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Removal of parking along Union for any reason, pushes parking into the residential zones and other unintended consequences. Removal of parking also affects businesses along the corridor. It was only a few years ago, when the SDOT construction along 23rd from Yesler to Madison, created hardships for our local, small and micro-businesses. This past year those same effects were realized within the businesses along 23rd from Jackson down to Ranier Ave.
No matter how you feel about bike lanes on Union, please share your concerns so the City has an accounting from all that will be affected and not just those who will benefit the most.
SDOT outreach needs to be more than just Greenways folks and the bicycle community. Small businesses and other neighborhood residents and visitors need to be consulted as well. Union is also home to a very important bus route (the 2) – how has SDOT been working with Metro to ensure that 2 riders will not have issues in this corridor? I noted recently a bus stop on 65th underneath I-5 which empties DIRECTLY INTO A BIKE LANE. I am quite concerned about SDOT’s block-by-block planning for this project.
I am not a bicyclist and made these suggestions after conferring with some who are and are also very interested in maintaining E. Union as an important arterial for autos, buses and bikes.
It would be difficult to move the route off Union unfortunately even with problems, since there are no good streets which go all the way through and/or connect existing bike facilities and most are steeper than Union.
The improvement is that the protected two-way bike lane is no longer part of the proposal. That was especially scary for the riders on the steep hills. Instead the protected lanes are on either side of the street which is safer, but I think it should be simplified to just have the protected bike lanes on the uphill portions. That way it keeps the cyclists visible when they are going fast downhill and would potentially allow the buses to continue to pull out of traffic on the downhill portions.The real drawback is the bus stops requiring traffic to stop in line and the proposal to reduce the number of stops. Do you know what stops they are proposing to consolidate? Do you think there are some that could be consolidated without causing undue hardship? (I will post some answers that I receive on this.) You will notice that the east of 22nd Avenue, the uphill areas are the only potions with the protected lane.
The main points:
1.Union is the major arterial connecting the core of the Central Area to downtown and it carries a lot of the traffic – vehicular and bus traffic, thus any blockage of the traffic with buses stopping inline will create major backups.
2.Consolidating bus stops that are on hills will greatly impact bus users who cannot easily negotiate the steep hills.
Issues of safety:
3.How will cars entering Union or turning off Union onto side streets negotiate bicyclists that are speeding downhill and don’t intend to yield? The cyclists will be hidden behind the row of parked cars so drivers will not be able to see them. In addition the cars will not be able to see oncoming traffic when they stop behind the bicycle lane and then if they pull out to see the traffic, they will likely block the bicycle lane. Also, if the driver wants to cross Union, they will not be able to see the cyclists or will have to pause partially blocking traffic on Union. All of which creates very dangerous situations for everyone. (This may be a good reason to look at side streets if any make sense, but likely experienced cyclists will continue to use Union because it is the direct shot.)
4.Having a protected lane only for the uphill portions of the travel and sharrows for the balance will be much safer, since it will keep cyclists visible to motorists when they are travelling at speeds comparable to the vehicles.
5.Another issue not easily solved is the plan to move the school bus parking off of East Union. Is there a planned location? A past plan to move it from E. Union was highly controversial with the final decision being for it to remain on E. Union.
6. The current plan calls for buses to pull into the bike lane at the bus stops. Please rethink this as it adds just another conflict of modes.
https://www.seattle.gov/…/b…/protected-bike-lanes/e-union-st
I worry that the main outreach is through Greenways, which is great on pedestrian and bike issues, but not so knowledgeable or active on transit issues or how to help ensure that it will work for at least some cars as well. Then the public drop in meeting is at 20/20 Cycle. My complaint is that their outreach is mainly to bicyclists, that is the messengers make the meeting seem to be about bikes, which is likely the reason that few residents are aware of the bicycle master plan. So far the plan seems to call for consolidation of bus stops at 14th, 16th and 27th Avenues. Also, I recently learned that the plan is for buses to pull into the bike lane at bus stops.
I worry that the main outreach is through Greenways, which is great on pedestrian and bike issues, but not so knowledgeable or active on transit issues or how to help ensure that it will work for at least some cars as well. Then the public drop in meeting is at 20/20 Cycle. My complaint is that their outreach is mainly to bicyclists, that is the messengers make the meeting seem to be about bikes, which is likely the reason that few residents are aware of the bicycle master plan. So far the plan seems to call for consolidation of bus stops at 14th, 16th and 27th Avenues. Also, I recently learned that the plan is for buses to pull into the bike lane at bus stops. Uphill is where the protected bike lane should protect cyclists not able to maintain auto speed. Vehicles having to block the bike lane in order to see around the parked vehicle to turn onto Union is very hazardous for all