We have reported a number of times on the confusing new Business Access and Transit Lanes (the city calls them BAT) on 15th Ave West. Now the city has just issued a media release letting us know they will begin ticketing drivers who do not follow the BAT lane restrictions.
The city says now that the contractor is completing work along Elliott and 15th, police officers will begin enforcement of the corridor’s BAT lanes. That means you will get a ticket if you don’t follow the rules.
As anyone who drives to Magnolia knows, the problem is that the rules are confusing. Here is how the city explains it:
Buses and bicycles have full use of the lanes only during peak traffic periods, and other drivers may enter the BAT lanes to access businesses along the corridor. During off-peak hours, the lanes are available for use by all and for parking. Only buses and bicycles can travel continuously along the curb lane as other drivers are still limited by the right turn restrictions that are in force at all times. Signs indicate that drivers in the curb lanes except buses and bicycles must turn right at marked intersections.
The city department of transportation says the large majority of drivers along the corridor have been observing the restrictions, but some have not. Drivers violating the BAT lanes will now be ticketed.
Consider yourself warned.
11 responses so far ↓
1 Brian Gregory // Oct 15, 2008 at 4:45 pm
Just so we are clear…. between 9 and 4 and weekends and holiday’s, I can use the curb lane until I approach an intersection that is marked “right turn only” at which point, I have to turn right!?! This is going to have the Magnolia folks zig zagging all the way from town to the bridge. This seems senseless especially as some of the marked intersections are practically driveways. Who do we send our comments and complaints to?
2 Eh? // Oct 15, 2008 at 4:49 pm
So, can you cross the white solid line at anytime past the turn arrow?
3 Eh? // Oct 15, 2008 at 4:55 pm
I agree Brian! Plus all the signage is visual litter in my opinion. The turn lanes are senseless. I think it’s the cities way of saying, “you can use it at none peak hours but we will make it so inconvenient that you won’t want to.”
4 Nancy Rogers // Oct 16, 2008 at 9:25 am
The Magnolia Community Club, which serves as Magnolia’s Community Council, is devoting its November General Meeting to a presentation from the City of Seattle on these lanes, and how they impact Magnolia commuters. There will be plenty of time for Q&A from affected residents. The meeting is open to the public. We encourage everyone with comments, complaints (or compliments - though we hear very few of those) to attend.
The MCC has been working with the City since the signs first got posted to seek logical access for Magnolia commuters on this vital route. To date, in response to MCC concerns, SDOT has agreed to post signage allowing Magnolia Bridge/T86/T91 traffic to enter the right northbound lane at Prospect Street (the Amgen bridge), rather than forcing traffic to cut in the last 100 feet before the bridge/flyover access. As to all other possible matters, SDOT indicated a desire to wait until the project was complete to further discuss whether the designs and lane restrictions make sense, or create additional traffic congestion. Now’s that time.
The MCC meeting details:
Magnolia Community Club General Meeting (open to the public)
Thursday November 13, 2008
7 - 9 p.m.
Catherine Blaine Elementary School Cafeteria, 2550 34th Avenue West Seattle
5 Mehrdad Moini // Oct 16, 2008 at 12:06 pm
I have questioned the validity of these lanes since May when the City first started marking these lanes northbound on 15th under a supposedly “Paving Project”. The City has not been providing me with any logical explanation on why you would restrict this lane to more than 10,000 daily users on Magnolia Bridge for the benefit of 5-7 buses in an hour (Reference: P:27 City’s Magnolia Bridge Replacement Project http://www.seattle.gov/transportation/docs/magnolia/460_Traffic_3.pdf
Being a professional transportation engineer for more than 24 years, I requested to see the back-up traffic analyses data and the public involvement process the City supposedly performed to come up with this conclusion, and no one provided that information to me. This includes: Bill Bryant, George Frost, Jessica Murphy and I even went as high as Grace Crunican (SDOT’s Director). If you are planning to have them at the November 13th meeting, they’d better show up with that information in hand and the back-up information that goes with idiotic decisions such as this. Again, these are the same people who support other Nickle’s projects such as SLUT, and the Mercer Street mess.
6 magnoliasbest // Oct 16, 2008 at 2:48 pm
As a Magnolia resident, the signs are terribly confusing and the new lane restrictions are completely ridiculous. Since the lane restrictions, the traffic along 15th has worsened considerably - not just for Magnolia residents, but for anyone who regularly uses 15th. Even the City’s explanation above makes no sense whatsoever and the statement contradicts itself. Above, the City states “During off-peak hours, the lanes are available for use by all and for parking.”. This statement clearly validates my use of the lane and my interpretation of the restriction.
I interpret the signs as the following and this is how I use the lane on a daily basis:
- I CANNOT use the restricted lane during peak hours (7-9 am, 4-6 pm, M-F), except for right turns.
- I CAN use the restricted lane to the fullest extent (e.g. normal driving, no turns)possible assuming I use it outside of peak hours.
7 bmvaughn // Oct 16, 2008 at 3:14 pm
I agree with Magnolia’s Best (and by the way, Ballard is slightly better)…
See this article too:
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/transportation/365418_getthere02.html
8 happy // Oct 18, 2008 at 7:36 pm
it’s an accident waiting to happen. spending far too much time reading a sign is just ridiculous. it’s about par for this city.
9 Dick Evans // Oct 19, 2008 at 8:57 pm
Dear Ms Turner,
These new lanes are a complete waste of traffic efficiency on a main arterial in our city, SDOT has effectively taken away two lanes of traffic on Elliott West - during the day (before 7 am then after 9am and 4 pm and after 6 pm), off peak times, the signs on the posts clearly read that the lanes are open for all traffic. They tell you when you CANNOT drive in these new lanes. Read them again. I travel 15th and Elliott all the time and there is essentially NO traffic in the lanes, no cars, no buses! I have been using these lanes during off peak periods and I have not gone around one bus - they are vacant lanes - a complete waste of traffic efficiency. During the peak hours I DO NOT drive in them except to turn right.
Go see for yourself, just spend a couple of hours sitting and watching the traffic.
Explain to me in plain english that these signs restrict me from driving in them during off peak periods.
If they do restrict me, then the signage should be replaced with signs that tell me I can NEVER DRIVE IN THESE NEW LANES UNLESS I AM TURNING RIGHT INTO A BUSINESS OR A RIGHT TURN AT THE NEXT TURN! The only other signage is on the street surface saying BUSES ONLY. This surface signage and the post signage are most confusing to drivers. If I receive a traffic violation you can be sure I will protest it in court with photos of the post signage. Other traffic signage such as NO PARKING 4 to 6 pm is very clear and I understand what it says. Not so on 15th / Elliott.
Dick Evans, Magnolia, Seattle
10 Mehrdad Moini // Oct 19, 2008 at 9:41 pm
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/transportation/383563_lane17.html
Another article on PI regarding City’s latest creation. Not too many happy campers on the neighborhoods north either (read the Soud-Off commentaries). I hope there will be a strong showing at the Community Club meeting on November 13th. Although, talking to the City personnel have told me that the decision is already made and is Final, but they will still listen to us, so they can just turn around and just ignore it.
11 DB // Oct 20, 2008 at 8:41 pm
I wonder if any of the City officials behind the ‘paving project’ realise that while we do now have a nice smooth roadway we unfortunately can’t use a 1/3 of it and the other 2/3 have become much more traffic impacted. It seems like 1 step forward two backwards. They call it the BAT lane, Business Access and Transit, I actually think it stands for Beyond All Thought.
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