The First Hill Streetcar planners briefed the City Council Friday on updates to the project plans, including a couple details about the proposed cycle track. Aside from the pretty image above, there were a couple details of interest.
First, Rail Transit Manager for SDOT Ethan Melone said that the cycle track actually pays for itself, since there are utilities under the proposed track that would have to be moved otherwise. He called that a “win-win.” As for project details, separation methods SDOT is looking at includes curbs, planter boxes and paint (and combinations of these methods). SDOT has spent time studying bike signals and signage to the extent that they think the cycle track will be an “appealing and safe” facility.
He also pointed out that Broadway is a good place to innovate something like this because it’s not actually a bike commuter corridor. Instead, it’s a popular street that bikers may currently be avoiding due to lack of accommodation.
During the discussion, Councilmember Sally Clark made a joke that, if the cycle track is successful on Broadway, one could easily be put in down Rainier very soon after. Sounds good to me!
Wanna watch the briefing? The cycle track stuff starts around 86:00.
Also, Capitol Hill Seattle posted the presentation slideshow:
Comments
3 responses to “First Hill Streetcar Update: Cycle track would pay for itself”
this looks great; however, i would disagree with the assertion that broadway isn’t a “commuter corridor” (whatever that term means). i think a more apt description would be that broadway is a popular route for people on bikes in spite of its lack of accommodation.
[…] During the presentation, the department also announced its intent to move the Capitol Hill station terminus just south of Denny, to preserve the ability for Denny between Broadway and 10th to serve as a permanent location for a farmer’s market. And it looks more and more like SDOT is leaning toward a Broadway cycle track. SDOT says that bike path would pay for itself, reports Seattle Bike Blog. […]
[…] projects, utility work, etc) in which the costs would be shared. The Broadway Bikeway, for example, largely paid for itself because it was built on top of a bunch of utilities that the First Hill Streetcar project would […]