Crown Hill Business Association (CHBA) has put together a letter to SDOT expressing their concerns about the Holman Road Median Project that is set to start on April 14.
According to SDOT, the project will improve the busy transit corridor by repaving 1.3 miles of Holman Road and making pedestrian safety improvements from Greenwood Ave N to NW 87th St (see image below).
SDOT reports that the project will include multiple elements set to improve the area both for businesses, locals and visitors. Check out the list of project elements below:
- Mill and overlay
- New pedestrian refuges at 7th Avenue NW and 13th Avenue NW
- An enlarged median at 15th Avenue NW
- Repair sidewalk spots and build curb ramps
- Make bus zone and shelter improvements
- Temporary pedestrian safety improvements on Mary Avenue NW and NW 92nd Street
- Bridge expansion joint replacement
Through these improvements SDOT believes that the project will extend the life of the roadway, provide a smoother ride for drivers, ensure increased pedestrian accessibility and improve local bus stops.
The CHBA has considered the above benefits but “has determined that this project is untimely, and unsafe at this time.” To express their concerns they have drafted a letter which they are encouraging other local businesses to send to SDOT before Monday, March 24. Check out an excerpt from the letter below:
March 19, 2014
RE: Holman Road Re-paving and Median Project
To Whom It May Concern:
The Crown Hill Business Association (CHBA) is thrilled with the attention that Holman Road has been receiving lately, as we envision a beautiful and safe neighborhood where our businesses, families, and children can thrive. Although we agree that Holman Road does need repaving, and greening the area will be great for our future, we believe this project has not been thoroughly thought through.
That being said, we would like to request that this project be done in multiple phases, with the first phase, planned to begin in mid-April, encompassing the re-paving of the road ONLY. We also request that the TIMING of this project be scrutinized: If this project were to wait until June to begin, MAJOR issues with pedestrian and vehicle traffic will be avoided as school will not be in session at that time. Both Whitman Middle School and Ingraham High School children use the exact corridor that will be re-routed for foot traffic, bus traffic, and parent traffic to go to and from school each day. This will inevitably cause construction delays, not to mention serious safety hazards. If this delay is impossible, we request that schools, neighborhood and business associations, and our local Fire Station on Holman Road be privy to the traffic control plan so we can distribute this plan appropriately as soon as possible.
We request and recommend that the next phase of the project include the implementation of medians, crosswalks, and renovations to the pedestrian overpass, and begin only after the following parameters have been thoroughly discussed with the proper parties.
The CHBA would like to invite key SDOT Planners to join a small stake holder group on a walking tour of the area, especially during the times mentioned above when the area is at its peak with foot and vehicle traffic, which would be either at the beginning or end of the school day. With this type of “on the ground” research, proper planning and timing can take place.
We sincerely hope that you take these recommendations as seriously as we take the responsibility to create a safe and beautiful area for our businesses to flourish.Please contact Catherine Weatbrook at 206 372 2033, or catherine.weatbrook@gmail.com for any follow up questions, comments, and concerns that this letter brings to light. We look forward to working with you.
Sincerely,
The Crown Hill Business Association Board
CHBA are encouraging any interested locals to personalize the letter as they see fit and email it to council members Tim Burgess at tim.burgess@seattle.gov and Maribel Cruz maribel.cruz@seattle.gov.
SDOT reports that construction is expected to begin April 14 and to be complete by August 2014. Normal work hours will be 7 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, with some weekend and weeknight work.
In order to reduce the impact to surrounding communities SDOT has split the construction area into two zones (see image above).
The first zone of the project will take place on Holman Rd NW between 7th Ave NW and Greenwood Ave N. During this phase drivers can expect the following:
- Work hours: 7 a.m. – 5 p.m.
- Traffic reduced to one lane in each direction on Holman Road NW
- Temporary driveway closures up to 7 or 10 days
- Parking and loading restrictions near work zones
- Pedestrian and cyclist detours
- Occasional intersection closures
- Construction noise and dust
- Temporary bus stop relocations or closures
Click here to check out more information on the SDOT website.
The My Ballard team will continue to update readers with further information about the project when it is known.
If only they had written more words in ALL CAPS in their letter. That’s so Crown Hill…
“Both Whitman Middle School and Ingraham High School children use the exact corridor that will be re-routed for foot traffic, bus traffic, and parent traffic to go to and from school each day”
Ingraham High School? At 135th & Meridian, miles from this project?
I had not noticed the ALL CAPS thing in Crown Hill before, but I will be on the lookout.
I think the CHBA should accept the project as-is. Phasing a project adds unnecessary costs.
Especially if you’re talking about paving the entire stretch of road, then digging into it later on to install medians, crosswalks, etc. This work needs to happen all at once.
Also, to suggest that there are less pedestrians in this area during the summer, just because school is out, is simply not true. I see hordes of people walking to Dick’s, and those are the exact sort of clueless people who need these improvements.
Sincerely yours,
Lumpy
@Sunset Hill, Lumpy… if you don’t live in the area and see the hordes of kids flocking to and from the school don’t talk. The goes same with your comment regarding the distance to Ingraham lots of youth from our neighborhood go there or have gone there like me. Go troll someplace else because if you did live in the area you would actually understand the implications of this project at this time which is what the article is trying to highlight.
I DO live in the area, thanks.
(did you like the ALL CAPS?)
Who is this “small stakeholder group” anyway?
I hardly doubt a bunch of businesses really care about the children. This is a thinly-veiled attempt to keep disruption of their precious businesses to a minimum.
And lastly, I realize many children in our area attend Ingraham H.S., but this facility is so far away from the work in question that parents can easily find alternate routes.
Just another red herring.
This doesn’t really stop people from going to Ingraham. Those kids ride Metro or the yellow shuttle bus. The shuttle doesn’t even run on Holman, so that’s completely unaffected. Kids on Metro living north of Holman do have to cross the street, but the intersections are still open for most of the time. Any way you look at it, Ingraham isn’t a big impact.
Whitman is even less. Work starts in April in Zone 1. I’d be pretty surprised if work even starts on the area near Whitman before school is out. If it does, it will only be a few weeks.
Why didn’t you even mention Viewlands? They take the worst of the closures, since they’re in the area of the work during the school year. Of course, most of the kids south of Holman are eligible for busing, so there’s not much impact here, either.
I’m for doing it all at once to minimize the length of time the streets are closed and minimize costs.
I’m confused. Why would we pave a road, then tear it up in the next “phase” to install pedestrian improvements? It sounds like it would double the cost.
I suspect this is a thinly disguised ploy to avoid any pedestrian improvements. Too bad, because this section of road badly needs them.
I don’t understand their objections to this project. I get the sense they’re not being completely honest in this letter. They’re citing things that don’t make sense or calling for a phasing that would only cause more disruption. So I wonder what’s actually motivating them. Are they upset about some aspect of the project design? Worried about business access? Based on this letter there’s simply no justification for delaying this valuable project.