Ravenna-Bryant Community Association

If you follow RBCA on Twitter, this week you’ve seen short videos of people crossing NE 65th Street that make you wonder how more of our neighbors haven’t been injured or killed along this busy arterial road. The videos bolster RBCA’s focus on advocating for a safer NE 65th Street for pedestrians, bikers, and motorists.

Do you want NE 65th Street to be a safer road for all? Here’s a chance to have your voice heard. 

Right now, the Seattle City Council is discussing what programs to fund at the Department of Transportation. Your voice and your story will make a difference and help get a safety study funded in the 2017 budget. You can help by:

Showing up to Council chambers in City Hall (600 4th Ave) on Monday, October 10 at 2:30 p.m. to speak for a minute or two about why 65th needs to be fixed. Let us know if you can make it to speak!

Send an email to the whole Council at Council@Seattle.gov. A personal note is best.

In person or by email, let the Council know:

• How you currently use NE 65th Street and if you would walk or bike on it more if it were safer.
• What you see as the biggest safety problem on NE 65th.
• If you’ve ever seen or experienced a crash or near-miss. These stories at especially impactful.
• The Council can make a difference by funding a study to fix NE 65th in the 2017 budget.

The need to make NE 65th Street safer is evident. Over the past three years, at least 70 people have been injured enough to be sent to the hospital. One person died. Just within the last few weeks, the Seattle Police Department has reported collisions on NE 65th Street. Pedestrian safety problems on NE 65th Street were the most commonly expressed concerns in a recent RBCA survey. In June, more than 60 neighbors participated in a Fix 65th Street walk to highlight concerns and call on the City to make the road safer for all. And this is all before the Roosevelt light rail station opens on NE 65th Street to which many of our neighbors will walk and bike.

Increasing awareness of the law and educating neighbors about road safety is part of RBCA’s recently-adopted mobility safety action plan. Openly discussing the community norm that stopping for pedestrians is just what Ravenna-Bryant neighbors do, can be an important step to increasing safety. However, to most effectively create change, other activities need to happen in conjunction with awareness campaigns.

When RBCA was assessing mobility safety problems in our neighborhood, we also looked at road designs that have proven to increase safety. While we found a lot of information from government agencies and transportation-related organizations, some of the most readily accessible information came from the AARP Livable Communities initiative. The goal of the Livable Communities campaign is to help communities become safer, healthier, more walkable, and more livable for all people.

One of their recommendations for creating a more livable community is to calm traffic. In a recent RBCA survey, motor vehicle speeds on arterial roads was a top mobility-related complaint. Decreasing the speed at which motorists travel contributes to increased safety for pedestrians, bikers, and motorists.  “Traffic calming is a system of design and management strategies that include narrow roads, modern roundabouts, chicanes (intentionally added turns in the road), median islands, speed bumps, diverters, speed tables and other engineering tools or interventions,” according to a Livable Communities fact sheet. “Another benefit of traffic calming is that it can give a street a transformative sense of place, thus boosting social interactions, housing and retail businesses.”

Some of the traffic calming designs, like chicanes and diverters, may not be appropriate for busy arterial roads like NE 65th Street in the Ravenna-Bryant neighborhood. However, several of the design elements recommended by the AARP’s initiative could be.

Median islands are raised areas in the center of a street that provide refuge for pedestrians. They provide a safe place to stop when crossing a busy street and calm traffic. If wide enough, islands can include trees.

Speed tables and speed bumps raise a section of the road, reducing vehicle speeds. The speed table where the Burke-Gilman Trail crosses 30th Avenue NE is an example of how they can provide a mid-street crossing in conjunction with curb bulbs.

Recent traffic calming changes focusing on narrowing roads without median islands in Seattle have proven successful in increasing safety for all who use them. Closest to home is the redesign of NE 75th Street. Traffic calming elements that were implemented include marked travel lanes, a center turn lane, and painted bike lanes. Single lanes of motor vehicle traffic in each direction with a center turn lane calm traffic while also allowing motorists to not be impeded by people turning left.

After the NE 75th Street project was complete:

• Collisions reduced by 45%;
• Speeds reduced by 9%;
• Traffic volumes increased 3%;
• Travel times did not change.

Similar results have been seen on Stone Way N between N 34th and N 50th Streets and NE 125th Street.

While curb bulbs are not specifically listed in the Livable Communities information about safe streets, they extend the sidewalk to shorten the street crossing distance for pedestrians. The corner of 40th Avenue NE and NE 50th Street includes curb bulbs.

We know what works for developing safe environments for pedestrians, bikers, and motorists. As neighbors, we can come together and combine awareness and education activities with changes to street design and create a safe, livable community.

How many crosswalks are there on NE 65th Street between (and including) 15th Avenue NE and 40th Avenue NE? Would you think this is a trick question if the answer is more than 50?

Every intersection is a crosswalk. Considering there are usually two corners on one side of an intersection, and considering there are 27 streets that intersect with NE 65th Street in Ravenna-Bryant, there are more than 50 crosswalks along this busy arterial road. This doesn’t include the many streets between 25th and 40th that don’t match up on the north and south sides, each with their own set of crosswalks.

One of the most common complaints made by Ravenna-Bryant community members in a recent survey is that motorists do not yield to pedestrians on all of our arterial roads. This is a particular problem on NE 65th Street because so many of our children who walk alone to school are crossing it to get to and from Eckstein Middle School and Roosevelt High School.

Seattle law states, “The operator of an approaching vehicle shall stop and remain stopped to allow a pedestrian to cross the roadway within a crosswalk unmarked or marked when the pedestrian is upon or within one lane of the half of the roadway upon which the vehicle is traveling or onto which it is turning.”

As part of our mobility safety action plan, RBCA will be conducting activities to remind neighbors about the law. RBCA encourages others in our community to share information about the law and think about it when driving in the neighborhood. Ravenna and Bryant are considered “very walkable” neighborhoods where “most errands may be accomplished on foot.” The neighborhood is a safe place to live and a great place for kids to grow up. It’s everyone’s responsibility to make sure it stays that way.

The Seattle Department of Transportation’s Neighborhood Street Fund (NSF) pays for transportation-related projects proposed and prioritized by neighborhoods. Two of the top five NE Seattle NSF project proposals this year are in Ravenna-Bryant.

Re-imagining NE 85th Street: In this section of NE 85th Street, part of the road is in Ravenna-Bryant and part of it is in Wedgwood. This year, neighbors came together to make improvements to this busy section of the street that connects Ravenna Avenue and 20th Avenue NE and doesn’t include sidewalks. Their NSF proposal is for adding sidewalks and planting strips for storm water management.

Sidewalks on NE 50th Street: For more than three years, RBCA board members have been working to get sidewalks installed on NE 50th Street between 30th and 35th Avenues NE, immediately south of Cavalry Cemetery. The NSF proposal is also for sidewalks and a planting strip. Thanks to ongoing advocacy by RBCA, University Village paid mitigation fees to SDOT and requested that the money be used to build the sidewalk. The funds could pay for a portion of the project.

Projects from around the city may be viewed online. Other projects in NE Seattle are:

Safe I-5 Crossing at NE 70th Street

U-District Alley Activation

Weedin Place Project

Later this fall, SDOT will make recommendations to the Mayor and City Council about which projects should be funded. Generally, 10-12 projects are funded citywide per three-year cycle.

Regardless of the outcome, RBCA will continue to advocate for sidewalks on NE 50th Street and support further plans for sidewalks on NE 85th Street. Sidewalks are essential infrastructure for creating neighborhoods that are safe for everyone. Interested in advocating for either of these projects? Leave a message through the Contact Us page.

In 2015, the Ravenna-Bryant Community Association board adopted a vision statement to guide our activities and provide focus for advocacy. The RBCA vision is that in 20 years: Ravenna-Bryant is a welcoming, thriving, safe, diverse, and connected neighborhood. 

For Ravenna-Bryant to be a safe neighborhood, community members must be able to walk, bike, and drive motor vehicles without the fear of injury or death. The City of Seattle has launched several campaigns and road improvement projects over the past few years including Vision Zero, Safe Routes to Schools, an updated Bike Master Plan, and an updated Pedestrian Master Plan. While these activities will benefit Ravenna-Bryant, not all of our neighborhood’s mobility safety problems will be addressed.

The RBCA board receives a great deal of input from community members about mobility safety problems in our neighborhood. Information has been gathered through board meetings; community meetings; talking with neighbors; and city data. To increase outreach to those who board members don’t regularly come into contact with, RBCA conducted an online survey in the spring of 2016 to gain additional input. The input received informally and through the survey helped to define the mobility problems of most concern to our neighbors.

While the RBCA board will work with neighbors to address emerging or critical problems as they arise, RBCA will pro-actively focus on a few mobility-related problems in 2016-17 with the overarching goal of improving pedestrian safety. An action plan was adopted during the September RBCA board meeting and following are RBCA’s priorities for 2016-17.

Priority 1: Advocate for safety improvements along NE 65^th Street between 15^th Avenue NE and 40^th Avenue NE. Rationale: NE 65^th Street has been identified as one of the most dangerous streets in the city. Over the last three years, 68 people have been hospitalized after crashes on NE 65^th Street between 5^th and 35^th Avenues. One person died. Injuries were sustained by motorists, bikers, and pedestrians.

Priority 2: Advocate for the enforcement of speeding laws and road improvements to reduce speeding motor vehicles on NE 55^th Street, NE 65^th Street, and NE 75^th Street. Rationale: Drivers speeding in their motor vehicles was the most common complaint among community members who took the RBCA mobility survey.

Priority 3: Educate community members about laws regarding yielding to pedestrians. Rationale: In addition to drivers speeding on neighborhood streets, community members commonly complain about drivers not yielding to pedestrians crossing arterial roads. Many children walk to school and must cross at least one arterial road.

Priority 4: Continue to advocate and search for funding for sidewalks on NE 50^th Street between 30^th and 35^th Avenues NE. Rationale: This is an ongoing RBCA project.  University Village has given mitigation funds to SDOT with a recommendation that the money be spent to build sidewalks on NE 50^th Street. The funds could pay for about half of the project. As one of the few neighborhood streets that lead to the U-Village area, sidewalks on NE 50^th Street are needed to increase pedestrian safety and access to this major retail area.

Community Involvement: Ravenna-Bryant community members are encouraged to become part of the solution. If you are interested in working on any of the priorities, please leave a message on our Contact Us page or attend a RBCA board meeting (first Tuesday of the month, 6:30 p.m. at Ravenna-Eckstein Community Center.) The more people who advocate for safety improvements the more likely we will be successful!

Resources: Here are a few resources that inform RBCA’s work on mobility safety issues:

• Pedestrian Master Plan: http://www.seattle.gov/transportation/pedestrian_masterplan/
• Bike Master Plan: http://www.seattle.gov/transportation/bikemaster.htm
• Transit Master Plan: http://www.seattle.gov/transportation/transitmasterplan.htm
• 2015 Traffic Report: http://www.seattle.gov/transportation/docs/2014TrafficReport.pdf
• Seattle Safe Routes to School: http://www.seattle.gov/transportation/saferoutes.htm
• Children’s Hospital Transportation Plan: http://masterplan.seattlechildrens.org/documents/CTP_booklet_final.pdf
• University of Washington Transportation Management Plan: http://www.washington.edu/community/files/2003/08/07_TMP_FP.pdf

During the RBCA board meeting this week, a group of Ravenna-Bryant neighbors requested RBCA’s assistance with advocating with Metro for better service to the UW Link light rail station. Since their concerns echo concerns RBCA shared with Metro before the station opened and those concerns appear to have now been realized, below is information from the neighborhood group about what they are seeking.

We are a neighborhood approximately 2 miles from the LINK Light Rail station at UW/Husky Stadium. We are concerned about the lack of a direct connection from transit to LINK light rail for our neighborhood.

The Route 372 bus that serves our neighborhood along 25th Ave NE has a five- to ten-minute walk to the station from the UW campus bus stop.  This is a significant problem for residents with luggage, strollers, walkers, or other mobility impairments.  The walk is also of concern for those traveling at night or in the rain.

The Route 71 bus serves NE 65th Street, but because its route goes through the University District, it takes longer to reach the light rail than directly from our neighborhood.  It runs only every 30 minutes, and it does not run on weekends or before 7 am or after 10 pm, greatly reducing access for early-morning or late-night airport flights.

While the Routes 62 and 76 serve downtown Seattle, we need to commute not only to downtown Seattle, but to SeaTac Airport, Beacon Hill and Columbia Center, and to the SODO stadium area, areas that are well-served by light rail.

We are requesting that Metro Transit provide more direct connection to the LINK light rail service from the Ravenna-Bryant neighborhood.  

WHAT CAN RESIDENTS DO?

Please contact your King County Council Member to express your opinion:

• NORTH of NE 65^th St:  Rod Dembowski, rod.dembowski@kingcounty.gov, 206-477-1001
• SOUTH of NE 65^th St:  Larry Gossett, larry.gossett@kingcounty.gov, 206-477-1002

Please consider complaining to Metro Transit: phone 206-553-3000 or online complaint form.

Add your name to a neighborhood letter by emailing barkertj02@gmail.com with your name and any comments.  We will use this letter in a neighborhood meeting with Metro and the King County Council staff.

We have already been successful in bringing back a deleted bus stop at 25^th NE and NE 60^th St. and adding it to the Route 372.  For more information on this effort, please contact:

Theresa Barker

barkertj02@gmail.com

The Ravenna-Bryant Community Association’s Mobility Assessment Task Force will hold our final meeting on Wednesday, August 24 at 6:30 p.m. at Third Place. The meeting is open to all who live and work in Ravenna-Bryant who want to take action to improve pedestrian, bike, and motor vehicle safety in the community.

Concerns about driving, biking, and walking are commonly discussed during public meetings, private gatherings, and casual conversations with Ravenna-Bryant neighbors. To gain a better understanding about what the most pressing issues are, RBCA recently conducted an online survey asking neighbors to report concerns with getting around in the neighborhood.

The largest amount of comments were about pedestrian safety, followed by motor vehicle concerns and biking safety and infrastructure.

The most common complaint among all three mobility modes (walking, biking, driving) was people speeding in their cars along both arterial and residential streets. The second most common complaint was about how difficult it is to cross arterial roads and, interestingly enough, it wasn’t only pedestrians and bikers who identified this as a big problem. Motorists thought it was a problem, too.

NE 65^th Street was the most commonly commented upon road.

• Multiple survey respondents said that crossing NE 65th Street throughout the Ravenna-Bryant neighborhood is dangerous. Several people pointed out that many Eckstein Middle School students need to cross the street to get to school every day and that it is common that motorists don’t stop for them.
• The other most common concern about NE 65th Street came from people who bike. They cited dangerous biking conditions between 15th Avenue NE and Roosevelt among their top concerns.
• Other concerns about NE 65th Street included cars driving too close to the sidewalk; crosswalk ramps pointing into traffic when they should be pointing toward the opposite corner; slow pedestrian signal changes; no left turn arrows at most intersections; and lack of clarity about the number of traffic lanes – is NE 65th Street 2 lanes, 3 lanes, or 4 lanes?

Other concerns that were mentioned by multiple people include:

• Difficult for motorists to see pedestrians on corners because cars are parked within 30 feet of the corner;
• Heavy traffic on 25th Avenue NE;
• Broken/uneven sidewalks;
• No sidewalks in the area north and east of University Village;
• No bike lanes on north-south arterial roads in Ravenna-Bryant;
• Motorists don’t yield to pedestrians in both marked and unmarked crosswalks on NE 55th and NE 75th Streets;
• No left turn arrow signals for motorists at most intersections of arterial roads.

All comments will be shared and reviewed during the August 24 task force meeting and an action plan will be completed. If you are interested in joining the meeting and committing to taking action to address mobility issues in Ravenna-Bryant, please leave a message on the Contact Us page or just show up!