Councilmember Richard Conlin
Seattle City Council recommends against second Montlake Bridge for SR 520 project
The Seattle City Council today adopted Resolution 31411 (8-0), providing an official recommendation against construction of a second Montlake Bridge in the foreseeable future to the Washington State Department of Transportation and the State Legislature.
“It is unlikely that a second Montlake Bridge would deliver benefits that justify its cost and impact to the neighborhood,” stated Councilmember Conlin, Chair of the SR 520 Committee. “It is likely that corridor improvements for bicyclists, pedestrians and transit customers could be delivered in other ways at a lower cost earlier in the project timeline.”
Today’s recommendation was based on conclusions drawn after reviewing the findings of a report by a joint City, King County Metro, and WSDOT technical workgroup that set thresholds for levels of performance in pedestrian and bike mobility, transit speed and reliability and SR 520 mainline operations. The identified triggers were developed to provide data that could be used to analyze the need to build a second bridge.
“It appears that a second Montlake Bridge would have little impact in addressing adverse transit operating conditions in the corridor and if built would have minimal impact to the SR 520 mainline,” states Councilmember Conlin.
The resolution also recommends identifying and implementing transit projects that may improve conditions and developing alternatives that can address capacity limitations and safety for pedestrians and bicyclists. The resolution also stresses the need for continued monitoring.