Heads up from SDOT that they’ll be doing some work on Phinney Avenue between N. 44th and N. 46th streets next week.

Crews from the Seattle Department of Transportation will close Phinney Avenue North between North 44th Street and North 46th Street on September 13-15 for pavement repairs. The street will be closed 24 hours a day to all traffic except for Metro Transit and emergency vehicles. A detour will be provided using Fremont Avenue North and N 43rd Street. The sidewalks will remain open. A police officer will be at the site to assist traffic.

Plan accordingly so you don’t get stuck in traffic.

The Seattle Department of Transportation is repaving N 34th Street from Fremont Avenue N through the Stone Way N intersection. On the evening of Monday, August 1 final asphalt paving will be completed on this section of roadway.

During this work, N 34th Street will be closed to through traffic between Fremont Avenue N and Interlake Avenue N. Stone Way N will also be closed to through traffic between N 35th Street and N Northlake Way. Detours signs will be posted and Uniformed Police Officers will help direct traffic. Work will begin at 6 p.m. Monday night and the road will be closed at 7 p.m. The work will conclude by 6 a.m. Tuesday morning.

The bike lane will be closed and bicyclists will be directed to share the lane with vehicles and follow the detour route, or utilize the Burke Gilman Trail, depending on the location.

For more information about the project, go to the website at http://www.seattle.gov/transportation/pave_n34th.htm.

We received this notice from the Seattle Department of Transporation:

The Seattle Department of Transportation is paving N 34th Street from Fremont Avenue N to Stone Way N. Beginning Monday, July 18th crews will be repairing the roadway’s underlying base layer, sidewalks and curbs in preparation for final paving in late July.

During this work one lane of traffic will be maintained in each direction on N 34th Street. There will be parking and loading restrictions in the work zone as well as periodic cross-street and driveway interruptions.

Drivers should expect increased truck activity, reduced speeds and flaggers periodically stopping traffic. Please use caution and expect some delays.

More information on this project can be found here.

Next week, the Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) will be doing some nighttime paving on N 34th St from Fremont Ave N to Stone Way N.

On the evenings of Monday, July 11th and Tuesday, July 12th, the existing top layer of asphalt will be removed with a pavement grinding machine.

On the first night, work will be on the north half; on the second night, work will be on the south half. Crews will begin work at 6:00 p.m. each day and work until 6:00 a.m. the following morning. Expect only one lane of traffic in each direction during work hours as well as parking restrictions and periodic interruptions.

More detailed schedule information will be provided as construction proceeds. To follow the progress of this project, please visit the project web site at: http://www.seattle.gov/transportation/pave_n34th.htm

You may have noticed a cordoned-off area on the sidewalk outside the Dubliner Pub (3517 Fremont Ave N.) lately that look like it was roughly the size of an outdoor seating area. Turns out that’s exactly what the Pub is hoping to turn it into.

The Dubliner has applied for a sidewalk cafe permit with SDOT. Now the application entered a comment period, in which SDOT will accept comments from you, the general public, regarding your thoughts on the move.

You can voice your opinion via email to annualpermits@seattle.gov or by mail to:

SDOT, Attn: Annual Permits, PO Box 34996, Seattle, WA 98124.

SDOT will then make an application decision on whether or not to allow the permit after the public comment period has closed.

There’s certainly no shortage of changes going on around Fremont Ave. N and 36th these days…

Get used to seeing slightly-higher parking rates in Fremont starting next month.

The Seattle Department of Transportation has announced on-street parking rates for 2011 and those rates are rising. Based on the results of a parking occupancy study, the Fremont parking rates will be going up from $1.50/hour to $2.00/hour.

The goal of the new parking rates is to adjust available parking so that one-to-two spots are readily available on a block at any given time. Right now peak occupancy for Fremont’s 80 paid parking spots is 80%. The city would like to lower that to 78%.

Fremont is not, however, one of the nine neighborhoods “with active nightlife and high evening parking demand” that will have paid parking extended until 8 p.m.

The new rates still keep Fremont in the lower bracket of Seattle neighborhood parking costs. Three neighborhoods, including Pioneer Square, will see their rates rise to $4.00. Nearby neighborhoods Ballard and Green Lake will not see a rise in current parking rates ($2.00 and $1.50, respectively).

City crews will begin implementing the new rates as of Feb. 1, rolling them out neighborhood by neighborhood through March 30. New graphics on all parking pay stations will clearly highlight the revised rates, in addition to providing information about other parking rules and how to use the machines.

For additional information on 2011 on-street rates and rules, please visit the SDOT website.

Ever wonder why SDOT plows some streets during a snow storm and not others? Each year, the city releases a map detailing which streets will get level one priority (achieve bare and wet pavement on all lanes), level two priority (achieve bare and wet pavement on one lane in each direction), and level three (curves, hills and stopping zones treated). The goal is to keep major arterials and bus routes clear, but that means most residential streets won’t see a plow.

Fremont under a blanket of snow in December 2008

In Fremont, N 46th is a level one route.  Fremont Ave, Leary, 39th and 36th are level two streets.  You can check out the citywide map or take a look at the map for Fremont.

SDOT began work today on 15th Avenue West from Nickerson Street to the Emerson Street Overpass. One southbound lane on 15th will be closed from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on weekdays through October 11. The crews are installing conduit for electrical lines.

I took a walk today from my house to Green Lake and back to revel in the last day of summer. It was glorious out. Perfect temperature, not too fall cool and not summer hot hot. Only taking one short break to kick out the rocks in my shoes, it took about 90 minutes.

Using a new pedestrian-centric map the Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) has created that conveniently shows the number of minutes of different street segments, I added up what their estimated time would be for the approximate same route and it came out to 72 minutes.

Not so bad, considering these estimates don’t take into account the steepness of the street or an individual’s physical condition. There is going to be some variation, so the numbers should be taken as rough estimates.

A zoom-in on the Fremont part of the SDOT map

As Seattle residents know — and as visitors quickly pick up — city streets vary in slope from pancake flat to whoo-boy steep. Those streets are colored yellow on the map. We think it’s a little misleading not coloring at least some of Fremont Avenue North in yellow! It may be gradual, but it’s still steep, and I know for a fact it’d take me more than 13 minutes to hoof it from downtown Fremont up Fremont Ave. N. to 46th Street.

The routes on the Seattle Walking Map come from a variety of sources, including The Feet First walking advocacy organization, King County, and SDOT. Routes follow sidewalks, shoulders on quiet streets, and park trails.

This new series of maps divides Seattle into three sections: north, central, and south. Adjoining sections of the map include a limited amount of overlap, should the selected route cross from one section to another. You can print out PDF’s of all three and or the full city map here, or you can fill out a form on that page and have SDOT mail you a copy.

We just got this alert from SDOT. Anyone driving down Nickerson Street tonight.. be warned!

If you haven’t driven down Nickerson Street in the past few days, you’re in for a shock.  The road is now almost entirely one lane in each direction as crews quickly push ahead with the road diet project.

The new center turn lane is now in place stretching almost the entire length of Nickerson.  The new bike sharrow markers are also being painted.  Crews are still replacing the asphalt on the part of Nickerson near the Fremont Bridge.  The entire project should wrap up by the end of this month.

Get ready for some slow going and a lot of noise on Nickerson Street. Starting tonight at 7pm until Wednesday at 6am, crews will grind off the existing asphalt on Nickerson between 4th Avenue N and Etruria Street. Nickerson will be reduced to one lane during the grinding with alternating traffic. Police will be on hand to guide drivers through the mess. There will also be short-term traffic restrictions on cross streets.

This is all part of the controversial Nickerson Street road diet that you can continue to track here.

This was supposed to be the first day of work on the controversial Nickerson Street diet. But as of 11am, there was no sign of any work being done at all.

SDOT update at 2:30pm: The contractor plans to mobilize today and set up the no parking signs. Either this afternoon or tomorrow they will begin preliminary layout of the new channelization.  Once they have completed the preliminary layout, SDOT will review and approve the layout prior to the permanent pavement markings.  Grinding or removal of the existing pavement markings and installation of the permanent pavement markings are scheduled to begin on Monday, August 2.

The first phase of work also involves putting in new concrete panels at Etruria Street and new curb ramps in various locations. Then, crews will resurface the asphalt pavement on Nickerson between Etruria Street and 4th Avenue North. Once the paving project is finished, Nickerson will get a facelift that has divided the community.

The scene today.

Between Warren Avenue N and 13th Avenue W, the new roadway will have only one driving lane in each direction and a center two-way turn lane. There will be an uphill bicycle lane, and a downhill sharrow. Pedestrian crossing improvements, including new marked crosswalks, will be installed at 12th Avenue W, Cremona Street, and Dravus Street.

Normal working hours will be between 7am and 4pm. Grinding off the top layer of asphalt and repaving of the roadway is expected to occur at night and is scheduled to take a total of 3 days during the first and second weeks in August. Here is the work schedule:

• July 26 until first week of August – New concrete panels at Etruria Street and new curb ramps in various locations
• Two days during the first week of August – Asphalt grinding (pavement removal)
• First and second weeks of August — Roadway base repairs and utility adjustments
• One day later in the week of August 9 - 13: Asphalt pavement overlay
• First three to four weeks of August – Remove and replace channelization/pavement striping
• Last part of August – Finalize work and clean up

You can follow the project on SDOT’s webpage.

Work on the changes to Nickerson Street will start on July 26 and last about a month. A contractor hired by the Seattle Department of Transportation will start the “diet” work 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.

Normal working hours will be between 7:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Grinding off the top layer of asphalt and repaving of the roadway is expected to occur at night and is scheduled to take a total of 3 days during the first and second weeks in August. Here is the tentative pan for the work:

• Last week of July thru the first week of August – New concrete panels at Etruria Street and new curb ramps in various locations
• Two days during the first week of August – Asphalt grinding (pavement removal)
• First and second weeks of August — Roadway base repairs and utility adjustments
• One day later in the week of August 9 thru 13 – Asphalt pavement overlay
• First three to four weeks of August – Remove and replace channelization/pavement striping
• Last part of August – Finalize work and clean up

The project has been the subject of spirited debate for the past few months. Our recent reader poll found the community almost evenly split on whether they support or oppose the diet.

Some traffic issues today, if you’re planning on using the Fremont Bridge:

The Seattle Department of Transportation’s Roadway Structures crews will perform maintenance work on several bridges in north Seattle this week. This work is subject to change in the event crews are called to other locations for unplanned emergency work. In addition, there are closures on a WSDOT bridge and a King County bridge adjacent to the Seattle city limits.

For Fremont, that means one curb lane of the Fremont Bridge will be closed at a time for about three hours each to repair the bridge deck. The work is scheduled for today, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

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.