation plan for this area is indeed terrible, and it feels as though the rapidride project looked at Madison in isolation without considering the broader context.
Ultimately: the whole plan for the neighborhood has been an incoherent political football for over a decade.
should she want it, this is an world-class opportunity for joy Hollingsworth to show some real civic leadership.
SDOT talked to business owners, but didn’t talk to residents. Very disappointed in Liz Dunn here. This is the one block in the whole commercial part of the neighborhood where I don’t feel like I’m going to be run over at any second. And we’re going back to a six-way intersection? Who is that good for? SDOT really is the WORST of City government.
It’s not a six way. There’s no traffic entering at union in either direction. Both ways of union will still be “out” only after this revision – the traffic flows just like it is now with added “drain” effect at this location.
What’s missing here is the discussion about how the bus lane along this part of Union was unusable for the past year since the 2 bus couldn’t fit into the narrow curb cut. The 2 bus has been detouring down Pike for the past few years instead and this might actually improve the transit experience by allowing the 2 not to detour.
“Hundred million dollar bus project rejected by bus agency”
The headline writes itself.
Is that true, though? I’ve watched the #2 bus go through that new stop occasionally and to my eye, successfully.
And if so, isn’t the answer to… widen it a bit?
On top of it, I think there’s a big risk that buses stopped at that stop back up car traffic into the intersection, as they can’t see it before turning, which will really degrade pedestrian and bike safety there.
Exactly – just widen the bus lane a bit so buses can actually use it. Keep it for transit and bikes only. Reintroducing cars there will just make it more dangerous for people walking. Is Vision Zero still a city policy or not?
Probably not. Because agreed, widening it ever so slightly should NOT be that hard…didn’t they do it on Pike like a month ago…?
People protesting a waste of money construction project ( but the stabbings and shootings on the rise nobody gets as angry and protests that. )
This is a baseless comparison. You can scroll for a few seconds on this blog and read plenty of angry responses regarding crime. People can object to more than one thing. And there are many community actions to try to improve the situation.
Also, if there is an association to be made, consider how savings on transportation projects would be better utilized in crime prevention, though I understand SDOT budget is distinct, it’s still part of the overall state budget.
And, making an intersection safe and efficient for pedestrians, drivers, public transit and bicyclists (and many people utilize all four means of transportation), would ideally minimize accidents. As for off the original plan for this intersection is better or worse than the new one, that is certainly up for debate and people have a right to protest.
Uhh. I mean, this is a project paid for with taxpayer money that directly impacts many residents every day. What on earth makes you think it has anything to do with crime? We can’t protest criminals, unless you mean the SPD…
The bike lanes already do some fascinatingly convoluted loops around this intersection. (Going from westbound Union to southbound 12th is an <i>adventure</i>.) Reworking things to further prioritize cars is… unfortunate.
And I’m laughing that adding another place where pedestrians must wait for a signal is being touted as a “pedestrian improvement.”
As someone who lives closeby and walks this intersection more often than I’d like, I certainly don’t feel like the city is trying to make <i>my</i> life easier with these changes. This intersection is already unpleasant on foot, and I consider businesses on my side of it to be more appealing than blocks-closer ones on the far side of it. (I suppose I instinctively measure distance on foot by what sort of streets I’ll have to cross on the way, rather than literal distance.)
I’m afraid business owners, who likely drive in to the neighborhood themselves, have difficulty picturing a local customer base, and so overemphasize the need for car traffic to their business. Or they want customers from Madison Park more than they want me. Either way, the city listens.
Why would the businesses want customers from Madison Park more than they want you? Surely, they should be trying to appeal to locals?
I mean yes, I agree! I’m guessing it’s actually just easier for them to picture what might make it easier or harder for a customer driving in from Madison Park to patronize their business, than it is for them to picture the same for someone on foot. (But of course I’m only guessing, because the things they ask the city for seem wrong to me and I can’t read their minds!)
Madison Park residents aren’t locals?
By “locals”, I was referring specifically to Capitol Hill neighborhood residents who are within walking distance of these businesses. I should have worded that better. I mean no disrespect to the fine people who live in Madison Park. They should be able to patrionize Capitol Hill businesses too.
Never seen a bus use the stop / lane on union street between 11th and 12th – always wondered what the point of that change was!? Every #2 I’ve caught always continued alone 12th and then turned left onto Madison. Can anyone confirm if it was built and just never used?
.
Pre construction the 2 bus absolutely went from westbound Madison to westbound union at this stop. I think something was wrong with how it was built so it hasn’t been usable by the bus in the last year+. They COULD just fix it for buses to get through but instead are opening it to cars. Sigh.
The 2 went on this block the last time I rode it, and it was so much better than the detour. Maybe it’s a driver knowledge situation.
When will Metro and SDOT restore the ETB overhead? When will SDOT adjust the traffic signals so that the inbound north to west Route 2 coaches have lane space on East Madison Street to turn into? Did SDOT understand the needs of Route 2 when designing the G line?
Why did they never open the bus lane to route 2 when the Rapid Ride G opened? Seems like they should see how the intersection functions as designed before removing a bus lane that has not been opened.
This is ridiculous!! Stop prioritizing CARS
Because we have a world class public transit system don’t we lolololol
We actually do. So yeah.
We almost do. And if we ever want to get there, we need to consistently handle situations like this (where either cars or transit must be favored) in the way that prioritizes transit.
Why is the Transit Riders Union protesting this?This is a convoluted intersection that does no service to anyone but the few bike riders who manage to navigate it.
It needs to be redone as it is confusing even for pedestrians.
This protest makes me think twice about electing their founder for Mayor. Not all change is bad, just like not all change is good.
It’s going to get worse for pedestrians by requiring everyone walking east-west along 12th to wait at a new light to cross this lane!
I bike through here every day and there are always several other people doing the same. The intersection is WAY CALMER than it was before this project.
It’s MUCH better for pedestrians. I use this intersection daily, and right now if you’re walking south on 12th, you can cross Union to wait for a walk signal to cross Madison, which makes it much quicker and safer a crossing.
The weird bump-out on the east side of the street is way more problematic for cars IMO, I don’t understand why they’re leaving that, it makes driving north on 12th feel a little scary since it can feel like it kind of pops up out of nowhere. But honestly, the most inconvenient part of this intersection is not being able to turn right onto 12th from Madison, or left onto Madison from 12th, anymore, and I’d much more readily want to see that “fixed” than this.
This intersection is painted and curbed as if it does a lot for bikes, but as others have mentioned, it’s convoluted and unsafe to cross by bike (except going southbound on 12th is relatively straightforward).
The proposed changes are incredibly reactive, and will still be horrible to drive through after all that construction is done and paid for. And much much worse to walk and bike through than ever.
Their founder is Katie Wilson?
“specific concerns about customers who drive from the Eastside or neighborhoods like Madison Park and Madrona”!?! Wtf. I live in Madrona, and never drive to CH because it’s so much easier just to take the #2 bus. The G serves Madison Valley, and the 11 goes to Madison Park. There’s no reason to make car improvements for areas with solid transit. If I’m in a hurry I’ll take a Lime or a Lyft, driving and parking is the worst option and this intersection has nothing to do with that. Prioritizing cars from outside the neighborhood over bikes, pedestrians, and transit is just asinine.
I can’t believe that quote about madrona was really said out loud.
God damn we can’t have anything nice can we
Wish they would just get rid of all the bus only lanes. Mid day the G line is shuttling one or two people usually. It’s a waste of space and just making driving near impossible on Madison.
Someone has never ridden the G. There are always people riding it when I am, even at midday.
I’ve seen car lanes empty at certain points in the day. We should get rid of those by your logic.
Oh…you too?…lol…I wasted 2 minutes saying the same.
pfffft…okay…Say you don’t know. Just say that. I LIVE on that route…lololololol
Well pfffft, I live on that route too. I am a block from the exact spot being discussed. A lot of people ride the G all the time, all day everyday. If driving is impossible on Madison, drivers can simply pick a different east/west arterial to use.
I think the removal of the bike lanes is a bad idea. We need more options for public transport and biking in the city, not less!
I agree. If the goal is to get more people to not use personal cars for their transportation needs, then we need to make it so that people feel they can make the switch without compromising too much, especially their safety. If they have to put their safety at risk to make the switch, they won’t do it. Its that simple.
Especially with E bikes and scoots. You really don’t need a car.
Why would Transit Riders Union be protesting? Why have they not protested the awkward reroute of the 2 bus? This route and its trolley wires were suppose to be restored as a part of the Rapid Ride G line. How was the current situation bus friendly? Why were we not getting clear answers on why the 2 was not on its route? I thought the Transit Riders Union is suppose to be on the side of the transit riders. Where are they for the bus 2 riders? It was frustrating to see the bus only lane marked for the westbound 2 not being used. It was frustrating to continue to put up with diesel bus that should be a quiet clean trolley on this very awkward reroute. Transit is suppose to be the priority.
This is just to reiterate that transit is the priority. I would have to hear more discussion regarding allowing vehicles using the currently unused bus only lane to say a definite opinion. In a way it makes sense, especially if the number of westbound automobiles accessing just that section of Union may not be that great.
lol the whole point of chophouse row is its pedestrian access… I think Liz does not realize that ppl that can access her empire aren’t spending as much money so, I guess let’s just fuck over our long planned infrastructure so Deborah from Madison whatever can get overpriced wine (I don’t even know what’s there anymore,,, can’t afford it). Just cause you can send a stern letter to the city to get your way when u own hella property doesn’t mean you have to…just let it go man… literally better things to do with your time
Guys – you have to admit, if you’ve driven there, these specific design changes were poorly planned and implemented. It doesn’t mean all transit improvements are going away – but this setup was inconvenient for just about everyone. I ride transit every day, and I also drive (because guess what – transit doesn’t go everywhere!) and I’m excited for these updates. We should always aim to improve things, even if having done a bad job in the first place is politically inconvenient for your side.
Now, if we could please bring back right turn on red. That was also unnecessary overreach and undoing that change would go a long way towards ensuring that everyone – including drivers and pedestrians – can get where they’re going without undue interference.
as someone who lives, walks, bikes and drives from half a block away, I can’t disagree more strongly.
before the change, there were frequent serious accidents at that intersection. since the change, there haven’t been nearly as many.
before the change, crossing the street was fraught with peril from right-turn-on-red drivers looking the other way and from drivers making unprotected left turns at high speed with the oblique angles.
before the change, there was no good way to get across the intersection on a bike. now there is.
before the change, cars would come downhill Madison at high speed and turn slightly onto union at 35+, then barely stop for the stop signs at 11th.
I agree with one thing – sdot should be empowered to make changes in response to reality on the ground. but for them to take input from only one constituency, after a long participatory design process, is broken.
Right turn on red is very dangerous for anyone outside of a car :/ Come to think of it, even for people in cars.
It’s much safer to not allow for it at any intersection. It should be a city-wide rule, imo. All it does is barely speed up travel times for drivers at the serious expense of safety. It’s not a worthwhile tradeoff.
No right on red is a city-wide rule now. And while I understand what it’s supposed to achieve, in my observation it’s actually introducing more risk than it’s eliminating. Drivers are being forced to wait to turn at intersections that may have no active cross traffic. Pedestrians crossing a street with no oncoming “threat” instinctively slow their travel times and are often mid-crosswalk when the parallel traffic turns green (not to mention the face in phone and general lack of awareness). Impatient drivers, having been forced to wait for “nothing”, rip around the corner the moment they get a green light, nearly colliding with crossing pedestrians. It’s one of those great on paper ideas that doesn’t account for how people actually behave. Will be interesting to see the stats from this change to see if there’s actually any improvement.
^^^ you’re saying pedestrians need a ‘threat’ to force them to scurry across the crosswalk? nice, not toxic at all.
Eesh, calm down, Resident. That’s not what I’m suggesting at all. I’m stating what I’ve observed watching people cross streets for nearly 50 years of my life. When people are crossing the street and there’s traffic waiting, they rush more to get across than they do if there isn’t. Do you break into a trot to get across before the “Don’t Walk” illuminates if there’s no traffic waiting? I don’t, because there’s no risk of being struck.
no right on red takes into account the fact that when drivers can turn on red they look left more than they look right because they’re worried about being hit by other cars. this is how people actually behave. this means they are more likely to hit pedestrians coming from the right. if drivers can’t turn right on red then they only look to the right for pedestrians which is much safer. leading crossing signal times are meant to allow pedestrians to start crossing before cars start moving which is respectful of people who are getting around in a healthier, greener way than cars and also helps them be safe by giving them priority and visibility. if people driving in a city are expecting to go fast, that’s on them.
Good stuff, thanks. That makes sense, hopefully the stats on the new NROR reflect an improvement in safety.
Sad commentary on the state of things when my observation of driver frustration with this change was immediately viewed as an attack on pedestrians.
Bruce Harell’s backroom dealings with business owners such as these and Martin Selig that have guaranteed my vote and my family members votes for Katie Wilson. FU Bruce 🖕
It’s amazing how hard people find it to just….find another route to drive, when literally 99%+ of lane miles in this city prioritize driving over other modes. And in the age of ubiquitous GPS, no less. Less amazing is the kowtowing of successive mayoral administrations to their rich friends.
UPDATE (courtesy of Jason Li): SDOT backpedals on changes.
https://sdotblog.seattle.gov/2025/10/02/capitol-hill-updates-to-support-route-2s-return-to-e-union-st/
So glad they’re backing off on this, and that they’re also bringing back the 2 stop on that corner! The reroute down Pike has been annoying me for YEARS. Wonderful news!
Did the city actually change their plan in the last 24 hours? That seems very unlike the city… I would be VERY surprised to hear that SDOT called all the stakeholders together and said “we need to be responsive to these comments on CHS blog!” and re-worked their intended changes so quickly.
I am sure the city is just clarifying their original plans. From what I can tell there is something in the plan for transit enthusiasts to complain about:
And there is something in the plan for transit enthusiasts to cheer about:
So it sounds like a pretty standard compromise to me. An efficiency improvement to the 2 route, and allowing general traffic access to west bound Union from 12th to 11th. Not exactly a tale of backroom deals and greasy palms.
Councilmember Alexis Mercedes Rinck would strongly disagree with you :)