The Seattle Department of Transportation advises that the westbound lanes of the Spokane Street Viaduct will be closed just west of I-5 for three nights, August 16-18. During these closures, southbound traffic exiting I-5 will be detoured to the S. Forest St. exit. Northbound traffic and westbound traffic from Columbian Way on Beacon Hill will be detoured to surface streets at 6th Ave. S. Drivers on southbound Highway 99 will still be able to access West Seattle as usual.
On August 15, the right lane of the westbound Spokane Street Viaduct will be closed overnight. The I-5 westbound ramps will remain open.
Beacon B.I.K.E.S. is hosting a neighborhood bicycle ride this Saturday along portions of the future Beacon Hill Greenway. The ride will be a safe, slow-paced 5-mile loop (see the route in the map below) with few hills, suitable for riders of all ages, and will feature destinations such as Jefferson Park, local businesses, and two community farms (Alley Cat Acres and the future site of the Beacon Food Forest).
The ride will start at 2 p.m. at The Station coffee house, 2533 16th Ave. S. and finish at 4 p.m. at the Beacon Hill Library, 2821 Beacon Ave. S.
The survey is part of an SDOT study of performance-based parking pricing strategies. In performance-based pricing, parking rates are adjusted depending on a set of data-driven characteristics. For example, rates could change by time of day or location, or seasonally. The expected result of the variable rates is to increase parking availability, and decrease the time drivers spend circling the block in search of a parking spot. This not only decreases the pollution caused by this practice, but also eliminates a fair amount of traffic. (This 2007 New York Times op-ed suggests that drivers searching for curb parking are about 30 percent of the traffic in central business districts.)
Blue Angels flying directly over 17th Ave. S. Photo by Wendi.The Blue Angels are back in town for Seafair, which means that Beacon Hill residents can expect the usual close-up view of the Angels as they practice and perform their choreographed aerial acrobatics directly over our neighborhood.
The squadron will practice on Thursday, August 4 from 10 a.m. until noon and again from 1:30-2:30 p.m. Actual performances will be on Friday, August 5, through Sunday, August 7, each day from 1:30-2:30 p.m.
Practices and performances will force complete closures of I-90 due to Federal Aviation Administration safety rules, so be aware that there will be congestion. If you need to drive across the lake using I-90 on Thursday – Sunday mornings, you should drive at least one hour before the closure times.
On Thursday, I-90 will be closed twice. The express lanes will close at 9 a.m. and reopen by 3:30 p.m., and the mainline will close from 9:45 a.m. until noon, and then again from 1:15-2:30 p.m.
On Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, the express lanes will close at least two hours before the shows and reopen by 3:30 p.m., and the mainline will be closed from 12:45 – 2:40 p.m. each day.
There will be loud noise from the jets during the practices and performances, so take special care of your pets. As on the Fourth of July, some pets react negatively to the loud noise from the Blue Angels and may run away.
Beacon neighbors who travel through Sodo should be aware that Fourth Avenue South will be reduced to one lane in each direction each night for up to three weeks beginning this Wednesday, August 3, as part of the work to widen the Spokane Street Viaduct.
Lane reductions on Fourth Avenue South on either side of the South Spokane Street intersection will run from 9 p.m. each night until 5 a.m. the next morning, except for event nights, at which time work will start at 11 p.m. The lane closures are needed for the painting of steel girders.
The Jose Rizal Bridge. Photo by Seattle Daily Photo in the Beacon Hill Blog photo pool on Flickr.Seattle Department of Transportation crews will repair the underside of the Jose Rizal Bridge (the 12th Ave. S. Bridge) from August 1 to August 26. They will close the northbound, right lane across the bridge from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. during this time. The sidewalk will remain open. Please be aware that there may be some traffic congestion.
Seattle Transit Blog currently has a post up analyzing patterns of transit ridership on Beacon Hill’s Route 36. The post includes a chart that shows the average daily number of boardings and deboardings by stop. As one might expect, the stops at each end of the route are heavily used, as are the stops at Beacon Hill Station and the VA hospital. Stops in the International District along S. Jackson see a huge amount of traffic.
The author, Bruce Nourish asks that Beacon Hill neighbors comment on the STB post: “please let us know in the comments what else you see in this data that I’ve missed.”
Photo of the Dr. Jose Rizal Bridge by Seattle Daily Photo in the Beacon Hill Blog photo pool on Flickr.Seattle Department of Transportation crews will close the northbound, right lane of the Dr. Jose Rizal Bridge from July 11 to July 29, from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. each day. The closure will allow crews to perform maintenance work underneath the bridge deck. Be aware that there may be some congestion in the area.
Street improvements in Georgetown will force traffic to be detoured past Cleveland High School on the nights of July 8 and 9. Be prepared for congestion and delays in the area, and when driving down to Georgetown.
Here is the explanation from the Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT):
On Thursday and Friday July 8 and 9, SDOT’s contractor will work at night to repave Ellis Avenue South and South Albro Place between East Marginal Way South and Stanley Avenue South. If weather is favorable, this work will take two nights to complete, from 7 p.m. each night through 5 a.m. the next morning.
During this nighttime work, one lane will remain open for westbound traffic on Albro Place and for southbound traffic on Ellis Avenue. However, these streets will be closed to northbound and eastbound traffic during the night, and traffic will be detoured over I-5, and then circled back to Albro Place. More specifically, the detour will direct traffic from East Marginal Way South onto Corson Avenue South, then to South Lucille Street, then to 15th Avenue South, and then to Swift Avenue South to return to South Albro Place.
Uniformed police officers will assist traffic.
There may be short-term cross street and driveway restrictions (two to four hours). Bus stops may be closed or relocated. There will be parking and loading restrictions near the work zone. Please note — vehicles parked on the street in No Parking zones will be towed.
Drivers should expect traffic congestion and delays, and may want to consider using alternate routes.
