Thurston Regional Planning Council unveils crossing strategy project for Martin Way corridor

The Thurston Regional Planning Council (TRPC) is embarking on a crossing strategy project for the Martin Way corridor, focusing on identifying key locations for improved crossing and other infrastructure upgrades to enhance pedestrian safety and connectivity.

At a Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) meeting on Friday, Sept. 6, TRPC staff Chelsea Embree said the project was a result of the previous Martin Way corridor study, which identified the need for improvements to pedestrian safety and mobility, including the need for mid-block crossings.

"It's going to identify appropriate locations for mid-block crossings along Martin Way, as well as look at other specific improvements needed to enhance pedestrian safety and mobility. Those things might include some driveway consolidation or access management, adding in some refuge islands, sidewalk improvements, and possible ADA improvements," Embree said of the project.

The Martin Way corridor is a six to seven mile transportation route that passes through three jurisdictions – Lacey, Olympia, and Thurston County. It serves as a major corridor for Intercity Transit, with high ridership on some of the bus routes along the way.

The populations living on Martin Way are diverse, including significant numbers of low-income residents, veterans, people over the age of 60, and people with disabilities.

According to Embree, the corridor is a dangerous stretch of road for pedestrians and cyclists. She shared that from 2019 to 2023, one-third of the fatal and serious injury crashes on Martin Way involved people walking or biking.

Embree added that more than 70% of collisions involving pedestrians occurred within 250 feet of an Intercity Transit bus stop.

Adding to the safety concerns, Embree noted that there are also gaps in the sidewalk network along parts of the Martin Way corridor, leaving pedestrians without continuous facilities.

Martin Way crossing strategy project

The crossing strategy project will take a three-pronged approach.

Starting with extensive community engagement, TRPC plans to conduct walk audits, host open houses and focus groups, and survey residents to better understand the challenges faced by pedestrians and transit users along the corridor.

The public engagement will focus outreach efforts on the populations most likely to be impacted, such as low-income households, people of color, veterans, older adults, and individuals with disabilities.

The project will involve close coordination with partner agencies like the cities of Lacey and Olympia, Thurston County, and Intercity Transit. These stakeholders will form a steering committee to guide the process.

The project also involves a crossing study to identify and prioritize locations where additional crossings would better connect pedestrian users of the corridor with transit facilities and other important community-identified destinations. Data utilized will include network connectivity analysis, speed data, pedestrian and bicycle usage counts, and updated traffic counts.

During the discussion, Bernie Gertje of Tumwater expressed concerns about the potential for mid-block crossings to inadvertently increase traffic speeds and volumes on Martin Way, which might create new safety issues. "If we want to have less speeds and less volumes on Martin Way, we need to do work on other streets and make connections in other places, so that there's places for people to go elsewhere."

Gertje felt that a focus on access management, like reducing the number of driveways, may not necessarily have a traffic-calming effect. "Speeds and traffic volumes are a large part of what makes Martin Way so unappealing to pedestrians so I think that might be something to focus on - how do we keep speeds down?"

TRPC planner Allison Osterberg also discussed the challenges of access management along Martin Way, including the high number of driveways. She explained that during the previous corridor study, they counted over 90 driveways in one section of the corridor, stating "There's so many ways to get on Martin Way."

She noted that both drivers and businesses along Martin Way have consistently expressed concerns about the unpredictability and safety issues caused by the proliferation of driveways. Taking left turns was described as "scary" due to the high number of access points.

To address these access management challenges, Osterberg indicated the crossing strategy project may explore strategies like median treatments or other design changes to restrict and consolidate the driveways. The goal would be to improve predictability and safety for all users of the Martin Way corridor, including pedestrians.