We are going to need to strengthen the design standards for ‘raised intersections’ and ‘raised crosswalks’ next year in @seattledot’s Streets Illustrated (https://t.co/MVwhu0P88B) because way too much community effort went into the Melrose Promenade for this middling outcome pic.twitter.com/SmjE6R6znn
— Gordon Padelford (@GordonOfSeattle) November 21, 2023
The $4.3 million overhaul of Melrose with improved bike lanes and better crossings for pedestrians needs a redo. The Seattle Department of Transportation is installing safety bollards along a key raised crosswalk in front of the busy Melrose Starbucks Roastery.
SDOT announced it will give in and add safety bollards plus some strategically installed bike racks to keep drivers from illegally parking, the Urbanist reports.
Safety advocates say the raised intersection wasn’t built tall enough and is stamped to look like bricks instead of being made of brick, causing confusion for drivers and challenges for pedestrians. “Drivers aren’t actually clear about where they’re supposed to go, we’ve been seeing drivers on the sidewalk,” a representative for Central Seattle Greenways told CHS earlier this. year.
SDOT says “feedback from the community and nearby businesses” led to the change.
CHS reported here on the final construction work in May to complete the Melrose Promenade project including a new protected bike lane between E Pine and Denny, reconfigured street parking on the west side of Melrose, new crosswalks on Pike and Pine, new curb ramps, and sidewalk repairs. Melrose at Pike and Pine’s decorated community crosswalks were also updated.
SDOT says the work to install the safety bollards will happen in early 2024.
HELP KEEP CHS PAYWALL-FREE
Subscribe to CHS to help us hire writers and photographers to cover the neighborhood. CHS is a pay what you can community news site with no required sign-in or paywall. To stay that way, we need you.
Become a subscriber to help us cover the neighborhood for as little as $5 a month.
Here’s hoping these bollards help. Melrose today is just barely better than it was before the latest $$$ construction project. Still totally car clogged, probably mainly with drivers getting on I5 north.
Close it to cars.
Always the answer.
For the highest density neighborhood in the state that is supposed to have superblocks yes, this is absolutely literally always the answer.
Yes, the highest density neighborhood in the State, and still not served by subway or light rail. You are building a city for able bodied thirty year old people. Enjoy the diversity!
Yeah people are so quick to close down to cars but then the transit here is bupkus compared to many other cities.
First, yeah, Seattle by and large pretty much hates itself to the point of purposeful malignant neglect, such that it wouldn’t build the transit system it needs to alleviate reliance on cars, even if it was Federally outlaid and built. A total ‘Fuck you, got mine’ podunk fishing village mentality that shits itself regularly.
Second, y’all who need a car to access a specific spot are already basically living in the ideal state of not being denied access to a specific spot via car. One side street closed to traffic and open only to peds barely even exists at status quo and yet y’all act like you’re on house arrest if 100% of all streets can’t handle 2 way traffic. It’s bananas
I keep getting almost run over by pine and Melrose by cars whipping around the corner. More wasted money by S-duh-OT