Newsletter
Another week of incredible momentum. It seems that when people get accurate information about this initiative, the lightbulb goes on. Fun to feel the inertia--we hope our City Council members are feeling it also.
This week's first article leads you on a walking tour of the Island Crest Corridor. Take 15 minutes out of your day and try it out--it's very eye-opening. Our second article introduces you to another Mercer Island family that is looking forward to improvements in the corridor.
If you haven't already, please add your name to the supporters list and check to see that others that you know are included as well! You'll be a part a 200+ team dedicated to making ICW safer for all of us.
Take a WalkIf you have a few minutes, there is no substitute to experiencing Island Crest Way on foot.
Park on 42nd Street on the East Side of ICW. Consider that Mercer Island High School and the future PEAK project is just up the hill and through the cut-thru at the PATH sign.
Cross at the Crosswalk at 42nd. Pedestrian islands in the 3-Lane Reconfiguration will allow pedestrians to cross one lane of traffic at time.
Walk South on ICW Toward Merrimont. In the new configuration, the sidewalk will be separated from the road, not right on it. This buffer zone will make for safer and more enjoyable walk along ICW. Notice the challenge the homeowners on this corridor have pulling out of and into their driveways. The buffer zone on the side of the lanes will allow for safer exit and entrance onto ICW and will reduce road noise for homeowners.
Stop at Merrimont. The temporary configuration here has reduced accidents, but is definitely temporary. From here you can see why the costs of creating signal-based intersection here would be so high. The difficulty comes from loping terrain on 3 of the 4 legs of the intersection and the narrow "slot" constrained by a steep bank on the SE side. Significant grading will have to reshare the terrain to reshape the intersection. Engineering estimates for a signal here are from $1.5M to $2M, not including any land acquisition costs.
Continue Until You're Across from 86th. Consider that this is the main driving route to and from the High School for those that live to the South. Coming from the high school, drivers must cross two lanes of traffic resulting in long back-ups on 86th and aggressive, young drivers. The 3-Lane Reconfiguration provides a dedicated center turn lane, requiring drivers to cross only one lane, allowing safer and faster access to ICW.
At 46th, Notice the Crosswalk to Nowhere. The crosswalk at 46th ends up on a dangerous and narrow dirt shoulder making 47th the only reasonable crosswalk available between 53rd and 42nd St.
At 47th, Look at the Bus Stop. With the 3-Lane Reconfiguration, buses will use pull outs enabling load and unload without impeding traffic lanes. The road side buffers move waiting riders away from the road and pedestrian islands help bus riders get to the bus stop more easily.
At 47th, Take a Look North Toward 86th. Imagine the driving route to the high school from here. A left turn and quick right across four lanes of traffic within a ½ a block is required by the many students choosing this route. The 3-Lane Reconfiguration allows a left turn across a single lane of traffic into a dedicated central turn lane before merging into the traffic lane and taking a right on 86th.
Cross ICW at the Crosswalk at 47th. Consider that the library, Ellis Pond , St. Monica's School and Church, Yeshiva High School and Emmanuel Episcopal Church are all in the neighborhood east of Island Crest Way. Pedestrian islands in the 3-Lane Reconfiguration will allow pedestrians to cross one lane of traffic at time with the safety of an island in the middle, improving pedestrian safety.
When the options for the Merrimont intersection were first considered, Diane assumed a traffic light at Merrimont was the best option for her family, but as time progressed and her kid's activities started revolving around the high school, she realized that "this isn't a just a Merrimont problem, but a problem for a large stretch of ICW. "
Like many of the hundreds of Island families that live off of West Mercer, the Merrimont temporary change that prevented traffic across ICW changed the travel patterns of the Taylor family, turning the tiny 46th Avenue cut-through into their standard route to the high school. Every school day, dozens of new student drivers and hurried parents, with cars full of students, make their way up the narrow lane from West Mercer to ICW to make the ‘suicide' dash across Island Crest Way to 86th. They line up, waiting for a small break in the traffic that will give them the opportunity to turn left across four lanes of Island Crest Way traffic within a half of a block. The route is reversed in the afternoons, and recurs for afternoon activities, practices and trips to the library.
"It's an accident waiting to happen there," said Diane. "Between 7:45 -8:00 am is a busy time with people heading north on ICW rushing to work, the high school, etc from the South End. High School students from West Mercer neighborhoods, who often have no extra time to spare (trying to avoid that ‘3rd tardy') are out there competing with all that traffic when they dart across four busy lanes. Everyone gets impatient waiting for gaps in the traffic, and I've watched many close calls. It scares me to cross there even with 34 years of driving experience. Now my 16-year old daughter is doing this daily with my 15-year old son and several other kids in the car. This is the driving scenario that worries me the most with my two young drivers. I also have noticed how many other drivers in my neighborhood and surrounding neighborhoods are doing the same crazy maneuver at least twice a day. We simply need to make this safer."
Diane now fully supports the ICW 3-Lane Road re-configuration because the data shows that it will dramatically improve driving safety on the 46th Street and ICW intersection. "Sometimes things don't ‘stick' until they touch you personally. Instead of having to drive across 4 lanes of traffic within a half a block, our kids will cross two lanes of traffic, one at a time, with a ‘safety zone' in the form of a turn lane, in the middle. The buffers on the sides of the roads will make merging and exiting ICW more manageable, and the actions of the cars on the road will be more predictable."
This type of reconfiguration has been put in place in neighborhoods around the region and has proven statistics supporting cross traffic, corridor-wide safety. Four-lane to three-lane conversions have been implemented and studied in many other locations. A study of nine projects in Seattle found an average 34% reduction in accidents. In Minnesota, a study of nine projects found a 37% reduction in collisions. And in Iowa, a study of 15 projects found a 25% decline.
"It is now clear to me that a traffic light at Merrimont or cleaning up what's there now doesn't solve our issues at all," continues Diane. "We need our City Council to make this strategic move and re-configure Island Crest Way to three lanes. It's a first step to making this corridor safer."
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
"Until today the perspective of the 3-lane configuration on ICW was not appealing to me but thanks to all the information on your website, I changed my mind! I am now convinced that this configuration will be much safer for Mercer Island residents. Go for ABC!"
Gwenaël Dumont
IN THIS ISSUE
- A Safer ICW for Pedestrians
- Meet the Taylors
- What's New
- How to Help
- Coming Events
- City Council Contact Information
Read the latest letters to the editor in this weeks Mercer Island Reporter.
Welcome to the new citizens that have stepped up just this week in support of the of the 3-Lane ICW Reonfiguration--we now number 200+ Join our support list today if you haven't already.
Check out the latest happenings on our brand new NEWS page. Submit additions to info@mercerislandabc.org or on Twitter. Also, become a fan of our Facebook Page.
If you missed older newsletters, you can find them here:
Add Your Name to Our Supporters List. Our list is growing fast and you can now add a quote to your name. Send your name or quote to info@mercerislandabc.org.
Email friends. Get the word out and include a link to our web site www.mercerislandabc.org or pass this newletter along.
Write or call your city council reps. Contact information can be found here.
Attend a City Council Meeting. You can speak for 3 minutes at the beginning of the meeting at Appearances. Speak for yourself, or as a representative of a group of like-minded citizens.
Write a letter to the MI Reporter. You can submit it online here.
Arrange a group presentation. You arrange the meeting and we'll get someone there to present the facts. A good presentation about this option can be found here.
Nov 9, 10:30 am | TBD
PTA Advocacy Team Meeting
Citizens for ABC Presentation
Nov 16, 7pm | City Hall
City Council Meeting
Appearances
Dec 7, 7pm | City Hall
City Council Meeting
ICW Decision on the Agenda | Appearances
CITY COUNCIL CONTACT INFORMATION
The City Council will make this decision for us as our elected representatives. The topic is on the agenda for the December 7th City Council meeting. None have publicly supported any of the options. Candidate Ira Appleman has publicly stated that he supports the costly light option. The City Council need to hear your opinions on this matter. Call or email them today: