Will Dexter's new look smooth out the traffic?

The orange cone chaos that has been part of life along Dexter Avenue North since March is soon coming to an end.

City officials say the repaving aspect of the $4.3 million project was expected to be completed around Sept. 7, leaving crews to construct the final four concrete bus islands along Dexter, between Garfield Street and south to Roy Street.

The work still to be done includes installing bus islands, adding a buffered bike lane, upgrading drainage and making pedestrian improvements. There will also be new signage added and later this fall, trees will be planted of some of the bus islands on Dexter. 

The repaving and construction project has essentially turned Dexter Avenue North between McGraw Street and Roy Street into a one-lane road in either direction, with well-marked bike lanes and extensive bus islands. The new configuration means that buses will not pull over out of the main traffic lane to pick up passengers, but block the lane when the drivers stop at the islands.

Some in the community, including the Queen Anne Chamber of Commerce, has criticized this controversial configuration. Chamber Spokeswoman Mary Chapman said she is concerned that the new roadway will hinder the flow of traffic now and also in the future.

“When the Alaskan Way Viaduct comes down and we have more traffic on city streets, we won’t have Dexter as an option anymore because the traffic can’t go around the buses,” Chapman said. “Queen Anne businesses are very wary [of this project] and not at all sure this is a long-term solution to the traffic problems.”

Hugh Brannon, the owner of Lyons Grocery Store at 2100 Dexter Ave. N., said he thinks the new roadway looks great. There is no doubt the street really needed to be repaved. The asphalt was cracked and there were even sinkholes discovered during the excavation stage of the repaving process.

However, he remains skeptical of the changes to the road configuration, saying the city seems to be giving a lot of attention to the relative few who ride buses and bicycles along the road. He said he has heard that city officials would like to reduce the number of cars driving into the city, but at the same time they want to promote downtown shopping. He doesn’t see how promoting bicycle lanes will accomplish that.

“I’ll tell you one thing, I’ve never seen cyclists ride up this street with a Macy’s bag in their hand,” Brannon said.

Avid cyclist Barry Hershly said he likes the roadway changes very much. He said he thinks the striping and dedicated bike lanes are terrific. But he remains very concerned about the lack of police protection for cyclists.

It was two blocks north of Denny Way at the intersection of Thomas Street and Dexter Avenue North where 44-year-old Mike Wang was killed on July 29 when he was hit by a car while riding his bike southbound. While that intersection is located four blocks south of the current repaving project, it is a wide thoroughfare section of Dexter Avenue North that is considered among the city’s most bike-friendly roadways.

Hershly said he has been hit numerous times in recent months by cars in the downtown area, he maintains occasionally on purpose, and had many close calls at the same intersection that claimed Wang’s life. He said the intersection of Thomas Street and Dexter Avenue North is especially dangerous because rushed traffic is often exiting Highway 99 and hurrying into the city and not looking for bicyclists. He wants city officials to place a light at that intersection.

But Hershly’s major irritation is that, despite the numerous times he’s been hit by cars, he said the police have never given anyone a ticket. He said he’s ridden a number of countries in Europe and they don’t have nearly the same problems that he finds in the United States where drivers don’t want to share the roadway.