45th Street Bridge: Connect Our Hearts

No good route exists for people to safely bike from the heart of Wallingford to the heart of the U District safely, comfortably, and conveniently. With the new U District light rail station opening in September 2021, it’s time for the Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) to make the connection. That’s why we’re calling for SDOT to:

1. Immediately install a bikeway before the light rail station opens, and

2. Design and install an “all ages and abilities” bikeway as part of its Route 44 Transit-Plus Multimodal Corridor Project, which is slated for completion by 2024.

Coalition of Supporters

The following organizations support a near-term implementation of a bikeway across the 45th Street Bridge prior to the U District Light Rail Station opening.

• Green Lake & Wallingford Safe Streets

• Northeast Seattle Greenways

• University Greenways

• U District Mobility Coalition

• Wallingford Community Council

Overview

Current Bike Routes

Between the heart of Wallingford and the heart of U District, there are no bike routes designed for people of all ages and abilities to bike between the two neighborhoods.

45th Street is the most direct route between the hearts of the two neighborhoods. Alternative routes to 45th Street—40th and 50th Streets—require up to a 0.75 mile detour and 100 feet of climbing and also do not have sufficient bike facilities.

High Bicycle Ridership But I-5 Prevents Connections

Many people want to and do ride bikes in Wallingford and the U District. Data show that Wallingford and the U District have among the highest bike commuting rates in the city. According to the 2012 American Communities Survey (ACS), Wallingford’s bike commute share was 9.9%.

However, despite the high bike commute rate, Strava’s heat maps demonstrate that I-5 is a major barrier between Wallingford and the U District, with virtually no bike traffic on the 50th, 45th, and 40th Street crossings.

Safety Concerns

With six vehicular travel lanes and many turning movements, 45th Street between Latona Ave and 8th Ave NE is one of the most dangerous streets in Seattle, for people using any mode, whether walking, biking, or driving.

Within the corridor, there were 303 collisions from 2010 to February 2020. Thirteen involved people walking and 11 involved people biking. This is not a safe and comfortable street to walk and bike, even drive.

Bicycle Master Plan

The City of Seattle’s 2014 Bicycle Master Plan (BMP) calls for an expensive, unrealistic “catalyst” project to connect Wallingford to the U District — a pedestrian bridge across I-5 at 47th Street.

The BMP also marked the 47th Street Greenway and the bridge as a regional bikeway that should be a high priority. Unfortunately, while a new bridge would serve as an important link across I-5, SDOT currently has no project team, project budget, or study underway, nor is it seeking grant funding. And given the high cost of the Northgate Pedestrian Bridge (currently under construction at a cost of $27.5 million), a similarly high cost bridge at 45th Street seems unlikely to get built within in short timeframe.

The city council resolution that adopted the 2014 BMP included specific language that provided when a specific bike project is being planned, SDOT is to engage with the community, and that an alternative route may be implemented.

For 45th Street, none of the parallel corridors have adequate bike infrastructure and none have planned bikeways to connect Wallingford and the U District. In fact, SDOT recently pulled back its planned bike lanes for 40th Street and decided to do nothing as part of its 50th Street repaving project.

Given that 45th Street is the most direct route between Wallingford and the U District and that a 47th Street pedestrian bridge is highly unlikely, creating a safe bike route across the 45th Street bridge is critical.

Move Seattle Levy

The planned spending breakdown of the 2015 Move Seattle Levy ordinance that put it before voters specifically requires SDOT to create a pedestrian and bicycle connection on 45th Street from Wallingford to the U District Light Rail Station before it opens in 2021.

The Levy Ordinance also requires SDOT to sync its projects with the goals of Vision Zero and the Safe Routes to School Program. Any project along 45th Street, such as the Route 44 Multimodal Corridor Project, needs to design the street to eliminate traffic fatalities and serious injuries. With the high number of collisions on 45th Street and with John Stanford International School nearby at 43rd St & 5th Ave, it’s imperative that SDOT plan a safe crossing of I-5.

Complete Streets

The city’s Complete Streets ordinance (adopted in 2007) goes even further than the Move Seattle Levy.

Under the Complete Streets Ordinance, SDOT has a legal requirement to plan any improvement project on 45th Street to design and implement a safe route for people biking and walking.

What We Want

While we ultimately want an “all ages and abilities” bikeway, right now we are most concerned with getting “a” bikeway built before the U District Light Rail Station opens in 2021.

Before Light Rail

Our proposal for a very quick implementation project is simple. Remove the under-used outside westbound vehicular lane, add a west-bound bike lane, and mark the outside eastbound vehicular lane with “sharrows” to indicate the bicyclists may ride in the lane. In addition, it’d add a “half” traffic signal at 8th Avenue so pedestrians and bicyclists could cross.

Learn more about our near-term proposal

With the Route 44 Corridor Project

Long term, SDOT should make bigger improvements. This will take a lot more study, engineering, and community engagement work than what our small neighborhood group can do. But to show that there are better possible designs for 45th Street, we have mocked up a few ideas.

Ultimately, we believe that SDOT’s Route 44 Corridor Project, which is slated to be constructed by 2024, should include an “all ages and abilities” bikeway and improved pedestrian experience across the 45th Street Bridge. The Route 44 Corridor Project is one of the seven RapidRide corridor improvements included in the Move Seattle Levy.

Learn more about our ideas for a AAA bikeway with the Route 44 Corridor project