City begins work on Bell Street bike lanes to connect to the waterfront + We still need a safer Western Ave
The project team really upped their rendering game with this nighttime scene.Work is underway on a two-block rebuild of hilly Bell Street between Elliott and 1st Avenues that includes a two-way projected bike lane and a new intersection design at Western Ave. The project is estimated to take about five months to complete.
The new bike lanes will connect to the one-way lanes on Elliott and Western Avenues, providing a complete connection to the under-construction waterfront bike lanes. It will fill in the final gap in the bike route between the waterfront and the Fremont Bridge (unless you count the Bell Street shared street as a gap, as it sometimes feels). These blocks of Bell Street are very steep (especially between Western and 1st), but all the nearby options are steep as well. Bell Street is the most direct bike connection available, and having a protected space makes climbing less stressful.
However, there will still be a missing southbound connection from Bell Street to Pike Place Market via Western. See where it says To Pike Pl Market" on the map below? How does someone biking down Bell Street get there? There are sort of two options. You could bike down the hill on Bell all the way to Elliott Ave, then bike back uphill to the intersection with Elliott Way. From there you can wait for the walk signal, hop into the crosswalk, and then leave the crosswalk early to access the low-quality bike lane toward the Market. Or, as I saw happen much more often during my time doing preschool pick-up and drop-off at the market, you can ride the wrong way down the bike lane on Western to the Elliott/Elliott intersection, then turn left toward the market. Neither of these options are great.
The one-way northbound bike lane on Elliott Way between Bell and Elliott Ave (yes, these street names are confusing) really should have been a two-way bike lane instead. But an even better solution that should be considered in the future would be to extend and upgrade the bike lanes on Western so they reach at least to Bell if not all the way to Queen Anne Ave N/Denny Way. The design of Western Ave between Virginia Street and Denny Way is terrible and outdated, as we documented previously here and here.
More details on the Bell Street project from the city's press release:
Today,Mayor Harrelljoinedthe City of Seattle's Office of the Waterfront, Councilmember Bob Kettle and community leaders to celebrate the start of construction onthe Bell Street Improvements project, between Elliott Avenue and 1st Avenue. As part of the City'sWaterfront Seattle Program, the project will improve access for people walking and biking between Belltown and the 20-acre Waterfront Park, creating a more active, green and safe space. Of the $806 million being invested in the total Waterfront Park project, $5.2 million is supporting the Bell Street Improvement Project.
Today we celebrate an exciting milestone as we break ground on one of the final parts of our reimagined world-class waterfront, seamlessly connected to our downtown," said Mayor Bruce Harrell. Downtown is powered by people, and re-imagining public space is core to our Downtown Activation Plan. The new and improved pedestrian and bicycle connections between Belltown and the waterfront are crucial to increasing foot-traffic, providing benefits for community members and local businesses, and creating safer routes for cyclists traveling throughout downtown. These improvements reflect the community's vision of what Belltown wants and needs. We are one step closer to realizing our vision of our waterfront and a stronger downtown."
Informed by feedback from over 850 community members, the final design of the project reflects community priorities-wider pedestrian pathways, protected bike lanes and improved accessibility. Key changes to the area will include Bell Street narrowing to one traffic lane to create additional space for pedestrians and greenery; creating a new two-way protected bike lane between Elliott Avenue and 1st Avenue and improvements to existing bicycle improvements along Elliott Way that opened to the public in 2023; widening sidewalks, addition of native flowers and grasses, and new seating near the intersection of Bell Street and Western Avenue.
The City's Waterfront Seattle team is excited to be starting construction on an important project that reconnects Belltown with our new waterfront," said Angela Brady, Director, Office of the Waterfront and Civic Projects. Our planned multi-modal improvements to Bell Street will create a more accessible connection between Belltown and Waterfront Park, drawing local and international waterfront visitors to businesses in Belltown, and create moments for pause with views of the waterfront and Mt Rainier on a clear day. We are very thankful for the Belltown community's partnership - they have played a big role in shaping the design for this project."
In partnership with the Washington State Department of Transportation, the city has salvaged a sign bridge from the historic Alaskan Way Viaduct that was originally located near the off-ramp exit into the Belltown neighborhood. As part of the improvement project, the city will restore the original sign bridge with new lighting, reinstall it in a prominent location in Belltown to arch over Bell Street, just east of Western Avenue, serving as a new gateway to the neighborhood,
Project construction will be completed in early Summer 2025.