Central Area Neighborhood Greenway - 2 Way Update

(received October 12th: apologies for delay in posting. AFT)
Dear Neighbors,

Many of you have written in and I want to begin by thanking you for your organized efforts. We appreciate your feedback regarding the traffic changes planned for 21st Ave E between E Aloha St and E Roy St as well as on 21st Ave E between E Republican St and E John St.

I apologize for the delay in responding, however, after having received so many emails I wanted to ensure that those internal to SDOT were aware of your concerns and that we were able to respond accordingly. That being said, I’d like to start out by clarifying a few key points that may help to ease some of the concerns we’ve heard.

21st Ave E between E Aloha and E Roy Streets

The change on 21st Ave E between E Aloha and E Roy streets is intended to allow for two-way bike traffic on the Central Area Neighborhood Greenway. It will not remove parking and is also not intended to change the current operational movement of vehicles. In order to achieve this we plan to keep the “Do Not Enter” signs currently in place at E Roy St to prevent northbound vehicles from entering, and we will remove the “One Way” sign at E Aloha, so southbound drivers are aware that bicyclists may be coming northbound. Because there are no driveways along this stretch of 21st Avenue E, our expectation is that there should be no northbound vehicle traffic movement.

We have heard your concerns regarding coordination with Holy Names and have had conversations with the school as recently as September. We have done our best to keep them informed and involved in both the route selection and design of the Central Area Neighborhood Greenway. When we met last month and discussed the changes described above, Holy Names administrators and faculty understand that for drivers, the street will continue to operate as it does today.

21st Ave E between E John and E Republican Streets

The traffic change on 21st Ave E between E John St and E Republican St will again not remove any on street parking. The “Do Not Enter” sign and curb bulb at E John Street will remain in place to prevent northbound traffic from entering. In addition and after hearing your concerns, our traffic management team has decided instead of removing the existing “Do Not Enter” sign at E Thomas St, that we will leave the signage and add “except bicycles” to be placed underneath the “Do Not Enter” sign. This will keep vehicular traffic traveling southbound only, as it does today.  In sum, 21st Ave E between E John and E Republican streets will be one-way southbound for vehicles and two-way for bicycles.

We are working with the new Meany Middle School, which shares the greenway goal of reducing vehicle traffic and promoting walking and biking, to incorporate the Greenway design into their traffic operations plan. We are also working with Seattle World School, who currently occupy the Meany site, to relay information about the changes for bikes to faculty, students and staff. 

Thank you again for being in touch. Your feedback helps us make Seattle’s greenways work for everyone. If I’ve missed anyone on this email that you know would be interested in knowing about this project or the topic at hand, your help forwarding this on would be greatly appreciated. Otherwise, please let me know if you have any further questions or concerns.

Sincerely,

Maribel Cruz

Maribel Cruz

Sr. Communications Advisor

City of Seattle Department of Transportation

O: 206.684.7963 | F: 206.615.1237 | maribel.cruz@seattle.gov