Work has begun on and around the 15th Avenue Northeast bridge, and traffic has flooded some of our streets, particularly Roosevelt Way Northeast.
Project manager Kit Loo, with the Seattle Department of Transportation, is asking residents to let him know how it’s going at 206-684-3669 or kit.loo@seattle.gov. We’ve e-mailed him to see what kind of responses he’s getting.
Meanwhile, here’s what we’ve heard back from you since the bridge closed Monday morning.
Susie: “There’s actually a bit of positive in it for those east of 15th who usually have to turn left onto rush-hour traffic in the morning. Today, I didn’t have to wait at all to get onto 15th. I kinda hope the pattern continues.
Alex S.: “And turning left onto Roosevelt is now much more difficult because of the increased traffic!”
gb: “What blows my mind is why everyone seems to think they have to hop on Roosevelt. Yes, the bridge on 15th is closed, but unless you live on the north side of said bridge, 15th is still very usable… you just have to plan ahead, and not be afraid of taking a few extra turns. Tuesday morning was atrocious, but only on Roosevelt. We met a huge backup, but with a little rerouting, we jumped over to 5th, and it was smooth sailing. I’m thinking far too many people are defaulting to Roos. as their only alternative route, but hopefully they’ll figure things out in short order.”
Dan: “gb – cutting through a neighborhood street might be a great alternative for you but it sucks if that happens to be your street. By the time a driver makes that decision, their blood pressure is rising and they drive at speeds that are dangerous. Soon we will have bumper to bumper traffic on streets that were not designed for it. Great.”
Turning left on Roosevelt is almost impossible now. We live on NE 91st and had a very difficult time before with the ‘normal’ traffic and all the parked cars on the street visiting the nearby businesses but now it seems dangerous.
I agree there needs to be better signage and mitigation for the detour route. People are driving north on 15th ave ne until 15th ave ne ends at the bridge and then going west on NE 104th street at high rates of speed instead of taking the detour route. Cars are even passing each other on NE 104th Street to get to Roosevelt Way. With children living on NE 104th street and no sidewalks this is a very dangerous situation. Quit taking NE 104th street, quit speeding and follow the detour routes!
I would like to see better signage on the south side of the 15th Ave. NE bridge. There is only one sign noting the closure, and NO detour signage. Drivers turn west on NE 104th, but instead of continuing west (which would lead them directly to Roosevelt), they turn north and get “stuck” in a series of dead ends and cul-de-sacs. They get incredibly irritated and speed around trying to find a way out back to Roosevelt. There is a “Dead End” sign at the corner of NE 10th and 106th, but it is ignored.
There are a number is families in the neighborhood with small children. We do not need frustrated drivers racing around trying to find their way.
Please think about creating a formal detour from 15th Ave. NE to Roosevelt for drivers that are northbound on 15th Ave. NE
I wrote to the city recently about the difficulty of turning left onto 80th from Lake City Way, after exiting I-5 northbound. They told me that they plan on installing a left turn signal at that intersection by the end of June. It should help traffic flow, and perhaps stop people from cutting through the parking lot of Chang’s, or the dry cleaner.
Personally I think it’s too early to evaluate the impact of the bridge closure on traffic. During the first couple of weeks, everyone who cuts through Maple Leaf on errands or commutes will have to learn new routes, and that takes time.
One thing I think we’ve learned so far is that the majority of the traffic that clogs Maple Leaf’s streets is NOT local traffic (i.e. Maple Leafers) but people instead from driving through Maple Leaf trying to get from other neighborhoods to destinations like Northgate Mall, North Seattle Community College, I-5, and our various schools and daycares. To me it shows how the city and SDOT need to be much smarter about how they are routing traffic through Maple Leaf normally, because we are way more abused as a “cut-through” neighborhood than many other neighborhoods are.
With the road-ragers cutting through residential streets, it also illustrates how urgent the need is for more sidewalks in Maple Leaf–and Roosevelt will need safe pedestrian crossings.
What I forecast will happen long-term is the following:
* Traffic on 15th will be delightfully calm.
* Traffic on the much-abused 98th will probably also go down.
* Traffic on Roosevelt will be heavier, but a lot of its current overload will shift to 5th, I-5, and other routes entirely.
* Traffic on 97th through 100th will pick up for a while as people cut through to Roosevelt from 15th; however, most people will eventually learn other routes and traffic levels should calm down.
* Non-Maple Leafers who have gotten used to cutting through Maple Leaf without any thought for the people who live here will probably find several other potentially better routes, which might lower traffic volumes here long-term.