Curby is saved: Saka announces smaller tweaks for Delridge left turns + No major redesign to add missing bike lane -UPDATED
This jug handle" will create an additional access point to and from 22nd Ave SW, allowing people to make a U turn. UPDATE: See update below for some troubling additional comments from CM Saka, including him blaming a war on cars."
Original story:
Curby is not going anywhere.
This little center line curb in the middle of Delridge Way SW north of SW Willow Street has dogged Rob Saka ever since his first days of office on the City Council last year. Installed as part of the RapidRide H project to prevent illegal left turns, the curb has made it more difficult for people driving to access the Refugee and Immigrant Family Center's (RIFC") child care services. Before joining Council, Saka's children went to the center and he did some pro bono work that was unsuccessful at changing the project's design to allow left turns. Now that he is the Chair of the Transportation Committee, Saka secured a budget proviso to fund changes, including creating a new jug handle" at 22nd Ave SW to make it easier for folks to make hopefully safer U turn.
These improvements will significantly enhance the safety and peace of mind of our families, especially those walking with young children or managing daily drop-offs," said Luz Casio, Executive Director of RIFC, in a press release from Saka's office.
Though the budget proviso was for $2 million, the actual expected cost of the change is around $500,000 with most funds going to create the jug handle" turnaround. Because the street grid is quite wonky in this area, someone would need to drive several blocks out of the way on a nearby residential side street in order to turn around without making a mid-street U turn or illegal left turn. By creating a second access point to 22nd Ave SW, people driving on Delridge will be able to turn around. So, for example, someone driving northbound who wants to turn left in to the RIFC will be able to drive to 22nd, turn right and loop around the new circle to turn left onto southbound Delridge. They will also add some designated pick-up and drop-off zones near the RIFC's entrance and install signage to let folks know parking in the southbound bus lane is allowed during off-peak hours (any time except 3-7 p.m.), which is already the rule.
Unfortunately, this means the city will not be pursuing a more significant redesign of Delridge as we suggested in previous posts. The road design is baffling with a protected bike lane in only one direction: southbound. So what is someone supposed to do when biking north? It is not clear. As a result, many people just bike the wrong way in the single bike lane because it's the only space that isn't in traffic or on the sidewalk, but this is obviously not a good outcome. But when a road design gives people no good choices, this is what happens. The fight for a northbound bike lane on Delridge continues.
This little turn around wouldn't be particularly newsworthy on its own, but the centerline curb has become a political joke at Saka's expense. Before he even took the oath of office, Publicola reported about some emails Saka sent to the city comparing the curb to Trump's border wall. Comedian Brett Hamil made Curby into a recurring character in his Doom Loop cartoon series, and someone even started posting Save Curby" signs in the area. This little curb became a political problem Saka has had trouble shaking. He either caves to the pressure or he continues fighting against it, which further feeds the narrative that he's obsessed with it. Perhaps this solution, which maintains the curb and allows people to more easily make a legal and hopefully safe U turn will let him finally move past it as his Council term nears the year-and-a-half mark.
UPDATE: Here is a section from a lengthy newsletter CM Saka sent following the press release. I do not think this has helped:
Question: It feels like there's more going on with this project beyond the vocal outrage I'm seeing on the internet. What other political dynamics are at play?"
Answer:Your gut's correct - Seattle politics may be nonpartisan, but deep divides remain! This safety project triggered outsized meltdowns, both online and at local print shops. Let's cut through the noise and expose what's really driving the outrage.
- Radical Proxy War on Cars."
A small but loud group of anti-car ideologues has used the originally proposed, non-compromised project as a scapegoat in their latest proxy war. They'd rather villainize and punish drivers than support real multimodal safety. Local anti-car, anti-mode choice activists have attempted to make this project a rallying cry for direct action against transportation options that involve cars. I reject the false choice. This project has always been about safety for everyone - bikes, buses, pedestrians, and yes, cars. That's the Seattle I believe in - coexistence over culture wars.
- Hypocrisy on Immigrant Justice.
Seattle loves to call itself pro-immigrant, yet some of the loudest progressives" opposing this project are targeting the very immigrant families they claim to support. Why the outrage and sudden personal vendettas here? Why do some seem paralyzingly focused, even hellbent, on strictly policing and enforcing the desired traffic patterns and left turns by immigrants in a narrow 140-foot stretch in Delridge-but nowhere else in our 84-square-mile city? Amid a resurgent Trump agenda threatening immigrant rights, we should be uniting to protect-not harass-these communities. As the son of a Nigerian immigrant, I see through the hypocrisy - and so do the families and workers affected. Real immigrant justice means backing up words with action.
- Equity in Principle... But Not in Practice.
Equity' gets tossed around A LOT in Seattle politics - but some self-described progressives' only support it when it fits their narrative. As a Black man, son of immigrants, and survivor of poverty and foster care, I know what true equity looks like. And this ain't it. Too often, when real equity initiatives come up - like improving safety for low-income, immigrant-run childcare centers in Delridge - some activists find reasons to oppose them. Their ideological gymnastics to avoid supporting marginalized voices are both insulting and revealing. I won't mince words: equity means listening to and uplifting voices that have long been ignored, not selectively excluding them when they don't align with your agenda. I won't idly stand by while certain communities are dismissed, disrespected, devalued or sidelined in the name of faux progressivism - or worse, White Saviorism.
