Not long ago, a walking and biking overpass to dramatically improve access to Northgate Station was “off the table,” according to project officials. But an idea this good grabbed the hearts of project neighbors as well as transit, biking and walking advocates across the city.
Councilmember Richard Conlin led a political deal for the city to partner with Sound Transit to build the overpass and a smaller-than-originally-planned-but-still-huge parking garage (450 stalls instead of an originally planned 900).
Cascade Bicycle Club also deserves a lot of credit for their work to gather public support for the seemingly-dead overpass idea. Lesson: It ain’t over ’till it’s over. Here is their excellent map showing the no-brainer advantage of the overpass:
Only eight percent of station users are expected to arrive by car, yet plans originally included a huge, multi-million-dollar parking garage and no walking and biking bridge. Further studies also showed that a large number of current station drivers live within easy walking and biking distance, but the station lacks safe and comfortable walking and biking connections.
Originally estimated to cost about $20 million, a study of overpass options now estimates the cost to be around $16-18 million (depending on bridge style, width).
Here’s the full draft study document (h/t Publicola):
Comments
5 responses to “Northgate biking and walking bridge could cost less than expected”
I’d use this three times a week!
D
I don’t live anywhere near this area and probably will never use it other than to say “I used it once”. But it is a very good example of changing a good plan and making it better moving forward. If you have this densely of a populated neighborhood, why fill up a local parking garage with all the neighborhood cars?
Cool…now for a bridge on 47th between Wallingford and the U-District!
[…] Murray has issued another clarification about a biking and walking transportation issue: the Northgate biking and walking bridge across […]
[…] the SBAB meeting in part to gauge reaction to that idea. He also pushed back against the idea that the bridge could cost $16-18 million, as a draft study estimated. He put the price more in the $25 million […]