Highland Park Way SW Project: March 4 Meeting Recap and New Design Option

Hi everyone, 

Thank you to the community members who joined our virtual public meeting on Wednesday, March 4, to discuss early design options for the Highland Park Way SW Connection Project. 

We appreciate the robust discussion and the detailed questions shared during the session. We heard there is support for improved safety and better walking and biking connections, and concerns about how these changes will affect vehicle traffic. We have summarized the key themes from the meeting below: 

What We Heard 

Based on the feedback shared during the meeting and through our project inbox, we have identified several key themes: 

• Traffic Wait Time: Residents are concerned that removing one downhill lane will increase average wait times, especially during peak hours or if there are future issues with the West Seattle Bridge. 

• Safety Priorities: We heard questions regarding the placement of Jersey barriers. Some neighbors suggested that barriers should be used to separate uphill and downhill vehicle traffic in the centerline rather than (or in addition to) protecting people walking and biking on the path and bike lane.  

• Local Access: Residents on side streets, particularly SW Othello St, shared concerns about the difficulty of turning onto Highland Park Way as traffic is consolidated into fewer lanes. 

• Emergency Response: Questions were raised about how emergency vehicles will navigate the hill during periods of heavy congestion. 

• Project Rationale: Community members asked for more data regarding current bike and pedestrian counts and questioned the prioritization of this project over other ones.  

Introducing Option 2B: A Direct Response to Feedback 

In response to feedback about wanting Highland Park Way SW to be both safer for everyone and not increase vehicle queues getting through West Marginal Way SW, our team has developed a new hybrid alternative: Option 2B. 

Design features of Option 2B: 

• Increased Intersection Capacity: At the bottom of the hill, the single downhill lane opens into three vehicular lanes (one left-turn lane and two through-lanes). 

• Downhill Bike Lane A downhill bike lane remains protected by Jersey barriers to the intersection with West Marginal Way SW. 

• Adjusted Channelization: We are removing the center median to accommodate the extra through-lane. Additionally, we are removing one of the westbound left-turn lanes at the W Marginal Way SW intersection to make space for the three eastbound vehicle lanes and the protected bike lane.