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Greenway, roundabout design and Powerhouse Canal sidewalk connection raise safety concerns
Summary
Committee members and regional staff flagged pedestrian and bicycle safety concerns at the planned Fortieth and Fruitvale roundabout and discussed a separate Powerhouse Canal/Chesterly Avenue sidewalk connection complicated by private easements.
Committee members raised safety concerns about a state-funded Fortieth and Fruitvale roundabout that is in design and funded through WSDOT; they also reviewed a separate item about connecting the Powerhouse Canal Greenway via a Chesterly Avenue cut-through that is a private road and has multiple owners.
Members said the Greenway draws substantial bicycle and pedestrian traffic and questioned whether a roundabout at Fortieth and Fruitvale will safely accommodate peak pedestrian and bicycle volumes. Committee members noted that the project is in design and that WSDOT had recommended roundabouts as a safety measure. Alan Adolf, regional transportation manager at the Valley Conference of Governments, explained design options that can improve safety at roundabouts, including pedestrian/bicycle refuge islands that break longer crossings into shorter segments. Adolf said roundabout designs may include islands and incremental crossings to shorten exposure for pedestrians and that the state must still satisfy active-transportation and safety goals.
Committee members asked whether the project’s design will include multimodal accommodations, whether an open house or other public engagement is scheduled, and whether HLA (the design consultant) and city engineering (Bill Preston) are coordinating with Greenway leadership. The committee decided the best near-term action is for the committee chair (or designee) to speak with Connor Hopkins, executive director of the Greenway, to understand the Greenway’s position and then request design materials from city engineering or HLA so the committee can provide specific input.
On a related connectivity item, committee members reported the Powerhouse Canal / Fortieth sidewalks route (via Chesterly Avenue) is a private easement with five business owners (two of which are based in Oregon). The committee noted the corridor functions informally as a bike/ped link but is not “ped-friendly” and that connecting the Greenway requires coordination with multiple private property interests. The committee asked staff to share the list of property owners and any existing easements; copies of that ownership list were offered to committee members at the meeting.
