Beacon Hill Bike Route

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Updated: January 24, 2023

Project Description

We are building the project in segments, from the Dr. Jose Rizal Bridge to the intersection of Beacon Ave S and 39th Ave S.

• North Segment extends from the Dr. Jose Rizal Bridge to S Spokane St.
• Middle Segment is between S Spokane St to S Myrtle St.
• South Segment completes the route to 39th Ave S.
  
  

Project Overview

In 2019, SDOT partnered with the Department of Neighborhoods (DON) to conduct outreach around the City to find out about the community's priorities to having places to bike in their community. This outreach effort provided an avenue to listen to community members, understand how the implementation plan was perceived, and collect ideas on how we could improve the plan. We also learned about how future work can be more responsive to community needs. We heard clearly that it was important to have more routes in Southeast Seattle to connect people to the neighborhood and job centers, specifically on Beacon Hill. The Beacon Hill Bike Route Project was created in response to what we heard. The purpose of this project is to create a safe and comfortable bike route that connects people to businesses and community destinations in Beacon Hill. This bike project continues to build out the bike network connecting to the new bike lanes on S Columbian Way, S Myrtle St, and the Chief Sealth Trail. We're planning a bike route in Beacon Hill as we've identified the area as a high-priority corridor for meeting the following transportation and community needs:

• This project will contribute to the City's Vision Zero goal to end traffic deaths and serious injuries.
• Provide a better north/south bike connection in southeast Seattle.
• Improve pedestrian and bicycle safety and connections to transit.

Though there are other existing bike routes nearby, these other routes do not connect to the same vital community destinations.

Project Schedule

Project Details

North Segment

The North Segment extends from Dr. Jose Rizal Bridge to S Spokane St and connects the North Beacon Hill neighborhood.

Cross Sections for Early Design Concepts

15th Ave S One-Way Protected Bike Lane

• Parking available on west side of Golf Dr S
• Metro's Routes 36 and 60 shared bus stop relocated from Golf Dr S to 14th Ave S
• Parking available on east side between S College St and S Bayview St
• New bike turn queue box with No Turn On Red on north leg of Beacon Ave S and 15th Ave S intersection

15th Ave S Two-Way Protected Bike Lane

• Bike signal with No Turn On Red at Golf Dr S and S Charles St
• Parking available on west side of Golf Dr S
• Metro's Routes 36 and 60 shared bus stop relocated from Golf Dr S to 14th Ave S
• Parking available on both sides between S College St and S Bayview St
• Bike signal with No Turn on Red at S College St
• New bike turn queue box with No Turn on Red on north leg of Beacon Ave S and 15th Ave S intersection

Beacon Ave S One-Way Protected Bike Lanes

• Parking and load zones available on both sides of Beacon Ave S
  • except between S Lander St and S McClellan St (Beacon Hill Light Rail station and Metro bus stop)
• New curb ramps identified along the corridor
• Bike lane and bus stop options at Beacon Hill Light Rail Station/Metro bus stop for Routes 36, 60, and 107
  • Raised bike lane with In-Lane Bus Stop
  • Bike lane behind bus stop, in front of existing street trees
• Bike lane and bus stop options along corridor:
  • Floating Bus Stop
  • Raised Bike Lane with In-Lane Bus Stop

Community Points of Interest

Middle Segment

The Middle Segment is located along Beacon Ave S from S Spokane St to S Myrtle St. It goes by Jefferson Park and connects along the center median trail through central Beacon Hill.

Community Points of Interest

Typical S Spokane St to S Alaska St

Proposed S Spokane St to S Alaska St

Note: cross sections are not to scale.

South Segment

The South Segment will be between S Myrtle St and S 39th St in South Beacon Hill. This area is much more residential.

Community Points of Interest

Typical S Ferdinand St to S 39th St

Proposed S Ferdinand St to S 39th St

Note: cross sections are not to scale.

Community Engagement

Since the summer of 2020, we have conducted multiple community engagement events with people who live and travel through Beacon Hill. The extensive feedback about route preferences and design features helped to inform the northern route segment. Read our Planning Outreach Summary report to learn more about the process and feedback received for this project.

During the planning, design, and construction phases of our project, we conduct inclusive community engagement and strive to balance varying needs presented by public comments that we receive at each step of our outreach processes. The below table summarizes our upcoming outreach activities.

• Winter 2021/2022: North Beacon Hill business district - gather feedback about access and parking needs
• Summer 2021: Neighborhood and public meetings - gather community feedback and ideas about about the use of this busy corridor
  
• November 2020: Online drop-in session - share the Middle and South Segments options, answer questions and gather feedback from the community
  
• August 2020: Online drop-in session - introduce the project, share the North Segment route options, answer questions and gather feedback from the community
  
• Ongoing: Business outreach - discuss project impacts, provide project information and updates and gather feedback
  
• Ongoing: Stakeholder outreach - provide project updates and gather community feedback
  
• Ongoing: Email updates - project updates

Bike Network Prioritization Process

The Beacon Hill Bike Route project was prioritized based on public feedback and City Council actions over the past several years. In 2019, SDOT and DON held four community meetings across the city to learn about people's priorities for building out the bike network. In that outreach, as well as engagement with the Seattle Bicycle Advisory Board, it was strongly recommended to build a bike connection not only on 12th Ave S between Capitol Hill and Beacon Hill, but within Beacon Hill itself to create a greater connection between southeast Seattle and downtown.  

Beacon Hill was specifically recognized during that outreach as a priority of community and transportation safety advocates (see pages 13-14 of the 2019 Bicycle Master Plan Implementation Plan for summaries.) In addition, during the 2019 budget process, the City Council allocated funding to prioritize building a bike connection in southeast Seattle.

Funding

The Mayor's Office committed an additional $10.33M from the Mercer Megablock sale to building bike facilities prioritized by the community, including a connection Beacon Hill to Downtown. This project will be partially funded by the 9-year Levy to Move Seattle, approved by voters in 2015. Learn more about the Levy to Move Seattle.

Materials

To view a PDF of project-related materials, please click on the links provided below.

• North Segment: 10% Design Cross Sections:
  • 15th Ave S
  • Beacon Ave S
• North 1: 10% Design Plan Sets:
  • 15th Ave S – One-Way Protected Bike Lanes
  • 15th Ave S – Two-Way Protected Bike Lanes
  • Beacon Ave S – One-Way Protected Bike Lanes
• 15th Ave S Route Announcement Presentation
• 15th Ave S Route Announcement Mailer
• 15th Ave S Route Announcement Poster
• 2020-2021 Outreach Summary Report
• Summer 2021 North Beacon Hill Outreach Invite Mailer
• Summer 2021 North Beacon Hill Outreach Poster
• 15th Ave S Neighbors 2021 Site Walk and Focus Group Flyer
• 15th Ave S Neighbors 2021 Outreach Invite Flyer
• November 2020 Outreach Summary
• November 2020 Drop-in Session Q&A 
• October 2020 Middle and South Segments Early Planning Drop-in Session Invite Postcard 
• August 2020 Outreach Summary  
• August 2020 Drop-in Session Q&A 
• July 2020 Early Planning Drop-in Session Invite Mailer 
• Project Fact Sheet (English) 
• Project Fact Sheet (Spanish) 
• Project Fact Sheet (Simplified Chinese) 
• Project Fact Sheet (Traditional Chinese) 
• Project Fact Sheet (Tagalog) 
• Project Fact Sheet (Vietnamese) 
• Project Map (All Segments) 
• North Segment Map 
• Middle Segment Map 
• South Segment Map

Background Materials

• 2019 Bike Master Plan Implementation Plan Outreach Summary
• 2019 Bicycle Master Plan Implementation Plan
• 2019 Beacon Hill Station Access and Mobility Plan
• 2014 Bicycle Master Plan