09/07/04

The Seattle Dept of Transportation ( SDOT) will be holding an Open House
on Tuesday, September 21st, regarding the upcoming Lake City Way Multi
Modal project.
The Open House notice is both pasted below and attached. Please feel
free to share this with others who may be interested in our project.

Lake City Way Multi Modal Phase 1

OPEN HOUSE
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 21ST, 5:30 - 8:30 PM

Location:
Seattle Mennonite Church
3120 NE 125th Street (half a block east of Lake City Way on the north
side of NE 125th Street; parking is available in the rear of the
building).

This is an open house format, so please feel free to drop in anytime
between 5:30 and 8:30 p.m. There will be no formal presentation,
however, staff from three agencies will be on hand to answer your
questions regarding the various project components (landscaping, traffic
access management, street and sidewalk design, drainage, street lighting
and signalization, bus technology and artwork).

Background:
This multi-modal project is led by the City of Seattle, in partnership
with the Washington State Department of Transportation and King County
Metro Transit. The project extends along Lake City Way Northeast from
I-5 to Northeast 145th Street. The project budget totals $12,304,000,
and includes funding from the Washington State Transportation
Improvement Board, WSDOT, King County Metro Transit, SDOT, Seattle
Public Utilities, and Federal TEA-21 funds.

Project Benefits:
Improve pedestrian access by improving the sidewalk system and reducing
existing drainage problems;
Improve transit operating efficiency and reliability on Lake City Way
Northeast;
Improve the flow of vehicular traffic on Lake City Way NE by updating
and optimizing the traffic signal lights;
Improve safety of vehicular traffic on Lake City Way NE by adding
access management features to reduce accidents;
Provide an element of public art; and
Improve safety at bus stops by adding lighting or moving stops closer
to street lighting.

Completed Project Elements:
WSDOT completed resurfacing from I-5 to NE 110th Street and from NE
123rd Street to NE 147th Street in 2001
King County Metro Transit completed consolidation of its bus zones in
2002

Upcoming SDOT construction schedule:

Construction will start by mid-November 2004, and be completed by
October, 2005

Project improvements will include:
A new sidewalk with a planting strip and street trees on the west side
of Lake City Way from Northgate Way to NE 123rd St.;
Drainage improvements on the west side of Lake City Way from Northgate
Way to NE 123rd St.;
Asphalt resurfacing between NE 110th St. and NE 123rd St. (WSDOT has
already resurfaced between I-5 and NE 110th St. and between NE 123rd St.
and NE 145th St.);
Access management improvements north of Northgate Way NE (medians
and/or left-turn pockets that will prevent accidents caused by vehicles
turning left across on coming traffic lanes; medians will be
landscaped);
Traffic signal interconnect;
Northbound right turn/business access/transit only (BAT) lane from NE
123rd St. to Northgate Way;
Northbound right turn/business access/transit only (BAT) lane from NE
130th St. to NE 135th St.;
Automatic bus identification technology and transit signal priority
equipment (response system for buses that will trigger additional
green-light time for them);
A transit "queue jump" signal which will allow buses to move out into
traffic from the BAT lane at NE 123rd St. / 30th Ave. NE;
Lighting improvements for bus shelters;
Bus Zone Consolidation (already done by Metro Transit);
Public Art component to be located at 30th Ave NE and NE 123rd St. (in
front of Cranium's); and
Preliminary engineering analysis for new left turns at NE 80th St. and
at 15th Ave. NE for a potential future Phase 2 project.

For more information, please contact: Ron Scharf, Project Manager,
(206) 684-5192, ron.scharf@seattle.gov or
Peg Nielsen, Communications Office, (206) 684-8114,
peg.nielsen@seattle.gov