164 Avenue NE
from Cleveland to NE 87 Street

What's happening?
The City is proposing to convert two downtown streets from the existing four lanes to three - NE 85 Street from 154 to 166 Avenue NE and 164 Avenue NE from Cleveland to NE 87 Street.  The new configurations will provide one travel lane in each direction, a center lane dedicated exclusively to left turns, and bike lanes on both sides of the streets.  NE 85 Street will include on-street parking, loading areas in front of the multi-family residential buildings, and a right turn lane in front of the post office.

NE 85 Street and 164 Avenue NE will be the second and third City corridors to be converted from four lanes to three.  166 Avenue NE between Redmond Way and NE 85 Street was the first of Redmond's roadways to be reduced to three lanes in the spring of 2004.

Why does the City want to convert NE 85 Street and 164 Avenue NE from four lanes to three?
The Redmond community endorsed reclaiming streets in our downtown as part of the Transportation Master Plan (TMP) public process.  Redmond residents told the City they want more choices for getting around Redmond, and they want to protect and enhance the community's character.  Communities wanting to offer more viable transportation choices and improve the quality of life for system users have been reducing the number of lanes on roadways since the concept was first introduced in the 1980s.  The four to three lane conversions on NE 85 Street and 164 Avenue NE are consistent with the vision of the TMP to make our downtown more of a people place.

How can three lanes be better than four?
It seems counterintuitive that reducing the number of lanes on a road from four to three can actually move the same amount of traffic and do it safely and more efficiently.  But roadway conversions are happening all over the country with great success.  Four to three lane conversions have several operational advantages:

For drivers:

• A single through lane in each direction substantially improves sight distance.
• One lane in each direction reduces the number of potential conflict points for turning vehicles.
• Two-way center turn lanes remove left turns from through traffic, eliminating the need for drivers to wait behind or make impulsive, sometimes hazardous, lane changes around left-turning vehicles.
• Intersections operate more efficiently when opposing through traffic can move at the same time.  At the signals, through lanes in three-lane configurations have about twice as much "green time" as in four-lane configurations.  Three-lane sections will safely share "green time" for opposing directions (north/south and east/west).  The current four lane configurations on NE 85 Street and 164 Avenue NE separate "green time" so only one direction goes at a time to safely accommodate left-turning vehicles.

For pedestrians:

• It is easier to cross three lanes than four.
• Bike and parking lanes create greater separation for pedestrians from the flow of traffic.

For bicyclists:

• Bike lanes provide cyclists with their own paths of travel.

For the community:

• Vehicular speeds are reduced.
• Accident rates decline.
• When implemented in commercial areas, four to three lane conversions can have a positive impact on a city's economic health.
• On-street parking and loading zones serve businesses without blocking traffic.

This page was last updated on July 3, 2007.