By Joe Veyera
The City of Seattle has launched a new program designed to reduce the impact of construction projects and to keep traffic moving.
The Access Seattle initiative is an effort to balance a level of what the city calls “unprecedented growth and development” in Seattle with the need to maintain mobility. The city is focusing on areas of the city, which they’re calling construction hubs, where multiple construction projects occur or will in close proximity to each other.
Under the new Construction Hub Coordination Program, part of Access Seattle, the city is trying to proactively coordinate construction in these areas to minimize impacts. Among the seven construction hubs identified so far is the “Ballard hub” which runs from Northwest 65th Street to Shilshole Avenue Northwest, and from 8th Avenue Northwest to 24th Avenue Northwest. According to a press release from the Seattle Department of Transportation, a team has been set up to:
- Assess the schedules of all projects in construction hubs to identify conflicts, and minimize mobility and access impacts
- Create mapping systems showing all planned and current mobility impacts from hub-area construction
- Establish reliable lines of communication with communities affected by the construction
- Provide on-site enforcement to monitor and resolve conflicts.
“Our site coordinators meet with contractors before construction begins, discussing impacts and coaching on best ways to maintain mobility for the duration of a project,” said Seattle Department of Transportation’s Right of Way Manager, Brian de Place in a press release. “The idea is to get everyone talking and seeing the same big picture, to save the public and contractors from undue inconvenience and frustration.”
For more information on the Access Seattle initiative, click here. For construction related concerns in the Ballard hub, contact Site Coordinator Wayne Gallup at 206.681.6099 or SDOTConstructionHub@Seattle.gov. For business concerns regarding construction impacts, contact Business Liaison James Kelly at 206.684.8612 or james.kelly2@seattle.gov.
