Neighborhood groups seek car limit for new 520 bridge

Seattle neighborhood and environmental groups want to change the design of the future Highway 520 bridge lanes in hopes of limiting cars that enter the city.

Currently, the state is planning for two general lanes and one high-occupancy vehicle lane in each direction. The Seattle groups want the HOV lanes to instead be used only for buses or a shared bus-rail corridor.

Mayor Mike McGinn, a longtime environmentalist, agrees with the proposal, though he has not taken a lead role, said spokesman Mark Matassa. City Councilman Tom Rasmussen said state House Speaker Frank Chopp and Rep. Jamie Pedersen, both Seattle Democrats, expressed support for the proposal in discussions this week. Neither Chopp nor Pedersen could be reached for comment Friday.

The current leading concept, from Washington State Department of Transportation, is to build a six-lane bridge that requires an expanded Montlake interchange, as well as a second drawbridge over Montlake Cut to the University of Washington.

Fran Conley, co-coordinator of the Coalition for a Sustainable SR520, said a proposal by community groups and environmental advocates will be released Monday, but she wouldn't elaborate Friday. She said the crucial issue ought to be how to move people in the 21st century, rather than how to stripe the lanes on a 1950s-type highway.

Meanwhile, the City Council asked the state in a letter to cooperate on a 120-day technical review, before a final design is chosen.

The existing bridge, built in 1963, could sink in a windstorm, or its fixed columns near shore could break in a severe earthquake. Design negotiations and studies for a new bridge have been under way since 1997. Any option would include a couple of parklike lids, similar to those over I-90 on Mercer Island.

Time is running out

Except for City Council President Richard Conlin, members mostly have stayed on the sidelines in recent years, focusing on the Alaskan Way Viaduct. Members suddenly are wading into 520 issues because time is running out. The state just awarded a contract for pontoon construction to begin in Grays Harbor, while a legislative working group voted 10-2 last fall — Pedersen and Chopp cast the two "no" votes — to endorse the bigger interchange.

Gov. Chris Gregoire last year signed a law prescribing a six-lane toll bridge with two car-pool lanes.

McGinn talked of his desire for a leaner, more transit-oriented floating bridge during a routine brown-bag session with reporters Tuesday. "It's the same position he's had since time immemorial," said Matassa.

Years ago, then-Councilwoman Heidi Wills and some green activists suggested a four-lane bridge, to reduce auto dependence. Nobody is pushing that point anymore, several officials said Friday. Such a debate would give Eastside interests an opening to push for an eight-lane crossing — and send 13 years of planning back to square one, one activist said.

Even while criticizing the design, Seattle officials acknowledge the basic decision to build six lanes.

"The City Council is committed to not slowing down the project, to keeping it moving forward," said council spokeswoman Laura Lockard.

Size is an issue

The size of the bridge is an issue for the advocacy groups and the City Council.

Seattle groups hope that if the HOV lanes were used instead for transit only, they might be narrower than regular 12-foot lanes, allowing a leaner roadway to be constructed. That's debatable, as buses are generally wider than cars and run in 11- to 12-foot lanes elsewhere.

Still, City Councilman Nick Licata said a decision this year to go with transit-only lanes would be valuable politically. Otherwise, if car-poolers become an entrenched constituency, they could block a shift to transit-only use when that's needed, he said. Licata worries state HOV policies might be eroded someday, allowing more general traffic some hours, or all the time.

The City Council objects to a proposed 30-foot height for the floating-bridge deck across Lake Washington.

Transportation Secretary Paula Hammond said engineers are aiming to cut the new bridge's profile to 20 feet. She said the deck must be high enough for workers to reach it from beneath, and that windblown waves can't reach the roadway.

The letter sent from the city to state leaders this week was signed by all council members except for Licata. Licata said he agrees with the main points, but thought the letter lacked any leverage with the state. He said it's better to rely on Seattle legislators to push for improvements.

Light rail on the new bridge seems a distant hope, at best.

Sound Transit last week worked out a deal to lease the express lanes of I-90 for its east-west train corridor. Transit managers contend that it would be difficult to merge a 520 rail line with the Capitol Hill Tunnel, now under construction. A 520 rail corridor would likely require billions of new dollars.

Mike Lindblom: 206-515-5631 or mlindblom@seattletimes.com