Last summer, Mayor Bruce Harrell’s office abruptly cancelled phase 3 of the Lake Washington Boulevard safety project, which included additional speed humps to calm traffic along the park boulevard as well as redesigns of several intersections to improve crosswalk safety for people accessing the lakefront. They even tried to hide the cuts, though that gambit did not work because safety advocates and Seattle Bike Blog were paying attention. Not long after, a hit-and-run driver struck someone biking home from a camping trip on a section where safety improvements had been canceled. Frustrations boiled over and led Seattle Bike Blog to help host our first (and so far only) political rally, a group bike ride during Bicycle Weekends in support of Katie Wilson for mayor.
At the rally, Wilson spoke about the need to prioritize safety. Under her leadership, Seattle Parks has already expanded the schedule for Bicycle Weekends to every weekend between Memorial and Labor Days. Now Parks has restored the cancelled phase 3 work while also planning some adjustments to the project following an evaluation of the work from phases 1 and 2.
Speed studies show that the 85th percentile speeds dropped from 35 mph to 30 mph on sections where speed cushions were added. The speed limit is 25. 85th percentile speeds on sections within the delayed phase 3 area remained around 10 mph above the speed limit. Note that 15% of drivers were traveling even faster, and they are the ones who really make bicycling on this street so stressful (they have even measured people driving as fast as 73 mph, which may help explain why people keep driving into the lake). Ideally the 85th percentile speed should be close the intended speed limit, so even 30 is still too fast but better than 35.
Perhaps more important than the speed cushions, phase 3 will include a significant intersection and crosswalk redesign at S Orcas Street. Though it is not listed on the work plan, concepts from 2024 also showed new stop signs at Lake Park Drive S, which would be a big help for safety there (I recently co-led a MOHAI history bike ride with Merlin Rainwater, and the turns at Lake Park Drive and Colman Road were by far the most stressful parts of the entire ride because people drive fast and are not expecting to slow down even though these have been bike routes for a century or more).
Parks is also planning a series of permanent swing gates that will close during future Bicycle Weekends events to block off sections of the road that have no parking or driveway access. They are similar to the kinda of gates that block off mountain roads while still allowing authorized vehicles for maintenance and emergency access. They will leave a five-foot paved gap for people walking, biking and rolling to get through. It’s sad that we need this gate, but people keep going around the barriers and driving through the crowds of people, including children, who are out there enjoying their lakefront with the expectation that there will be no cars to worry about. So folks who don’t like gates shouldn’t blame the bicyclists, they should blame the people who choose to drive on a car-free street.
This is some of the first permanent pieces of infrastructure to support Bicycle Weekends, an event that has been happening on this street since 1968. Bicycle Weekends is part of the city’s historical heritage, and it’s about half as old as the street itself. Parks says they don’t plan to use the swing gates until 2027, but construction should be underway soon.
The work included in the safety project is already a huge compromise, generated through a problematic public process that too far too long to arrive at this set of speed cushions and intersections fixes. I am still hoping to someday revive the popular idea of creating a permanently-protected biking space on the roadway, an idea that was popular during public outreach but died during a frustrating task force process thanks to the work of the Coexist Lake Washington group that has been organizing against any and all safety improvements to the street as well as against any expansion of Bicycle Weekends. They largely got their way in all this, they just tried moving the goal post (cancelling phase 3 of the compromise plan) and it backfired badly.
Below is the work list for phase 3, from the project webpage:
Phase 3 Project Elements – Anticipated Construction in 2026:
- Lake WA Boulevard Pathway (Mount Baker Beach to Genesee Park)
- Priority improvements along the pathway will be completed in 2026 in areas with the greatest need, and the greatest benefit to the most users with the available funding.
- 43rd Ave S from S Genessee St to Lake Washington Boulevard
- Paved asphalt walkway.
- Advanced stage design is complete and SDOT is currently seeking permits through the Seattle Department of Construction & Inspections (SCDI).
- From the intersection of Lake Washington Blvd S and S Adams St to Lake Washington Boulevard Trail
- Paved walkway connection from the southeast corner of the intersection to the trail.
- Speed Cushions (new speed cushions will be placed on Lake Washington Blvd in accordance with SDOT standards for design and spacing)
- Lake Park Dr S (speed cushions on both approaches to the intersection)
- Fishing Pier between Lake Park Dr S and S Horton St (speed cushions on both approaches to the pier)
- S Horton St (during design SDOT will determine the appropriate location for two speed cushion locations)
- 51st Ave S (during design SDOT will determine if there will be one or two speed cushions at this location based on assessment of existing speed cushions and other standards for design and spacing of speed cushions)
- Curve between 53th Ave S and S Alaska St (speed cushions on both approaches to the curve)
- S Dawson St (speed cushions on both approaches to the intersection)
- Lake Washington Blvd S and S Orcas St Traffic Calming
- Curb bulbs will be constructed with paint and flex posts to simplify transportation operations within the intersection.
- Bicycle Weekend Swing Gates
- Design and installation of swing gates at three locations along Lake Washington Blvd in 2026:
- S of Mount Baker Beach Parking lot.
- Lakewood Ave S and S Horton St.
- N of 43rd Ave S and Lake Washington Bvld