WALK AUDIT RESULTS FOR 8TH AVE NW – LEARY TO MARKET

Ballard Fremont Greenways

September 2024

Opportunities

• Connecting West Woodland to brewery district
• Connecting Ballard to Leary businesses
• Burke-Gilman Trail to 8th bike interchange

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Improving safety for all road users!

To Market

To Leary

Walk audit methodology

• Conducted by BFG members Tim Miller and Jennifer Moon (Ballard Brewery District) on Sep 7
• Walked N-bound and S-bound on 8th Ave NW between Leary and Market
• Tested light timings at two signalized intersections: Market and Leary
• Took photos at every cross street and at problem areas
• Organization of report:
• Problems
• Possible solutions
• Photos of problem spots
• Street-by-street analysis
• Analyses synthesize results of audit with experience of auditors and neighbors, BFG members

Problems

• No marked crossings between Leary and Market (~11.5 blocks)
• Poor bike lane maintenance
• High speeds with few physical barriers
• Bus stops without nearby crosswalks
• Ugly
• Poor sidewalk conditions, significant non-accessible areas
• Street parking is lightly utilized and wasteful use of space
• Eco-blocks abound
• “Temporary” no parking signs have been up for years
• Parking lane uses huge amount of road width and makes industrial area feel like a highway
• Who is this serving?
• Residential density is encroaching on light industrial zoned area, potential missed opportunities due to zoning restrictions

Possible solutions - easy wins

• Increase ped crossings of 8th with painted crosswalks
• Prioritize 51st for bus stops and brewery access
• Add daylighting on 8th in residential areas to increase visibility between drivers, peds, bikes
• Re-paint interior side of bike lane to simplify legal parking
• Increase parking enforcement to keep bike lanes clear, minimize intersection blocking, improve visibility
• Work with neighbors to keep sidewalks clear of encroaching vegetation (Find it fix it?)
• Reduce access from 44th to 8th with signs

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Possible solutions - more effort

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• Signalized ped crossings with call buttons
• Curb bumpouts at crossings for decreased distance + daylighting
• Use daylighting areas for micromobility parking (i.e., clean up scooter junk)
• Transition to Parking-protected bike lanes to reduce risk for cyclists, both from traffic and opening car doors.
• Repair sidewalks (worst being next to Reuben’s canning line)
• Improve ADA-compliance of sidewalks from Leary to ~48th
• Re-think light timing at Leary/8th to prioritize bus efficiency, bike wayfinding and pedestrian safety
• Make 44th at 8th a dead end
• Sensor-mediated light for cars from 48th crossing 8th? Block access? 4-way stop?

Possible solutions - heavy lifts, creative solutions, dream scenarios

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• Extend landscaped medians S from 51st to Leary (traffic calming, beautification)
• Road diet in light industrial area - remove parking lane, create wide median with walking path
• Relaxed zoning in light industrial areas to meet demand for housing density and create customer base for nearby retail

Detailed problem spot photos

• Descriptions in speaker notes

BGT into Leary (looking South)

Issues:

• Dangerous/scary angled rail tracks
• Unintuitive bike connection
• Faded traffic lines
• Rough surfaces
• Poor visibility
• Low car usage
• High conflict zone

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BGT into Leary (looking North)

Issues:

• Pedestrians created desire path
• Lack of guidance for merging bikes and peds at light, DA Burns driveway

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Possibilities:

• Paint and wayfinding to get bikes to 8th safely

LEARY AND 8TH

Issues:

• Confusing cycle
• Unpredictable button behavior
• Huge right turn, allowed on red
• Bikes switching from bike to ped infra

Timings from button press to walk sign

1:15

0:38

0:21

0:51

LEARY AND 8^TH: BREAKDOWN BY MODE

Driving:

• Most traffic from 8th turning left
• W-bound from Leary turns right - conflict with buses

Walking:

• Light timing encourages jay-walking
• Most (?) destinations on N side of Leary
• Bus stop on S side of Leary

Biking:

• Confusing for new riders to get to/from 8th to BGT
• Leary/8th feels like interstate interchange in some ways

Busing:

• Slow light timing + low bus frequency = risky crossing behavior
• Bus stop on W side of intersection causes risky lane-changing behavior

NW 44^TH ST

High-Level Points:

• Small side-street with minimal traffic, East side only
• Connection to 6th Ave Greenway
• Very close to 8th/Leary

NW 44^TH ST: BREAKDOWN BY MODE

Driving:

• Turning L onto 8th all-but-impossible but not blocked
• Mostly used for street parking and employee access

Walking:

• Potential 3-way conflict with cars trying to get through bike lane
• Crossing 8th not really necessary here

Biking:

• Access to Greenway - is this a common use case?

45^TH ST NW

High-Level Points:

• Light industrial businesses, power station
• Parking at businesses and streets

45^TH ST NW: BREAKDOWN BY MODE

Driving:

• Mainly exists to take you to parking - no important connections and few consumer entrances

Walking:

• Wider crossing here than further N
• Little visual interest

Biking:

• Parking lane narrows on SW corner which creates potential conflict as cars jut into bike lane

Bus:

• N-bound bus stop in front of power station, well-maintained but sometimes blocked by RVs
• S-bound bus stop industrial (far from residences, low employee density)

46^TH ST NW

High-Level Points:

• Entering some retail:
• Reuben’s “Canning line”, Downtown Dog Lounge
• Power station and storage lot
• Pedestrian trouble spots (bad sidewalks)

46^TH ST NW: BREAKDOWN BY MODE

Driving:

• Still little consumer traffic
• Parking on 8th mostly unused
• “Feels” like a highway due to width and low parking

Walking:

• West side sidewalks have long been in disrepair
• East side unmaintained property
• RVs park long term on NW side and spill onto sidewalks

Biking:

• Large vehicles park on this block encroaching in bike lane

47^TH ST NW

High-Level Points:

• W: Fremont brewery, empty lot
• E: Residential, storage lot

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Basically a continuation of 46th

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48^TH ST NW

High-Level Points:

• WW residents cross 8th to get to W-bound Leary
• Being a pedestrian on W side of 8th is scary

49^TH ST NW

High-Level Points:

- Start of residential area and breweries W of 8th

- Eco-blocks in parking lanes

- Lots of on-street parking and alleyways

49^TH ST NW: BREAKDOWN BY MODE

Driving:

- 49th dead-ends in brewery district, no through traffic

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Walking:

- Mural along “Poly-sorb” building adds some visual interest

- Large boat/RV storage lot on S half of block

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Biking:

- Eco-blocks offer protection from dooring

50^TH ST NW

High-Level Points:

• Busy cross street due to connection with Market
• Bus stops on both sides (between 50th and 51st)
• Last block with mid-block alley
• Fully residential on both sides

50^TH ST NW: BREAKDOWN BY MODE

Driving:

- Neighbors on 50th frustrated with through traffic, esp trucks

- Mapping software routes people through 50th instead of going N to Market and turning right

- Parking lane on 8th mostly blocked by eco-blocks and no parking signs

Bus:

- Two pleasant enough bus stops but with no crossing nearby

51^ST ST NW

High-Level Points:

- Street parking no longer blocked, more usage

- Trucks, RVs, delivery vehicles parked close to intersection block visibility

- Grassy median starts N of here

51^ST ST NW: BREAKDOWN BY MODE

Driving + Walking:

- Crossing is difficult due to blocked visibility

Bus:

- Stop on NW side has high usage

- Area around stop has high rental scooter usage and can get blocked

52^ND ST NW

High-Level Points:

• Median makes crossing a bit easier
• Cross street parking more full on W side than E side
• Residences mostly fenced in

53rd ST NW

High-Level Points:

- W side dead-ends at Gilman Playground

- E side dead-ends at Market

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54^TH ST NW

High-Level Points:

• Recently had curb improvements

NW MARKET ST

High-Level Points:

- Busy intersection

- Right turn on red allowed

- Gas station entrances create conflict points

- Low-traffic businesses on SW corner - some “light skipping”

NW MARKET ST: BREAKDOWN BY MODE

Driving:

- Primary arterial connection - 8th & Market from central Ballard to central Fremont

Walking:

• Decent walk times but Market is a wide crossing and lots of traffic

Biking:

- Bike lanes superseded by right-hand turn lanes both N & S

Light times at Market and 8th

1:13

0:55

0:10

Conclusions

• Big opportunities for connecting across 8th to improve quality of life, support local businesses
• Many problems affect distances “too short” to drive, so improving walking and biking will sew together neighborhoods
• Easy solutions would make a huge difference!
• Paint, posts, signs, sidewalk clearing
• Only added “burden” on cars is to reduce dangerous speeding in industrial section – minimal effect on throughputs
• People in cars will see improved interactions with other modes

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