Take "Safe Montlake Passage" Survey For Direct, Safe Route Through Neighborhood To Light Rail Not Included In UW Master Plan, And Other Proposed Nearby Large Developments

Laurelhurst resident Katherin Burk, has started "Safe Montlake Passage" to advocate for modification of the proposed UW E1 parking lot (the lot between the driving range and the stadium) development plans, included in the UW Master Plan, into a redesign to create a well lit bike/pedestrian path to create a direct route from the neighborhood directly to LINK Light Rail.

The Safe Montlake Passage proposal also includes a bus/rider drop off/turnaround, carpool drop-offs and designated parking spots for rideshare parking such as Car2go, ReachNow and others, for improved NE Seattle ridership on LINK.

Katherin invites the NE Seattle community to take her survey, which includes data about the specifics of commuting scenarios and experiences, which she will present to UW and Sound Transit decision makers to show the consistent and frequent use of the variety of daily NE Seattle residents who need a safe and easily accessible route to access the UW Link station. The survey will also reflect the number of residents who want to take LINK, but currently the limited access to the station is hindering their efforts.  

Katherin told the Laurelhurst Blog:

Imagine if you could safely ride or walk through the current E1 lot? What if there were rideshare (Car2Go, ReachNow) Parking and a turnaround for public buses and passenger drop offs? So many more commuters, residents and families would use LINK. 

Safe Montlake Passage is a campaign to advocate for modification of finalized development plans for the E1 parking lot at the UW.  Currently on the UW Master Plan illustrations there is a design of the proposed development, just west of Montlake Boulevard.  

When Montlake  traffic is backed up, which is frequently, there is no easy way to pick up or drop off riders at the UW station. Buses, carpools and rideshares are caught up in Montlake traffic, and, there is no Car2Go, Reach or other rideshare parking.  Further, there is no safe and well lit pedestrian/bike path through the E1 parking lot to safely reach LINK.

The finalized plans to develop the E1 parking lot that the UW published in July does nothing to address Montlake congestion or access to the UW Link station.  

The development of E1 seems like an opportune time to add a well lit path for all pedestrians/bicycles, a turnaround for buses and carpool drop offs and designated parking spots for rideshare (car2go, ReachNow, etc.) so that more NE Seattle riders can use the LINK. 

Safe Montlake Passage is not a proposal to add single rider car parking. This is a proposal to ask UW to amend their plans to allow buses and carpool drop offs, rideshare parking, and to develop well lit and safe pathways for pedestrians and bicycles through what is currently the E1 parking area.  

Please take the survey as soon as possible especially for those commuters who can provide personal experiences that make the case of how much this would effect and improve commuters and citizen experiences.

Karen told the Laurelhurst Blog that the sometimes uneven sidewalk on Montlake Boulevard is narrow and unsafe for pedestrians with the heavy vehicular traffic.  It is especially dangerous for bicyclicsts.  The lot gates are so wide a cyclist can barely go around. The bicycle route advertised to east campus is an unpaved, dirty, gravel road and dangerous. 

She said it is also twice the distance to walk that route rather than going through the E1 parking lot or other routes near the sports facilities. Going through the parking lot is a direct route from Laurelhurst and cuts back on commuter time.

The 2018 10-year UW Master Plan "identifies 86 potential development sites and the need to build 6 million net new gross square feet of building space on the Seattle campus during the life of the Campus Master Plan. The additional space will accommodate anticipated growth of students, staff and faculty of 15 percent between 2018 and 2028."

LCC commented in a recent letter to the City regarding the impacts on potential development near Laurelhurst saying:

The massive square footage expansion requested by the University in this proposed Master Plan, and the planned 20% increase of students, faculty and staff is monumental in scale.

It is a very aggressive plan to expand the University's footprint out from down to Boat Street, upzone the U District with tall buildings, and expand along Montlake Boulevard with building structures on the E-1 parking lots which border Laurelhurst.  In addition, there are plans to increase buildings along Mary Gates Memorial Drive. 

The CMP 2018 shows that Buildings E80, E81, E82 are planned to be doubled in height. These are student housing units that border the single family Laurelhurst neighborhood.  The sf residential heights are capped at 30 feet.  The CMP 2018 should not increase the heights to be compatible with the underlying zoning. Not only is the CMP requesting to double the height, but also build out in the green space that the student families heavily use.  LCC requests that the 65 foot heights not be allowed in this part of the campus, and retain a more family friendly setting for both the students and nearby neighborhoods.  

Other growth in the area includes:

1. University District upzone upzone, which could increase building heights to up to 320 feet (32 stories), plus another 15' for mechanicals.  The affected area is the main University District core (15th  Avenue NE to the freeway and 41st to NE 50th Street) and potentially 240' buildings in other areas of the core area.
2. University Village's proposal for a seven story garage, 65 foot high West Parking Garage in the parking lot directly near the Anthropologie store, on 25th Avenue NE where currently there is surface parking.  In addition, four buildings would be constructed in the northwest part of the shopping center, which would include approximately 100,000 sq. ft. of commercial space and 915 parking spaces provide within one of the structures. A portion of an existing building would be demolished.
3. Union Bay Place NE developments , near Safeway, one already under construction
4. Aegis Assisted Living development, where the old Baskin-Robbins was located
5. Seattle Children's Hospital construction of Forest B, an 8 story building, to be located on the existing surface parking lot near the Emergency Room

For more information email SafeMontlakePassages@gmail.com, call 206-8494955 and check Twitter.

For more information about the 2018 Seattle Campus Master Plan (CMP) and Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) go here.