Olympia is planning a major reconstruction project on Martin Way to address the corridor's pressing needs, Public Works Department senior planner Michelle Swanson reported.
At Wednesday's Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee (BPAC) meeting, Swanson provided a briefing on the Preliminary 2025-2050 Capital Facilities Plan. In her presentation, she highlighted Olympia's plans for the Martin Way corridor.
According to Swanson, the roadway was built to withstand significant traffic, and the surface has remained stable over the years. However, the city's focus on the corridor is now driven by its growing multimodal needs.
"What is driving our attention to Martin Way is the need for sidewalks and the need for bike lanes. It is also identified as a high-frequency transit route," Swanson explained. "It is a corridor that passes through three jurisdictions – Olympia, Lacey, and Thurston County – and has the most frequent bus service in the county."
The city staff recently submitted a grant proposal for federal funding to cover the cost of designing the entire Martin Way corridor from the Y intersection near the Texaco station to the city limits east of College Street. However, this grant funding will not be available until 2028.
In the meantime, Swanson said the city is dedicating local funding towards scoping the Martin Way project in 2025 and 2026.
In addition, the city is seeking a state grant for its City Safety Program to build new crosswalks on Martin Way east of Sleater Kinney. This is in response to safety concerns identified in the city's street safety plan.
Swanson mentioned that bike lanes and corridors are being prioritized in the Capital Facilities Plan, saying that they are likely to be the least expensive and most feasible to build.
The city has also chosen to prioritize a few enhanced bike lanes in the 20-year time horizon to ensure each quadrant has a low-stress bike route.
Other new projects include:
Swanson stated that Olympia has several funding sources for transportation projects and infrastructure improvements.
The largest source of local funding is a new 0.1% sales tax increase passed by the city council in December, bringing in $3 million annually for projects.
The city's voted utility tax is the main funding source for sidewalk and pathway projects.
The city is seeking grant funding, including a federal grant proposal to cover the design costs for the Martin Way corridor project. Some projects are also funded through the city's capital budget, based on the first year of projects outlined in the Capital Facilities Plan.
In the same meeting, the BPAC voted to form a subcommittee to review the preliminary 2025-2030 CFP. Matt Schierholtz will chair the subcommittee, which will also include Sean Ferguson, Steve Albrecht, and Tom Dillon.
2 comments on this item Please log in to comment by clicking here
GinnyAnn
I'm glad that Martin Way will finally have sidewalks and bicycle lanes. This very busy street is dangerous now. However, the description of the scope of work is vague for those of us not familiar with using Texaco gas. Where is the Texaco gas station on Martin Way? A cross street would be helpful.
Saturday, July 20 Report this
GeorgeRobertson
Martin Way's problems can't be solved in the Martin way corridor.
Martin Ways most fundamental problem is that there are far too few parallel routes, and far to few perpendicular routes intersecting Martin way to move the volumes of traffic in either direction. Traffic volumes in both directions need to be dispersed on multiple new parallel routes that carry smaller more local shares of the volumes allowing speeds of 35mph or lower to accommodate the volume of trips, both car and bicyclist, on shared right of way. There are multiple good reasons why good cities have street grids and small blocks. In addition, the commercial areas need a dramatic and thorough integration of enough new high density housing to significantly lower the number of vehicle trips needed to support flourishing commercial enterprise throughout the area. Transformation of this study area into a far more environmentally sustainable future oriented walking city where you can live and work without a car ought to be what you're planning for.
Wednesday, July 24 Report this