From Stark
The Washington Department of Transportation has proposed some major changes to traffic patterns on the congested stretch of Meridian Street between Horton Road and Interstate 5.
If these proposals come to pass, they will force some of us to adjust our routes to critical sources of burgers and fries, and local collision repair shops may notice a dropoff in business. But why be so negative? Decide for yourself.
Highlights, as proposed:
- Eliminate northbound left turns onto Telegraph Road
- Remove center turn lane
- Widen turning radius at the northbound Meridian off-ramp so trucks can navigate the turn more smoothly.
There is much more.
If the proposals clear the final public comment phase, construction would not begin until spring 2013.
Here’s the WSDOT web page dealing with the project. You can read the full 45-page document explaining it all, or the handy four-page summary.
This is more of a Jared transportation blog thing, but he didn’t trust me with the transpo blog password.
While I didn’t have the time atm to read the full report, I found the summer very interesting. I’m not sure how I’d feel about a curb between the center and right lanes of NB Guide from the I-5 exit to Telegraph. I know that would certainly make exiting I-5 there safer and easier, but it would definatly shift the weaving problem north. I’m no traffic engineer but couldn’t the 3rd (right) lane start just after the guide goes under the freeway and before it actually interests the left turn lane of the freeway exit. Basically makeing the people exiting the freeway from northbound I-5 yield to traffic already on northbound guide. I suppose the problem there is increased backups off the off ramp, however with improved timing from the reduction of the left turn cycle perhaps flow would be adaquate.
Hey John, somehow your original post ( NICHOLAS D. KRISTOF) got changed?
AFY!!theheelotsheepdog!!!
I wish to take a position on this issue.
I HATE it so far, and I am an expert on this piece of road.
I own Cafe Caffe, which is in the mall with Ross and Shari’s and Coldstone Creamery. The traffic is a mess, but it is imperative that it is not made any worse. I frequently arrive from North of town on the southbound i-5 exit by the golf club, south of the i-5, then I need to work my way rightbound, changing lanes to the right, one after the other, hopefully in time to turn at Burger King, or Shari’s, or at my business. I never know where the break in traffic will occur, so i absolutely need all those options. It appears that they want to bottleneck all that traffic into one ultra-congested driveway. That’s like having one fire exit.
If they prevent lane changes for the incoming traffic exiting from the Northbound traffic that came from downtown, then options and flexibility will be limited. Often, there will be no traffic at all in the rightmost offramp lane, so I can currently spot that break in traffic and go to the right early. This new plan would prevent me from getting where I need to go, possibly missing later chances as well, and have to go all the way to Bakerview, right past my destination. Then I’m driving around town making more exhaust emissions, rather than getting to work.
Awful looking so far.
This is most dangerous set of intersections in the entire county. Changes must be made and some of those changes are indeed going to impact some people’s cherised traffic moves.
There is too much weaving from one side of the road to the other, to accomodate left turns immediately after merging. Too many driveways into businesses that can be accessed in other entries.
These changes sound reasonable and overdo.
As might be expected, there seems to be nothing in the proposal about protecting pedestrian and bicycle traffic. Given the recent tally of child and septuagenarian pedestrian deaths in Bellingham traffic, you would think the traffic mavens might catch on that preserving life has more potential value than saving aggressive drivers’ bumpers.
Of course, if the asphalt nightmare continues in that neighborhood, no one will venture there on a bicycle or shank’s mare. There are no bus stops on Meridian north of I-5.
There should be a policy to build safe pedestrian and bicycle routes into any new street construction.
Finally – full curb in the right lane off the freeway forcing you to stay in that lane beyond the light! This is an improvement that should have happened a long time ago.
Boudou – I believe you’re allow to ride a bike on the sidewalk in that part of the city. Someone let me know if that’s wrong, but I think the no-bikes on sidewalks restrictions are in downtown and Fairhaven?
Sam,
The sidewalks on both the east and west sides of Meridian are discontinuous. You can ride the sidewalk by crossing back and forth at corners, if you want to take your chances with cars entering and leaving 35 mph traffic from the many driveways. Walking or riding, it can be a terrifying hassle to get around cars parked bumper to bumper across the sidewalk, the drivers on cellphones, waiting for an opening. Many riders ride in the right hand lane along the curb. Unless you have been hit and injured yourself, you may not appreciate the dire predicaments our traffic wizards create for sensible pedestrians.
This was one of Bellingham’s automated ticket machine intersections.
What effect will this have on their budget if these safety improvements are implemented? And how soon ’til Mayor Pike comes out in opposition to these improvements.
And will there be a lane for coal trains?
This is a list of quick fixes, not a major makeover to create a bike and pedestrian-friendly transportation utopia. They have $3 million to spend. The project manager says that MIGHT be enough to cover the cost of the proposals they are floating now. It is nowhere near enough to create lanes for bikes, safe pedestrian crossings, or even a lane for coal trains.
Since when is it utopian to place human life above bent plastic?
That neighborhood is similar to a strip mall, which is statistically the most dangerous situation for pedestrians. In recent years, in that neighborhood one pedestrian was killed and another was seriously injured. Recently, on the wonderful new and improved Sunset, another pedestrian was killed. Since the killing of that fellow by the racing high school students, has any motorist been injured on Meridian?
The issue is, if there is money available to improve Bellingham streets, whether it would be better invested in saving lives than in averting bent fenders.
The State’s position that motorists and business owners’ opinions matter sounds like the medieval property owner qualification for voting. Mothers who live south of I-5 do push their baby carriages to shop on Meridian. Adults and children who attend WCC or work in the businesses do ride their bikes on Meridian. Their lives are important, and it is callously impractical and unreasonable to ignore their well-being in spending our tax money.
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