Work on the controversial Nickerson Street rechannelization, better known as the “road diet,” will soon get underway. Today, SDOT awarded the contract for the paving part of the project. They don’t expect to see a schedule from the contractor until after Independence Day, so work will probably begin in early to mid July. Here’s a look at what workers are planning to do:
Before any restriping of the road is done, crews will repave a section of Nickerson between Etruria Street and 4th Avenue North. After that, the “diet” work begins between 13th Ave. West and Etruria to reduce the number of traffic lanes to one in each direction. A bike lane will be added on the uphill direction, bike sharrows will be added to the downhill direction, and a new two-way left turn lane will also be added.
The project has been the subject of spirited debate for the past few months. A recent reader poll found the community almost evenly split on whether they support or oppose the diet.