District 1 City Councilmember Rob Saka shared some news with his constituents on Monday July 22, about traffic calming measures aimed at Alki and Harbor Ave SW. This comes following numerous requests from the neighborhood and on the heels of shootings and a stream of reports of speeding in the area.

The construction notice from SDOT reads:

In the coming weeks, SDOT will build about 10 sets of speed humps and speed cushions in several places along Harbor Ave SW, Alki Ave SW and 56th Ave SW. in an effort to curb speeding.

This construction work is still being scheduled and may potentially start as soon as July 28 and last up to a week. Crews will return about a month later to paint permanent markings cnce the asphalt has hardened.

People who park near these locations should be on the lookout for temporary No Parking signs during construction (both when the speed humps are being built starting in late July, and when crews return about a month later).

Over the past few years, SDOT has also added speed humps in several other locations along Aki Ave SW and Harbor Are SW, and built a raised center divider so prevent poopie trom illegallly driving the wrong direction to pass other cars.

Statement from Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT)

“We now have a final design, and work scheduled, for the concrete speed cushion installations on Harbor, Alki and 56th Ave SW.  The map shows the speed hump locations and it is at 90% design.  Taking a design from 90-100% is essentially completed in the field. 

The work orders are all and field layout is tentatively scheduled for next week, with the actual construction beginning July 29. “Field layout” means people will see temporary markings outlining the locations of the speed cushions, while construction itself shouldn’t take more than 2-3 days. 

NOTE:  To avoid confusion, speed cushions, humps, and bumps are often used interchangeably.  However, speed cushions are done with cut-outs on non-arterial streets which are generally more narrow so to allow for fire truck access.  The speed 'humps' are more shallow than speed 'bumps' to allow for fire truck access but steep enough to slow vehicles down on the arterial streets.  

The speed cushion implementation is essentially a Phase 1 of potential improvements. SDOT will also be looking at narrowing he roadway outside the Duwamish Head area, where the lane width is already relatively narrow, and this work will be done likely in September.”

“As a longer-term option, SDOT may look at some outreach on alternative options for reconfiguring the Duwamish Head parking.  My understanding is that SDOT have significant concerns with reconfiguring the Duwamish Head parking as it would actually create significant more space in the right of way for aggressive driving/passing of vehicles.  At the very least, SDOT believes that a parking reconfiguration would require some significant outreach as the impacts could also exacerbate parking concerns in the broader neighborhood."

For more information, contact SDOT at 206-684-ROAD (7623) or email: 684-ROAD@seattle.gov.
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"From SDOT's statement above, I believe that aggressive driving/passing vehicles is only part of the problem we need to address – which is why I support longtime community calls to reconfigure the Duwamish Head parking area to convert it to parallel parking-only over time. On balance, I believe this is the most effective, durable solution to address the many disparate needs of community safety in the area. But I also do support SDOT’s efforts to drive a robust outreach process before making such a change."