J, Seattle ‘i Department of Transportation october 9, 2019, Lisa Herbold,Counciember District 1 600 Fourth Avenue, 2nd Foor Seattle, WASBIO ‘Sent via E-mail: lisa,herboid@seattle.gov RE: SR 9/West Seattle Traffic ‘Thank you for your October 4 letter sharing your concerns regarding the West Seatle Bridge and the reinstallation ofthe NB SR 99 bus-ony lane north of the West Seattle Bridge, The decision-making process forthe removal and e-instalation ofthe bus-onl lane was made in coordination with our transportation agency partners. DOT, the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) and King County Metro (Metro) made a joint decision to restore ths bus-only lane in support ofthe 12 bus routes carrying approximately 20,000 people to and fram downtown Seattle each weekday. The lane was orginaly installed to help provide transit reliability as WSDOT worked to demolish the Alaskan Way Viaduct and construct the new tunnel and Metro had identified the removalof the bus lane asa bus reliability challenge. We recognize thatthe re-instalation of the bus-only lane has had traffic impacts on all commuters to and from West Seatte, including people riding buses. To addres these issues while stil gaining the bus reliability benefits, we wil be adjusting the lane ths weekend to give people driving more tne to merge before the bus-nly lane begins. This work wll occur during WSDOT’ planned closure of northbound SR ‘99 to complete repair work inside the tunnel. SDOT crews will begin working on Saturday, October 12 {and plan to complete the bus lane modification work by the ime the NB SR 99 tunnel reopens a 4AM ‘on Monday, October 14. We are coordinating this work with the planned tunnel work this weekend to Iinimize impacts to the traveling public Regarding delegation of authority, SDOT is generally responsible for operating and maintaining ths section of S899, ut WSDOT remains responsible forthe asst (ke, major maintenance and replacement) and retains decision authority over changes to operation (ie, changes to channelization ‘or signal operations directly affecting the fact). SDOT has worked collaboratively with WSDOT to esign the revised channelization. ‘As we prepare for toling to begin inthe SR.99 tunnel on November 9, we are committed to providing @ reliable commute for those 30,000 daly bus rides to and from west Seale. When tolling begins and for atleast two years following, WSDOT expects travelers wil adjust their travel pattems before setting into a new normal. Based on conservative modeling conducted by WSDOT and their experiences on SR '520, we are prepared for anywhere between 30-50% inital diversion and we have srategesin place to ‘manage our transportation system and right-of way during times af congestion, including customized signal plans on congested coridors and continued investment in transit. The shared commitment with ‘ur transportation agency partners is to monitor and make adjustments in order to Support transit 7WOFIRh Avene, Suite 300 | PO Bx 3496 | Seale, WASHIDL996 | 206.54-90AD (752) | seth go/ranipratin‘Counciimemiber Herbold, October 9, 2019, Page 2 uring the Seattle Squeeze and with an eye towards the January 2020 opening ofthe Columbia St two- way transit pathway. Specifically, SDOT uses our Transportation Operations Center (TOC) 10 actively monitor trafic on NB SR. ‘99 and onthe West Seattle Bridge, as wel as gathering traffic data nctica locations. This capability was critical during the October 9 collision involving a dump truck going through the center barrier that ‘hut down traffic in both directions for aver two hours, Metro collects bus travel time and reliability data regularly, and WSDOT gathers data on the broader freeway system, including FS and SR9B. Together, we utilize this data to make operations and trafic management decisions. As drivers and buses get used tothe restored bus-onl ane, we wil continue working with our partners to ensure buses are able to move along that pathway. We look forward to the opening of the Columbia St two-way ‘rans pathway and Alaskan Way for buses, which will help provide an improved transit experience for In addition to the day-to-day monitoring we do ofthe transportation network we are also monitoring ‘ur constantly evaluating system overtime. Prior tothe closure ofthe Alaskan Way Viaduct in January, |WSDOT estabished a multragency performance data collection and reporting platform. This Informatio captures WSDOT, Metro, Sound Transit and SOOT traffic volumes, ridership and travel times {or ll modes inthe network ad f central to our understanding of how trafics evolving given the significant changes inthe network, WSDOT will maintain these performance monitoring reports fora year after the start of tong to help us jointly evaluate the impact of toling, which we anticipate will change overtime, and wil include the period after West Seattle buss transition onto Alaskan Way. Given the challenges that West Seattle bus riders have experienced this year, we wil be watching Gsely to see how the new pathway improves travel times and reliability for these riders and to identify ana implement signal and operational changes, as needed. The opening ofthe Columbia St two-way transit pathway in January i only the fist step towards improving the experience for these riders. Reconstruction of Alaskan Way, which is estimated to take two years, wil ultimately deliver dedicated transit lanes between SR 99 and Columbia St. ‘Thank you again for your inquiry and ongoing engagement. We wl also respond tothe constituent concems that you have referred tous withthe information in this letter as well as posting an update to the SOOT blog and sharing with media outlets. We appreciate your continued engagement wth our ‘department on the issues that matter to your constituents, Ifyou have further questions, please do not hesitate to contact me. Sincerely, sm Zimtabe Director