Help on way for city's 'dirty dozen' big traffic headaches

Longtime Seattle resident and driver Dave Magnuson believes North 45th Street in Wallingford has been "one of the worst streets for the past 30 years."

READERS' LIST

Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels announced Wednesday a list of 12 bad roads, missing sidewalks and other traffic and pedestrian problems, cited by residents in a survey, that the city intends to fix soon. Seattlepi.com readers have their own list of the city's worst roads:

East-west streets in Wallingford between Interstate 5 and Stone Way North

Dexter Avenue North between Fremont Bridge and Denny Way

Mercer Street approaches to I-5

Rainier Avenue South

See map of seattlepi.com responses

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David Fox, a bit older, outdid Magnuson by a couple of decades: "It's been bad since the '50s," he says.

And Julia Donk, who lives in the neighborhood, says she tries to avoid North 45th whenever she can: "There are waves in the street from large trucks."

Of more than 700 people who responded to a city survey last month, 50 named North 45th as one of the worst traffic blots in the city, more than any other location.

So that's where Mayor Greg Nickels held a news conference Wednesday to announce the "dirty dozen" -- 12 sore spots on the city's streets, bike trails and sidewalks that he pledged to fix within the next year for about $20 million. The survey was far from scientific -- nominations were sought online or by snail mail -- and seemed ripe for manipulation by organized neighborhood groups.

Given that, the mayor's dirty dozen didn't correspond exactly with the people's picks.

Other than North 45th, the other 11 projects were among those identified in the survey but were not necessarily the top vote-getters, said Gregg Hirakawa, a spokesman for the city Department of Transportation.

Instead, the projects were those for which money was available or that were on the city's priority list for street repairs already, he said. Wednesday's announcement, with a carefully selected fall timeline for some of the work, had the feel of a campaign stop.


		Gilbert W. Arias / P-I
	Rough pavement with large ruts is clearly visible on North 45th Street near the intersection with Stone Way North. North 45th drew dozens of complaints in the city survey, topping the list.

Nickels promised to repave North 45th Street, starting even before the fall election, when he hopes to have a $1.8 billion, 20-year transportation package on the ballot.

That package, which does not include any of the dirty dozen projects, would repair streets, bridges, sidewalks and stairways and upgrade traffic signals through a combination of taxes on property, private parking and employers.

In announcing the list of 12, Nickels unabashedly admitted he was campaigning for the full package, saying he'll tout the mega-proposal "in every way possible."

He restated the city's need to fix its deteriorating transportation facilities, including re-timing some signals to improve traffic flow.

Noting that Seattle was recently ranked a top tourist destination by Travel and Leisure magazine, Nickels said, "You can't have a world-class destination with a second-class transportation system."

The mayor said there's money available to complete the dirty dozen projects within three or four months, starting in September.

Hirakawa said the dirty dozen selection procedure keeps faith with what residents expected from the survey, because Nickels didn't commit to fixing the most-cited problems -- just that he'd do so "if possible."

There's no overlap with the projects in the mayor's $1.8 billion package, he said, to avoid the impression that the dirty dozen scheme was a "quid pro quo" designed to get support for the bigger package.

City Council members, who agree that the city's transportation system needs a lot of work, have expressed concern about the size of Nickels' proposal and the supporting taxes.

The head of a key council committee has predicted the package likely will be reduced in size.

With its lumpy pavement, North 45th also was one of the leading picks in a seattlepi.com survey that went online in June, the same time the mayor announced his survey.

"Please, please, please fix 45th in Wallingford," one P-I reader wrote. "Every time I drive down the street I practically blow a tire. My commute home should not be a bumpy experience."

THE DIRTY DOZEN

1. Repaving on North 45th Street, Stone Way North and 15th Avenue Northeast, $7 million

2. Repaving on California Avenue Southwest, $5 million

3. Repaving on Northeast 65th Street, $6 million

4. Spot paving on South Holgate Street, $70,000

5. Repaving on Montlake Boulevard East and Lake Washington Boulevard, $40,000

6. Repaving on West McGraw Place, $60,000

7. Retiming signals on 12th Avenue South, $20,000

8. Retiming signals on North 46th Street, $4,000

9. New signal at North 145th Street and Linden Avenue North, $125,000

10. Restriping on Dexter Avenue North for bicycle safety, $30,000

11. Chief Sealth Trail improvements, $800,000

12. New sidewealks on 30th Avenue Northeast, up to $450,000

P-I reporter Larry Lange contributed to this report. P-I reporter Mary Andom can be reached at 206-448-8197 or maryandom@seattlepi.com.

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