UPDATE: The Ravenna Blog did an excellent job live blogging the June 24th evening meeting. Check out her blog HERE .
Back in April, SDOT held three community meetings to hear from concerned residents about how to make NE 75th Street safer for all as part of the 75th Street Road Safety Corridor Project. Lots of ideas and points of concern were identified to SDOT (summarized below), which they took back and have been working on conceptual designs to make this well traveled corridor safer for all. SDOT has planned two community meetings to unveil these conceptual design alternatives and you’re invited!
- Meeting 1 (evening): Wednesday, July 24th, 7-9PM in the Fellowship Hall (downstairs) at Wedgwood Presbyterian Church (8008 35th Ave NE)
- Meeting 2 (daytime): Thursday, July 25th, 1-3PM in the Fellowship Hall (downstairs) at Messiah Lutheran Church (7050 35th Ave NE)
The City will release the proposed alternatives in advance of the meetings via the NE 75th Street email list for review. You can sign up at the bottom of the 75th Street Road Safety Corridor Project to be alerted by SDOT when they unveil these alternatives.
Here is the summary of ideas heard by SDOT at the first three meetings.
Here’s What We Heard – Common Themes
Channelization improvements were requested along segments of NE 65th Street, NE 75th Street, 25th Avenue NE, 35th Avenue NE and Banner Way NE and at several signalized intersections
- Speeding is a problem along the NE 75th Street corridor and along segments of nearby arterial streets
- The eight schools in the area increase pedestrian, bicycle, and vehicle volumes twice a day. Speeding on non-arterial streets during drop-off/pick-up hours is a problem near schools. Many students walk and bike to school and student safety is a priority for residents. New construction at Thornton Creek Elementary will likely change traffic patterns.
- There is a strong desire to improve pedestrian and bicycle safety throughout the area. Suggestions included adding more and improving existing marked crosswalks, constructing sidewalks, adding bicycle facilities to NE 65th Street and NE 75th Street, and improving signal performance for pedestrians and cyclists.
- Improve access to parks throughout the area and reduce speeds on adjacent streets
- Improve existing traffic signals to reduce turning movement conflicts with pedestrians and bicyclists and improve traffic flow
- Encroachments in the right-of-way limit pedestrian mobility and reduce visibility for all
- Congestion is an issue along several corridors during peak hours. This often leads to cut through traffic on non-arterial streets.
- Existing parking restrictions should be reviewed and existing parking laws should be more strictly enforced. New parking restrictions are needed in a couple of locations.
- Increased enforcement efforts are needed area-wide to address speeding, distraction driving, impaired driving, and pedestrian and bicycle safety issues.
- Educational efforts should focus on behavioral issues like impairment, speeding, and distraction with more information about student, pedestrian, and bicycle safety.