CORRECTION: Shoreline receives $2.3 million for road diet on 175th opposed by businesses

CORRECTION: A previous version of this article incorrectly named John Sims as the current owner of Frank Lumber when in fact, Sims sold the business to long-time employees last year. The previous article also claimed Sims has opposed pedestrian safety projects over concerns they will harm Frank Lumber’s business. Sims and the current owners of Frank Lumber dispute this claim and said they support traffic safety measures, and disagree that road diets will make the North City neighborhood safer.

 

By Oliver Moffat 
Shoreline received $2.3 million for a road diet on NE 175th, but the city scrapped a road diet in 2018 after businesses complained

In December, the city of Shoreline received a $2.3 million grant from WSDOT to implement a road diet on NE 175th Street from 5th Ave NE to 15th Ave NE - one of the city’s most dangerous roads. 

A map from the WSDOT website shows the locations of 10 years of fatal and serious injury crashes along NE 175th St 

NE 175th Street, especially at its intersection with 10th Ave NE, has seen a high number of injury collisions involving pedestrians and bicyclists. 

Since the city cancelled a road diet plan in 2018, there have been 32 serious-injury crashes on that segment of road and in 2020, a fatal collision occurred at the intersection at 10th Ave. 

Last year, pedestrian, fatal, and serious injury crashes in Shoreline hit record highs. 

Proposed safety improvements for 175th and 10th the city cancelled in 2018. A fatal collision occurred at the intersection in 2020

In 2018, after injury collisions doubled on NE 175th, Shoreline commissioned a peer-reviewed technical analysis that recommended repainting the stripes from four to two travel lanes with a center turn lane and bike lanes during a routine repaving project. 

Studies have shown safety projects like this (sometimes called road diets or re-channelizations) reduce crashes, save lives and are relatively inexpensive to complete. 

A nearby road diet in 2003 on 15th Ave NE between 150th and 175th resulted in slower speeds, decreased traffic volumes, fewer crashes, and a 30.9% drop in the number of injury collisions. 

But in 2019 the city quietly rolled back the NE 175th Street road diet plan, saying only that a “combination of factors” led to the decision. 

The city’s 2018 technical analysis showed the road diet would make intersections at 8th and 10th safer for pedestrians by improving visibility and reducing the number of lanes pedestrians needed to cross. 

And traffic engineers found that the road diet would make the street safer for drivers, especially while making left turns at 8th and 10th. 

The council has directed city staff to build bike lanes along 175th street since at least 2011, when, after public hearings and review by the planning commission, the council adopted a Transportation Master Plan including a Bicycle System map with bike lanes on 175th. 

The city council and planning commission again directed the city to build bike lanes on 175th in the Transportation Element of the recently adopted Comprehensive Plan.

In 2016, the council passed Shoreline’s Complete Streets ordinance mandating that all road projects include safe and convenient improvements for people walking, biking, and using public transit; under the ordinance, road projects are not supposed to only benefit motorists. 

Adopting the ordinance has allowed the city to receive grants in 2022, 2019, and 2017.

According to the 2018 technical analysis, although the road diet could add travel time for drivers on 175th, those delays would not have exceeded the city’s congestion maximums defined in the 2011 Transportation Master Plan and the 2022 Transportation Element.

When the city council last discussed the NE 175th road diet in 2022, staff said the city met for hours in contentious meetings with business owners concerned about congestion before deciding to cancel the road diet in 2018. 

A city spokesperson said work on the project hasn’t started yet and before spending grant funds, they will conduct a preliminary study to assess traffic delays and congestion impacts and may return the funding and explore other options. 

Will the same “combination of factors” lead the city to return the $2.3 million grant this time?

Read more...

Shoreline council members question tree removals; city says an earthquake could cause 175th to “slip and slide” into Ronald Bog

By Oliver Moffat

At the April 1, 2024 meeting, some Shoreline city council members raised concerns about tree removals for the 175th Corridor Project. City staff told the council that 175th could “slip and slide” into Ronald Bog during an earthquake. To make the road safer, the city must rebuild the roadway which will require tree removals.

Councilmember Annette Ademasu asked staff for more details about tree removals planned for the 175th project especially at Ronald Bog Park

Councilmember Annette Ademasu raised a 175th corridor project agenda item up for discussion at this week’s council meeting. She questioned the proposed removal of 213 significant trees to make way for the road project. “At Ronald Bog there are three large conifers and a Japanese cherry. Is there anyway to save those at Ronald Bog?” she asked.

In response to questions, Public Works Director, Tricia Juhnke said, “In an earthquake, 175th would most likely slip and slide and fall into the bog. 175th is identified as one of our top emergency corridors for connection throughout the city.” 

Making the road safer requires regrading the roadway and building walls on each side to contain the new substrate. “It is also a reason we were able to get an $8 million grant from FEMA to improve the infrastructure,” Juhnke added.

Councilmember John Ramsdell raised concerns about transparency and asked why the 175th arborist report had not been published earlier

Councilmember John Ramsdell said, “I’m concerned about the lack of transparency and communication with the community. I was really hoping to see more transparency. What concerned me is that the arborist report wasn’t done until October.”

City staff reiterated a promise made in September of 2023 to provide more transparency on tree impacts and said the city is still “playing catch up” on projects that have been in the planning phase for many years.

Cross section of preferred concept from Meridian Avenue N to I-5 (facing east)

In recognizing that the 175th project has been in planning since before the city recently reprioritized in favor of increased tree preservation, Mayor Chris Roberts said, “as nimble as Shoreline is we are still a relatively large ship and we can’t turn on a dime”

On Monday April 15, the city council will hold a public hearing and discuss Shoreline’s Transportation Improvement Plan. The plan, which serves as a six-year roadmap for transportation projects in the city, is updated each year.

Read more...

Still time to comment on plans for the 175th Street Corridor Improvements

It’s not too late to provide your input online for the 175th Street Corridor Improvements Project! Learn about the Council approved design and share your thoughts on urban design and landscaping elements.

The online open house will be available until October 6.

Visit shorelinewa.gov/175corridor

Read more...

Design concept approved for the 175th Street Corridor Improvement Project

Check out the Council approved design concept for the 175th Street Corridor Improvements Project!

Using your feedback, planners were able to establish your top three priorities for the corridor and develop a hybrid of the two alternative concepts presented last summer.

On February 1, 2021, City Council approved the preferred design concept for the 175th Corridor Improvements Project. Using feedback received from over 1,500 participants through public outreach during the past two years, they were able to establish the community’s top three priorities for the corridor:

1. pedestrian walkability, 
2. flow of traffic, and 
3. transportation safety. 

The community provided feedback on how the initial design concepts met these priorities, and we combined this feedback with technical analysis to develop the preferred design concept.

Visit shorelinewa.gov/175corridor for more information.

Read more...