Community Weighs In On 30-Percent Madison BRT Design

The Seattle Department of Transportation laid out its 30-percent design plans for its $120-million Madison Corridor Bus Rapid Transit project on Aug. 3, giving residents and community groups a chance to leave notes across a linear map more than 10 feet long.

One of five city corridors identified for priority implementation in Seattle’s Transit Master Plan, the Madison BRT project will create a mix of exclusive and semi-exclusive transit lanes on Madison, from First Avenue to Martin Luther King Jr. Way, while also putting in new stations and making bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure improvements.

SDOT project manager Jeff Lundstrom said there’s plenty of time for feedback to affect the design for the project, which has already happened through previous engagement efforts. One example is the decision to have eastbound bus rapid transit on Spring Street — later connecting to Madison from 9th Avenue — rather than using Marion Street, a change Lundstrom said will provide better connectivity between the future City Connector streetcar line and University Street light rail station.

The Transportation Department will spend winter engaging business and property owners regarding construction phasing, so as to not adversely impact commerce, Lundstrom said.

“The downside is we are having to remove some parking along the corridor,” he said, adding that the Transportation Department is looking at how it can find other parking alternatives and preserve loading zones for businesses.

From the nine-year, $930-million Move Seattle levy passed last November, the Madison BRT project will receive $15 million over four years. The Transportation Department also received a $4 million state grant, Lundstrom said, and the Puget Sound Regional Council recently committed $4.9 million to the project. Lundstrom said about half of the $120 million project cost could be covered through a Small Starts grant through the Federal Transit Administration, for which the department is applying at the end of the month. Under the ST3 ballot measure going before voters in November, Sound Transit would fund 10 percent of the Madison BRT project cost.

Along the BRT corridor, there will be 21 level-boarding stations, transit signal priority — where bus drivers can engage traffic lights to stay green, off-board ORCA fare payment — similar to how people pay at light rail stations — and real-time information.

The corridor will be serviced with new zero-emissions BRT vehicles with five doors — on the left and right sides — made by North American manufacturer New Flyer.

The city reports 80 percent of its morning peak-period trips are standing-room only, with a quarter of the buses being more than five minutes late.

Compared to driving, transit trips are 67 percent slower, according to the city’s PSRC grant application.

While the 30-percent design for Madison BRT provides a lot for bus transit, community group members at the Aug. 3 open house found some departures from the 10-percent design troubling.

Brie Gyncild with Central Seattle Greenways said she preferred the 10-percent design solution for pedestrian crossings at the historically challenging 12th Avenue/Madison/Union intersection in Capitol Hill. She said pedestrians walking downhill on Madison often have “near-misses” crossing at East Union (between Pony and SAAS) and the 10-percent design would have placed protected bike lanes there and blocked vehicular access, moving the entrance up the street, just below Pony.

The 30-percent design changed because the King County Metro Route 2 bus wouldn’t be able to make the right turn to the proposed Union entrance. Gyncild said the intersection still leaves pedestrians vulnerable to drivers turning right from Madison to Union, even with a proposed pedestrian crossing signal.

Gyncild said there should also be a direct bicycle and pedestrian crossing on 24th across Madison, but the 30-percent design requires going downhill to Madison and then uphill the get back to 24th, waiting through multiple light signals.

“It’s probably going to need a signal change of some sort,” she said, while discussing ways to make a straightforward 24th crossing work.

In both cases, Gyncild said she sees ways to work with SDOT to find better solutions.

Gyncild said the city needs to meet its Complete Streets mandate for big projects and consider all modes of transportation.

SDOT is only designing protected bike lanes from First to Fourth avenues on Spring Street and then upgraded bike lanes from 12th to 14th avenues.

“The whole point of Complete Streets is to have complete streets, so, yeah, we’re going to push back on this,” she said.

Gordon Werner, chairman for the First Hill Improvement Association’s transportation committee, said he’s happy the group was successful in getting center BRT lanes from downtown to First Hill and that the Transportation Department went with Spring Street for initial eastbound travel over Marion. He added he supports a BRT station at Terry Avenue, as long as it doesn’t interfere with emergency vehicle access at Virginia Mason Hospital.

Bob Edmiston, a user experience engineer with Seattle Greenways focused on Madison Park, was disappointed that a 27th Avenue greenway project was removed from the project scope, but saw potential at the end of the corridor for another greenway being designed on East Harrison, from MLK Jr. Way East to Lake Washington Boulevard. Madison Park Greenways is designing the new greenway, using a 2015 Neighborhood Park and Street Fund grant. He said a safe crossing could be designed from the bus layover at MLK and East Arthur Place to Harrison.

Lundstrom said the Transportation Department expects to have a 60-percent design and proposed construction phasing schedule ready for public review in February. An online open house will be available through Tuesday, Aug. 16, at madisonbrt.participate.online