EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY		CONTACT:	Marta Gronlund: 425-638-2333
August 24, 2007			Susan Byszeski: 425-556-2882

Road Work Beginning on NE 85 Street

Redmond, WA – Work starts after Labor Day and will continue through October to convert NE 85 Street from four lanes to three between 154 and 164 Avenue NE. Drivers are advised to watch for daytime detours while traffic signals are modified and lane configurations are changed. Local access to area businesses will be provided at all times throughout the construction.

The new configuration on NE 85 Street will establish one through-lane in each direction, a dedicated center left-turn lane, bike lanes on both sides of the street and about 50 on-street parking spaces in front of the residential buildings. The conversion project also includes landscaping at the NE 85 Street Bridge, a pavement overlay from 154 to 158 Avenue NE, an eastbound right-turn lane at 164 Avenue NE, and a new right turn/holding lane in front of the post office.

To help reduce traffic congestion around the post office, residents are encouraged to use new mail drop boxes recently installed at the Bella Bottega QFC and Bartell Drugstore, as well as other drop box locations at City Hall, the Senior Center (drive-up) and the Redmond Center QFC.

“Conversions like this are happening across the country with great success,” says Jeanne Justice, Transportation Services Project Manager. “Engineering studies show an increase in overall safety without a negative impact on traffic operations.”

One through-lane in each direction reduces the number of conflict points for turning vehicles and substantially improves sight distance. Center left-turn lanes remove left-turning vehicles from through traffic, which eliminates the need for other drivers to wait behind them. Risks to pedestrians are reduced when there are only three lanes to cross instead of four.

NE 85 Street is the second corridor in downtown Redmond to be converted from four lanes to three. The first four-to-three lane conversion was on 166 Avenue NE between Redmond Way and NE 85 Street, completed in the spring of 2004.

“The 166 Avenue NE conversion was the first time in my memory where, after a controversial project was completed, people actually called and emailed me to apologize because it was working so well,” says Don Cairns, the City’s Transportation Services Manager. “This was such a thrill for me. The performance has clearly exceeded our expectations.”

Work on the NE 85 Street project began in the fall of 2005, with two public meetings held in the spring and summer of 2006 to solicit resident input. The conversions are consistent with the community’s vision to reclaim downtown streets in order to make Redmond a more supportive environment for pedestrians and bicyclists.

More information about this project, or about four-to-three lane conversions, can be found on the City of Redmond’s website at www.redmond.gov/connectingredmond/projects/lanes.asp or by calling the Public Works Transportation Services Division at 425-556-2854.

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