Many cyclists who travel northbound on E. Marginal / S. Alaskan encounter this detour near S. Alaskan and S. Massachusetts, at the south end of the Coast Guard facility.
Suggested bike detour signage on S. Alaskan near S. Massachusetts
While the detour is not mandatory, there’s no signage indicating this and some cyclists, especially those more averse to riding in the roadway, use the detour. The detour notoriously routes northbound cyclists against southbound traffic, basically creating a sanctioned Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) ‘bike salmon’ situation.
Detour route heading north, facing southbound lanes.
Even worse, now that the rainy season is starting, this section of ‘detour’ floods deeply when it rains, not only hiding an uneven road surface but forcing the detour users out into the busy street.
Same detour as prior picture (note someone has moved the markers to the "center" of the detour, creating a "two-way" detour split). This was taken about 6:50 am.
This not only effects southbound cyclists and pedestrians, who have to sometimes enter into the stream of traffic suddenly – if they are unaware of the flooding up ahead, hoping that a driver will slow to let a cyclist merge ahead of them – but those northbound cyclists who have followed the detour now have to ride in the actual southbound lane the wrong direction. The morning I took the flood pictures there was a constant stream of traffic (trucks, cars, delivery vans, 18-wheelers, etc.) and pedestrians and cyclists had to just hope that drivers were paying attention. We shouldn’t have to hope. If the City of Seattle wants to get the Greenways idea sold, then the basic bicycling infrastructure, even if it’s in a construction zone, and links to/from the infrastructure must be considered just as important. There’s no way to get those Interested but Concerned cyclists to the Greenways or new bike paths with problems like this.
UPDATE 10/21/11: Just spoke with Broch Bender of the Washington Department of Transportation (WSDOT) and she let me know that this area has had the drainage system updated and there will be barriers installed between the bike “path” and the roadway. Please post about your experience here if you have any comments about the changes.
While no cyclists went by when I was there, a jogger did pass, just before a line of cars came from the other direction and had to veer away from her.
This is the route I use to work daily, and I simply ride past this “detour” using the main transit lane and swing left right where the concrete barriers begin. Whenever I use this detour I feel incredibly vulnerable, and I never use it (especially going southbound) when it is raining because of the terrible road surface. Plus the traffic cones are often missing.
Thanks to Aili and other cyclists for bringing these issues to WSDOT’s and SDOT’s attention. We listened to your concerns and are making the following improvements to the multi-use path:
1.) We’re going to drain the “flood” puddles – The large puddles near the U.S. Coast Guard are happening because the drain is plugged up. WSDOT crews plan to unplug the drain and vacuum out the standing water. This should solve the issue, however we’ll keep an eye on it. If you see the puddles return, please don’t hesitate to let me know!
2.) We’re going to add more barrier to the west side of East Marginal Way South near South Massachusetts Street. – Adding barrier will provide a divider between northbound bikes and southbound road traffic.
3.) We’ll pave the multi-use trail at South Massachusetts. – You can see in the above photo (The one with the orange delineators) that the trail is an uneven mixture of asphalt and dirt. We’re going to help even out the surface by paving over this section with a fresh coat of asphalt.
Thanks again for pointing these issues out. Your safety is WSDOT and SDOT’s top concern and we want to hear from you.
You can reach me directly at Benderb@wsdot.wa.gov or call the Alaskan Way Viaduct hotline at 1-888-AWV-LINE (298-5469). The hotline is staffed Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. If you’d like to talk to somebody at SDOT, please contact Paul Elliott at Paul.Elliott@Seattle.gov.
Ride safe!
WSDOT Broch
Shortly after my last update at the end of October, SDOT/WSDOT did change the configuration of the intersection and roadway between S. Massachusetts and S. Atlantic. It’s much better now, and is how it should have been done in the first place. I’ll upload some pictures as soon as I can get them in the next several days.
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