Open house for proposed Market Street changes

Geeky Swedes Ballard

As we’ve written before, The Seattle Department of Transportation and King County Metro are hoping to make changes to Market Street and Route 44. According to SDOT, the changes will “promote faster travel, provide better schedule reliability and will include enhanced bus stops.” The two agencies will be holding a public open house later this week for the public to learn about the proposed changes.

According to SDOT, the proposed changes in Ballard will include:

  • Expanded eastbound and westbound bus stops on NW Market Street at 11th NW and 28th NW.
  • Some lower-ridership bus stops will be proposed for closure to help speed up buses through the corridor.
  • Also on Market, at 24th Street, improvements will be made to promote transit operation through the intersection. We’ve contacted SDOT to get more information on the changes at Market and 24th, which at one point included a pilot project to make the right lane a right-turn only lane. Once we hear back we’ll update this post, but wanted to get the word out for the meeting as soon as we heard.
  • In addition, ‘transit signal priority,’ which gives buses the green light, will be added to many intersections along Route 44.

    • Back in May of this year the president of the Ballard District Council wrote a letter to the director of SDOT, Peter Hahn, with concerns about some proposed changes that were discussed at the April District Council meeting. You can read their concerns here.

    A funding package hasn’t been secured for the project, so SDOT believes the implementation will be carried out in phases between 2011 and 2014.

    The community open house will be held this Thursday, September 16th from 5:30 to 7 p.m at Ballard Swedish Medical Center (5300 Tallman Ave NW), Conference Room A. You are also welcome to email your comments to Jeff Bender at jeff.bender@seattle.gov or call: 206.684.8837.

    Geeky Swedes

    The founders of My Ballard

    4 thoughts to “Open house for proposed Market Street changes”

    1. I avoid the corner of Market and 24th like the plague. It used to be that there were only two light cycles instead of the four there are not, with each direction of each street with its own dedicated green. I know Market Street is narrow, but something needs to change–I just don’t know what–to end the roadblock created at this corner.

    2. I have had the unhyappy experience of trying to go East on Market through the 15th NW intersection. The curb lane often has cars turning right – which apparently the bus driver does not care for, as he swings into the LEFT lane to go through the intersection, but needs to be in the Right lane as soon as he exits the intersection to stop at the bus stop next to the Safeway. I have been cut off repeatedly and will now go to some rather extreme out-of-my-way routes to avoid this – it happened several days in a row last week just after 430pm. And additionally – I firmly believe that the only traffic this plan by metro will speed up will be the buses – the rest of traffic will be slowed considerably, as it is on 45th through Wallingford – also the 44 route and also a route I no longer EVER drive.

    3. The problem at 15th is that cars turning right often have to wait for pedestrians crossing E/W on the south side of the intersection; often, only a few cars from that lane can pass through the intersection after the pedestrians have crossed and before the light turns yellow.
      The bus drivers clearly have noticed this; I also try to stay in the left through lane for this reason.

    4. Instead of being “cut off repeatedly” like you say you expect, why not just get into the left lane and stay behind the bus, not next to it? Seems like an easy solution to avoid being “cut off.” Buses should have priority, they carry a lot more people then your car does, especially the 44 which is a well utilized route.

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