#1: Expansion of Light Rail to the West Seattle peninsula.
- West Seattle has demonstrated overwhelming support for Sound Transit to expand light rail here, and it’s a logical next step to connect their network to points south such as Burien, Federal Way, and Tacoma. The WSTC has endorsed this to Sound Transit.
#2: Emergency access.
- What happens to our ability to reach hospitals or for emergency medical services if our bridges are closed?
#3: A new on-ramp to the westbound side of Spokane Viaduct.
- The previous dangerous 4th Avenue S west bound on-ramp to the Spokane Street Viaduct was closed in 1993. This could be a new, safer 4th Avenue solution or a transit-only solution for the 6th Avenue busway.
#4: Funding and completing the Lander Street Overpass.
- Proposed and designed by the city, but unfunded still, this is a major requirement for the flow of traffic from West Seattle to downtown.
Other issues:
Expansion of bus service and access to underserved areas of the entire peninsula.
- Exactly what it sounds like.
Poor flow of traffic through our core choke point.
- Almost all of our major arterials flow into in the Fauntleroy Freeway from the Triangle area.
Poor flow of traffic through our core bridge.
- The West Seattle Bridge is notoriously overcrowded most days.
Funding, designing, updating, and executing emergency road clearance plans for our choke points.
- On December 6th, 2013, a single stalled van on the SR99 Viaduct and the lack of a tow truck caused two hour long traffic jams coming out of West Seattle. There is no reason a plan can’t exist to trivially deal with these situations.
Funding, designing, updating and executing comprehensive mitigation plans for SR99 Viaduct closures and future tunnel closures.
- As with the choke point issues, the city, county, and state must have ready-to-go and funded emergency mitigation plans for inevitable Viaduct and Tunnel closures, whether they are 30 minutes, 30 days, or 30 months long.
