The Seattle Department of Transportation decided last night not to enforce Business Access Travel Lanes on the 15th Avenue West corridor until community concerns around public safety and congestion can be resolved.

At a meeting Wednesday evening with city representatives, residents were told that additional work needed to be done on the project and that there would not be any enforcement of the Business Access Travel Lane signage until the city is able to resolve signalling issues, which may address the community's concerns.

Diana Dearmin, a Magnolia Community Club trustee, said the lanes cause backups and unsafe conditions because they force too many vehicles to merge within a short distance.

She said traffic entering southbound onto Elliott from West Mercer Place has to merge immediately to get out of the restricted lanes but then must merge back two blocks later if they wish to take the Magnolia Bridge, for example.

This doesn't just affect those taking the bridge to Magnolia but all lanes of traffic, Dearmin said.

The Business Access and Transit lanes were installed on 15th Avenue West and Elliott Avenue West over the summer. The designation (commonly referred to as BAT lanes) restricts the far right lane of north and southbound traffic to buses, bicycles and vehicles making right turns.

Bill Bryant, transportation team coordinator for the Seattle Department of Transportation, said the purpose of the lanes are to improve the speed and predictability of the buses traveling along 15th and Elliott.

Seven different bus routes use the corridor, four of which serve the Ballard area. There are more than 11,000 boardings on these routes every day. The number 15 bus servicing Ballard uses the corridor and is one of the top 10 most-used Metro routes.

According to the Seattle Police Department, there will be an educational and warning period before the lanes are enforced.

Dearmin said the city hasn't done the analysis to show that allowing certain traffic into the restricted lanes would slow bus times.

Bryant said it is too early for the city to analyze whether or not the transit lanes are accomplishing their goal because the project is not entirely complete yet.

During construction this summer, traffic signal detectors were removed from the street and the replacements have not all been hooked up yet, he said.

Bryant said that means that lights will turn red for traffic on 15th and Elliott even when there is no cross traffic.

The detectors will be working by early December, ending the major cause of the current congestion along the corridor, he said.

Bryant said the city does not want to make any changes to the transit lanes until everything is working properly and can be analyzed.

Dearmin said it is clear the city is taking a wait-and-see approach.

"In the event the traffic doesn't flow in the way the city projects, we would like to see them make some changes," she said.

Dearmin said the main change the community club would like to see is a return to the status quo where northbound traffic heading for the Magnolia Bridge is allowed to travel in the restricted lane.

Bryant said he does not want to start a battle of cars versus buses. The lanes are part of an attempt to realistically maximize road use, he said.

"Improved bus service is the only way to accommodate growth citywide," he said.

Michael Harthorne may be reached at 783.1244 or michaelh@robinsonnews.com.