On the Mayor’s Mind: 145th Corridor Project
Sunday, May 22, 2016
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| Chris Roberts Mayor of Shoreline |
On the Mayor’s Mind
By Shoreline Mayor Chris Roberts
This past week I had the opportunity to meet with members of Washington’s federal delegation about support for the 145th Corridor Project. Improving the safety and reliability of 145th has been a priority of the council since I took office and I am excited to see this project near fruition.
As it currently exists, 145th has the highest rates of collisions in all of Shoreline. The road is not safe for pedestrians and congestion on the roadway makes it unreliable for transit. The opening of the light rail station in 2023 will only exacerbate those problems.
Over the past couple of years a coalition of cities, organizations, and community activists made improving 145th a regional priority. Sound Transit lists the road a high capacity transit corridor and Metro Transit is committed to improving service on the street. Improvements to the corridor will improve walkability, east-west access across Interstate 5, and also benefit commuters from as far away as Monroe and Woodinville.
The process of creating a preferred alternative for the corridor involved the input of hundreds of Shoreline residents and community members from across the region. Over the past few months, numerous Seattle residents approached me to thank the City for taking the lead in improving safety of a roadway that Shoreline does not own or manage that has been long neglected.
Last month the council adopted a preferred concept for the corridor that addresses the problems of 145th. Our preferred concept will provide better sidewalks separated from traffic, queue jumps and bus lanes to improve transit reliability, and intersection improvements to improve the safety of all users.
What is even more exciting for the City is that the State Route 522 and 523 improvements are in the current draft plan for the Sound Transit 3 package. If approved by voters in November, Sound Transit 3 will fund the preferred improvements to the roadway from Lake City Way to Interstate 5 and provide frequent, rapid transit along the corridor to access the light rail station.
As a City and as a region, it is my hope that these pedestrian, transit, and roadway improvements to 145th will be complete before the opening of the 145th station and I am thankful for the support of leaders across the region for the project.
This past week I had the opportunity to meet with members of Washington’s federal delegation about support for the 145th Corridor Project. Improving the safety and reliability of 145th has been a priority of the council since I took office and I am excited to see this project near fruition.
As it currently exists, 145th has the highest rates of collisions in all of Shoreline. The road is not safe for pedestrians and congestion on the roadway makes it unreliable for transit. The opening of the light rail station in 2023 will only exacerbate those problems.
Over the past couple of years a coalition of cities, organizations, and community activists made improving 145th a regional priority. Sound Transit lists the road a high capacity transit corridor and Metro Transit is committed to improving service on the street. Improvements to the corridor will improve walkability, east-west access across Interstate 5, and also benefit commuters from as far away as Monroe and Woodinville.
The process of creating a preferred alternative for the corridor involved the input of hundreds of Shoreline residents and community members from across the region. Over the past few months, numerous Seattle residents approached me to thank the City for taking the lead in improving safety of a roadway that Shoreline does not own or manage that has been long neglected.
Last month the council adopted a preferred concept for the corridor that addresses the problems of 145th. Our preferred concept will provide better sidewalks separated from traffic, queue jumps and bus lanes to improve transit reliability, and intersection improvements to improve the safety of all users.
What is even more exciting for the City is that the State Route 522 and 523 improvements are in the current draft plan for the Sound Transit 3 package. If approved by voters in November, Sound Transit 3 will fund the preferred improvements to the roadway from Lake City Way to Interstate 5 and provide frequent, rapid transit along the corridor to access the light rail station.
As a City and as a region, it is my hope that these pedestrian, transit, and roadway improvements to 145th will be complete before the opening of the 145th station and I am thankful for the support of leaders across the region for the project.
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2 comments:
The idea that adding more traffic lanes to this corridor is going to reduce the number of accidents is absurd. Is Lake City Way that much safer with it's widened corridor and dedicated bus lanes? Going Northward on 523 from 145th is one of the most dangerous stretches of road in our area. It's only going to increase speeding and proportionally, there will more wrecks if not more.
What happens if ST3 doesn't pass? Where will the funding come for this project? An even bigger tax-hike paid for by the people of Shoreline? Who's going to pay for all of the property acquisition when home prices are at an all time high? Just because Kenmore, Bothell and cities beyond have been densifying and sprawling without new or more frequent means of transit and minimal park n ride capacity, this is now Shoreline's responsibility to 'get of the way' for people who refuse to commute by means other than car?
Sound Transit is supposed to be negotiating impact fees with Shoreline for the Lynnwood Link, and now they are including it in ST3? Something doesn't smell right at Shoreline City Hall and Sound Transit.
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