Sound Transit design refinements in Lake Forest Park for BRT lane on SR 522

NE 155th is near the Sheridan Beach Terrace apartments
and 41st NE joins SR 522 at the "B" on the map

Sound Transit has announced design changes to over ten blocks of Bothell Way through Lake Forest Park for the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) project.

From Sound Transit:

Thanks in part to early outreach that allowed us to visit potentially affected property owners, we were able to better understand access challenges. 

As we advanced to the 30% design phase, we began to analyze driveways and access to potentially affected properties in Lake Forest Park, and modified the design based on access challenges identified.

From this analysis, we learned that widening SR 522 exclusively on the east side of the road between NE 155th and 41st Avenue NE in Lake Forest Park could cause significant impacts to driveways.

In some cases, residents would not have been be able to safely access their homes, potentially requiring acquisition of multiple properties.

Based on this information, we are refining the design on about ten blocks of SR 522 / Bothell Way between NE 155th Street and half a block south of 41st Avenue NE in Lake Forest Park.

These refinements include shifting some roadway widening to the west side of SR 522 to reduce property impacts and ensure more residents can maintain access to their homes.

While a portion of the road may now be widened to the west in this section, the added Business Access and Transit (BAT) lane would still be northbound, or on the east side of the roadway.

The sidewalk would also be on the east side of the roadway, where there are more properties with direct access for use of the sidewalk.

The west-shift design refinement would mean that construction would be required on both sides of the street.

West-side property owners would see some purchase of property along their backyards, with new retaining walls close to the roadway. 

Our design process is dynamic, and we continue to make updates as we receive more public feedback and design information. These design refinements are not finalized until the Sound Transit Board votes on the project to be built later this year.

We are working to share this information with property owners as soon as possible. We are still determining the impacts at the individual property level and expect to reach out to property owners on the west side via mail with more details in July.

Learn more about this west-side refinement HERE