Mercer Street

The deep bore tunnel has consumed our attention and, understandably, the focus of the transportation world in Seattle. It almost makes us forget the other 800 lb gorilla in the room: Mercer.

The Mercer Street ‘mess’ has been a problem for so long it’s hard to get a handle on where it all stands. The politics of Mercer are unpleasant at best given that folks running for city council and the state legislature–including me–have promised for years to solve the issue once and for all. Of course, this year federal money to fix the Mercer Street mess (via a city-driven design strongly supported by Vulcan and other neighborhood interests) got sucked into the politics of the relationship between the City of Seattle and the State Legislature.

It’s important to recognize the ineffectiveness of essentially dividing the Mercer project into two different projects….western portion is associated with the tunnel by way of Elliott Avenue, and the far eastern section is associated with the redevelopment of South Lake Union. I’m extremely familiar with the status of the western portion, but struggle to get a handle on the eastern issues. What is the cost literally and figuratively of it becoming two projects? Huge. Obviously none of the agency folks at the city, state level will acknowledge that it’s quickly becoming two projects but by all indications it is and we should be concerned.

Now, with the Puget Sound Regional Council unlikely to provide a portion of their federal funding for the eastern Mercer project, the question is now what steps are needed to move forward? The city process seems to have slowed, in large part because of the opposition of Councilman Nick Licata and reservations from Queen Anne Community Council advocates.

Is the current proposed plan viable for Queen Anne and tens of thousands commuters from other neighborhoods who use the major arterial everyday? Not an easy question. Is there a new design that is less costly, more efficient that recognizes the community’s need for access, flow and walkable/livable housing and living?

As a state legislator representing 130,000 people–a good chunk of whom use the Mercer Street arterial regularly–you’d think I would have a handle on where things stand politically. Admittedly I don’t serve on the House Transportation Committee and, in the time I’m writing this post I could have put calls into folks in the know…but the point still stands. The fact that I don’t have a sense of where things stand financially–and that it’s so tough to get any accountability from anyone about how we can move forward with a workable action plan–does not reflect well on anyone. Different levels of government usually and frequently struggle to coordinate around large-scale projects; this is one more unpleasant example of that.

I don’t have the answer on how to get the incremental dollars to fix Mercer or even whether the current design is as strong as it could be. But I do know that the people of our community want, need, require, expect and deserve action!

UPDATE: Here’s an email from John Coney, Uptown Alliance transportation guru, activist and community leader:

Reuven,

Funding for Mercer East Project? I haven’t heard any progress reports
either. When Grace Crunican last reported on this to the City Council
Transportation Committee and to Queen Anne Groups the plan was to
assemble the final funding elements from bonding against City surplus
land sales in the Mercer Corridor and by obtaining early low bids in
the hopefully low point of the recession. In March SDOT folks were
confident of putting together the funding. Some federal grants are
still cooking. I understand that applications are in. I’ve heard
nothing of cutting back the project to fit any sort of reduced budget.

The Mercer Corridor Stakeholders Group guided by Marni Heffron, traffic
consultant, is planning, but has not yet scheduled, a further meeting
to look over the combined effects on South Lake Union, Uptown and
Seattle Center of the North Portal Concept “B”with three new east/west
crossings of Aurora (Harrison, Thomas, John Streets), 2-way Mercer East
(Dexter to Fairview), 6th Ave. extension from Harrison to Mercer, new
double width Mercer Aurora underpass, and 2-way Mercer West (5th Ave.
to Elliott Ave.)

So far the North Portal concepts by WSDOT look to be greatly beneficial
on balance to South Lake Union Urban Center and Uptown Urban Center.
There are many new bike/pedestrian route possibilities with the new
east/west crossings of Aurora and a better Mercer/Aurora underpass. As
Uptown Alliance
Co-Pres. I’m workng now with Seattle Parks Foundation
and Seattle Center staff to re-invigorate the Lake to Bay Trail concept
for bike/pedestrian routes connecting Elliott Bay waterfront, Seattle
Center, Uptown, BMGF campus, UW Medical Campus (around the old “Blue
Flame” building in SLU), South Lake Union Urban Center, and Lake Union
Park whiich will have the MOHAI Museum and historic ships.
This is big bike/pedestrian set of amenities that the State funding for
the deep bore bypass tunnel North Portal makes possible.

The Mercer Corridor Stakeholers have agreed that 2-way Mercer doesn’t
work well without the 6th Ave. extension creating a new north/south
link between Denny and Mercer, serving as an on-ramp to the bypass
tunnel southbound and as a distributor for the new east/west crossings
of Aurora.

The BMGF has opposed the 6th Ave. extension, but now is showing SDOT
some compromises that would allow the extension and retain their third
building site as it was planned some years ago. This is hopeful
development, since I’d guess that BMGF can block the 6th Ave.
extension, if they choose to do so. We may be close to a compromise
design that serves all parties well.

One negative in the North Portal concept: the big ventilation structure
which WSDOT currently has sited on the west side of the new surface
Aurora (over the tunnel) between Harrison and John Streets. This will
be a really big, tall structure.
The vent structures for Boston’s “big
dig” tunnels are very daunting, massive, and blighting. We might dodge
that bullet by co-locating the ven structure with some public facility
or even mixed use structure(s).

The surface Alaskan Way between Pike and SODO along with the planned
new bridge linking Elliott and Western Avenues to Alaskan Way surface
street at Pike seems to be a workable solution for much of the freight
trucking. Well designed signal lights should move traffic along what
is now the Alaskan Way Viaduct alignment with only a one to two minute
longer trip time. SDOT and WSDOT seem to be in agreement on how to
make that route work well.

This is complex stuff, but it seems to be pulling together in to a
package that will create economic development, improve transit access,
create new bike/pedestrian connections, better trucking routes, etc.
The last opposition to the Mercer and North Portal projects may well be
the BINMIC Action Committee which is pressing for wider truck turnning
radii at key corners and exclusive truck lanes on Mercer. The Magnolia
Community Club, while still on record as opposing Mercer East, is
taking a more rational approach and making some good DEIS comments.

The Uptown Alliance Planning and Transportation Committee will be
meeting with SDOT staff at 5pm, Monday, July 6 at the Colorcraft
Building, southwest corner of 2nd N. and Roy St. We’ll be going over a
0Alot of this material with SDOT then. You’re invited to sit in if you
want. Of course I’m always happy to meet with you.

Keep up the good work in Olympia,

John Coney, Co-Pres. Uptown Alliance