By Sean Keeley
We’ve seen a lot of new and improved features on Aurora Avenue recently, including radar speed signs and earthquake retrofits. According to a recent blog post by SDOT, there’s still a lot more to come.
The post outlines a whole bunch of impending improvements and changes in the area, while some of them will take place right in our own backyard.
Further south, SDOT is preparing to implement a series of safety improvements centered around the Aurora Bridge. New signage will be installed warning drivers to expect merging traffic prior the Fremont Way and Halladay Street entrances. This project will include improved directional signage to the Queen Anne neighborhood and minor tree trimming to improve the visibility of these signs. Channelization improvements will be implemented concurrently on southbound Aurora at the Fremont Way and Raye Street entrances to Aurora. At Fremont Way, a solid white lane line will replace the existing dashed lane line and extend 200 feet south of the point where the two roadways become one. Since it is illegal to cross a solid white lane line, this new configuration will allow drivers entering Aurora to get up to speed before making lane changes. At Raye Street, a new edge line will be installed to provide drivers with better sight lines when entering Aurora. Coupled with the recently completed improvements at Halladay Street (for drivers entering and exiting northbound 99), the roadway around the Aurora Bridge will certainly funtion better.
I know the current set-up can cause some uneasiness when it comes to merging traffic heading onto the bridge so it sounds like these changes could help.
Read more about SDOT’s Action Plan here.
