Lacey City is pursuing over $10 million in federal grants from the Department of Transportation to support the construction of the multi-phase College Street Improvement Project, the city's traffic engineer Martin Hoppe announced at the Transportation Policy Board (TPB) meeting on Wednesday, December 13.
Hoppe presented the progress that has been made on the project, which commenced with a corridor study in 2002.
Hoppe said they are working on Phase 3 (16th Avenue roundabout), between 18th Avenue and Lacey Boulevard, with 90% complete with plan review. He added that the right-of-way acquisition will happen next year.
For the College Street Phase 3 project, Hoppe expected the total construction cost to be $20 million. The city is pursuing a Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity (RAISE) grant of $10.8 million, with a 20% match for a total grant award of $13.5 million.
The traffic engineer mentioned the plan for Phase 3, which would include adding the roundabout at 16th Avenue SE, widening sidewalks with pedestrian buffers, accessible curb ramps, pedestrian crossings, lighting, and landscaped raised medians.
Hoppe reported that the city has completed Phases 1 and 2 (22nd Avenue roundabout) between 24th Avenue and 18th Avenue in 2021. The total cost of the project was $10 million. "The TRPC funded the roundabout first, and we got federal money to build the corridor that we did."
For Phase 4, Hoppe said they are finalizing the scope of work with the consultants. This project runs from 24th Avenue to 37th/Mullen and builds a roundabout at College Street and 29th Street.
Hoppe also presented the preferred alternative design for College Street south of Pacific Avenue. It included:
He explained that a key problem on College Street previously was that there were so many access points that no one was able to make a left turn during peak traffic hours. The preferred alternative aims to address this by restricting some access points and adding roundabouts to allow for U-turns and improve traffic flow.
Lacey City Mayor Andy Ryder, who also sits as TPB chair, said he had seen College Street transform from a farm-to-town road into a major arterial over the years, becoming dangerous due to the high traffic volume and numerous access points.
Ryder said he supported the project's goal of making the corridor more pedestrian and bike-friendly through access management and other improvements. However, he noted a previous discussion of providing an alternate bike route on nearby rural roads for safety reasons, given the lack of space for dedicated bike lanes on College Street.
Ryder was pleased to see the city implement this innovative solution of marking an alternate bike route through nearby neighborhoods as a safer option than bike-sharing on College Street.
TPB community representative Michelle Murray raised concerns about accessibility for those with limited mobility. She commented that planning often focuses on bikes and pedestrians but needs to remember about pedestrians using mobility devices. She said the area near College Street is not safe for people in wheelchairs, as she has almost been hit by vehicles several times.
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jimlazar
There is a better solution than constructing 11-foot interior lanes and 14-foot curb lanes. That is to stripe BOTH lanes at 10-feet (this is the Olympia standard for major roads) and that would leave a full five feet for bike lanes on both sides.
The State should reject this grant application until this correction is implemented. College is a major commuting route, and this design does not recognize the safety needs of bicycle and e-bike commuters.
Friday, December 15, 2023 Report this
KarenM
The alternate bike route north-south can be useful for some people. However, if you live on a dead end street that only connects out to College Street you will need a safe way to get there if you ride a bike. The design of this major renovation should include bike lanes so that it is feasible to ride along that street. People who live along this street cannot simply go somewhere else to ride if they depend on a bicycle for their transportation.
I wouldn't choose to ride this street for a recreational ride, but for practical cyclists, there needs to be a lane provided. This is the regional standard for a reason.
Friday, December 15, 2023 Report this
MartyKenney
I'm a big fan of having an alternate big corridor rather than trying to encourage biking on college. Being that its the main arterial north-south in Lacey, I think prioritizing it to be as safe as possible to DRIVE on is a good idea.
I'm a biker, but I think the bike community needs to give a little and not ask for every road to be bike friendly... We dont bike on I-5 or 101... best to leave the major arterial off your route also. Ride on the sidewalk for two blocks if you really live on a dead end... Oh and how about the Chehalis Western trail like 1000 ft to the west, that's where we should be biking north south.
Friday, December 15, 2023 Report this
KarenM
I don't expect cyclists to choose this route if they have reasonable alternatives. However, there needs to be some provision that allows practical cycling along this area. There are a number of dead end streets connected to College with no other way to get out except on College. Also, when you do ride the trail north-south, you may be going to a destination out on College St. So making some reasonable room for cyclists is needed.
Lacey should provide more access points to the trail. That would make it a more practical alternative. That could be accomplished by retrofitting in some areas. Another way to get new access points is to require that any new development that abuts the trail provide a public access.
Friday, December 15, 2023 Report this
Southsoundguy
I regularly travel through these areas and never see these mythical bicycle commuters. But it sounds like there will be plenty of room for vagrants and their shopping carts.
Sunday, December 17, 2023 Report this
wildnature
Are the homes and their residents, backing and fronting College going to be displaced? That's my big concern. No one will understand this trauma until some day "progress" is at their doorstep saying "You can't be here anymore. Tough luck!!!!"
Monday, December 18, 2023 Report this