Cyclists know that in a decent rain, like the ones we’ve has recently, a “lake” forms where the trail crosses Meridian Ave. N., in front of Urban Surf. Publicola recently ran a story on the problem.
We stopped by the area yesterday and talked to Seattle Department of Transportation’s North End Asphalt Crew Chief, Steve Hoyos. He told us that cyclists and pedestrians won’t need to wait long for the dip in the trail to be fixed; if he gets a traffic control plan this week, work should start on Monday, November 1.
SDOT will divert people off the trail (bikes will go to Northlake Way via a temporary asphalt trail, pedestrians will be directed up to N. Pacific/N. 34th St.), and the project should be complete in a couple of weeks. Hoyos estimated 10 working days to dig out concrete, pour new concrete and put asphalt on that. “The work’s not that big a deal — it’s the rerouting that’s a big deal,” he said.
Signage will be up shortly to warn cyclists and pedestrians of the impending detours.
Thanks to Robby Delaware for the tip!
So, SDOT is going to require 10 more working days to repair something they incorrectly installed earlier this year? I remember when they did the work, almost immediately the water started ponding there covering the whole trail. Whether it's a road or trail project it should have been done right the first time. It is after all your tax dollars their spending.
it's really not that bad. Hardly a lake. The real problem with the Bumpy Gilman is the plague of tree roots, basically from UW to Kenmore.
Agree. No issue with this location. CAN'T SOMEONE EVER FIX the trail from Matthews Beach to Logboom Park? I have broken 4 or 5 rims on that stretch over the last 10 years! Yeah, I know, they are supposed to start work on Lake Forest Park section in April 2011. HAHAHAHA!!! We'll see if that EVER happens!
Are you kidding? That's it? Come ride E. Marginal between Atlantic/Spokane Street and you'll understand what flooding issues really do to bike facilities.
And to continue piling on, what's with the new crosswalk striping between Fremont and Ballard (near Hale's, the asphalt place, etc)? Those new stripes are nice and shiny, but they are teeth-chattering to ride over… they've got to be a good 1/2″ elevated off the road surface.
God! Those are horrible! I don't understand what went wrong there, but I've seen numerous people swerving all over the road to ride around them. I realize that these seem like very minor issues (and they are, really) but it's frustrating to see the city screwing up such simple projects. It's not like they're cutting corners to save money; it's like they just don't even care.
There's a lot of industrial traffic through there, which probably wears down the thermoplastic markings pretty fast, or at least faster than in other areas. Maybe they put down extra-thick markings in hopes that they'd last a little longer.
But send SDOT an email about it. Whether the markings were made extra thick on purpose or in error, if they're that jarring (or dangerous?) to ride over, they should know.