Two-Way Traffic and Bike Lane Open on W Green Lake Way Now
Beating its expected deadline of Oct. 1, the Seattle Department of Transportation has completed and re-opened W Green Lake Way, with a new protected bike/walk lane, a slower speed limit, and better road signage.
Remembering it was open, I tried it today driving back from Ballard on 65th and found it a seamless transition. The speed limit is now 20 mph.
SDOT writes on its website:
This design is based on City standards and best practices for safety, as well as community feedback to reopen the street to people driving as soon as possible. The features include reducing the speed to 20MPH, a new tuff curb and flex posts to delineate a two-way path, adding new stop signs at N 63rd St and W Green Lake Way N, reconfigured transition for people coming or going to E Green Lake Way N, and improved markings at intersections and parking lot entrances.
There was significant community pushback – including a petition, phone/email campaigns, and protests -about the closure of the road as a “Keep Moving Street” since May 2020. Critics felt the closure was hurting park use more than it was helping, as well as cutting off access to surrounding neighborhood businesses and increasing traffic pressure on 50th and 80th streets.
What’s Next?
The post goes on to say, as we’ve reported, that SDOT is considering ways to improve the connection between Lower Woodland Park and Green Lake, as well as potentially creating a continuous bike loop outside the lake, including sections of Aurora Ave. N.
“Beyond returning vehicle traffic lanes to W Green Lake Way N, we’d like to explore creative solutions for making the street less of a divider between Woodland and Green Lake parks. We have a rare opportunity to build on the Keep Moving Street and reimagine how W Green Lake Way N can serve multiple functions.
We’ll seek community input on how to improve connections between the parks by keeping speeds calm and including possible solutions like more crosswalks, additional walking improvements, decreasing the speed limit to 20 MPH, and temporary changes in street operations to encourage community use and celebrations.
Talk with neighbors about how we might expand a walking and biking path connecting around the lake, building off the recently completed Green Lake and Wallingford Multimodal Paving Project.
We’ve heard a lot from the community who are interested in creating a full outer loop for people to walk and bike around the lake, including repurposing the eastern-most lane of Aurora Ave N adjacent to the lake. We will be gathering feedback and sharing concepts with WSDOT (Washington State Department of Transportation), our partners in the corridor. “
