Aurora Bridge Walk Audit:
Observations & Impressions
On Sunday, July 11th, members of Ballard-Fremont Greenways and the Aurora Reimagined Coalition conducted a walk audit of the Aurora Bridge. While our specific recommendations are outlined below, here is a summary of our initial observations:
Crossing the Aurora Bridge is extremely stressful! It was painfully obvious to all participants that the experience of crossing the bridge is dangerous & nerve-racking for all mode of travel:
As has been documented time and again, drivers must contend with dense traffic speeding along overly narrow lanes.
Pedestrians are continually assaulted by loud traffic noise while navigating sidewalks that are less than 4 feet wide, next to a low barrier that provides little tangible protection from traffic.
Cyclists are forced to choose between braving the roadway—with traffic often traveling in excess of 50 miles an hour—or riding on the sidewalk, with the risk of falling into traffic.
Pedestrians are at risk of injury from passing trucks: During our walk, one of the participants was nearly hit in the head by the mirror of a passing truck:
Fortunately, most trucks and buses “split the lane” due to the narrow lane width.
However, the sideview mirror of those trucks that stay in their lane often protrude over the sidewalk—a tragedy in the making!
Cycling is completely unsupported and unsafe: Participants noted that cyclists lack a clearly-designated, safe channel for crossing the Aurora Bridge:
During the walk, we observed a northbound cyclist riding in the roadway along with motor vehicles. While it is legal to bike in the roadway across the Aurora Bridge, it is clearly unsafe to do so.
Later, we saw a second cyclist riding across the bridge on the narrow sidewalk. Fortunately, this cyclist did not have to risk passing any pedestrians, which would have been incredibly dangerous for all involved.
But the views of Mount Rainier and the Olympics are spectacular! It’s a shame—and a missed opportunity—that more people cannot safely experience the breathtaking sights afforded by the Aurora Bridge.
What’s to be done about the Aurora Bridge?
Here are a few ideas...
Make the bridge safer for all modes of travel & people of all ages & abilities
A reimagined roadway for the Aurora Bridge
Walking across the Aurora Bridge is severely constrained by the narrow sidewalk, making it difficult for pedestrians to pass each other—much less walk two abreast—and impossible for people using wheelchairs and other mobility devices
Biking across the Aurora Bridge, which is technically legal, is completely unsafe, and the few cyclists who brave the bridge typically ride on the narrow sidewalk, putting them in conflict with pedestrians and at risk of falling into the roadway
The motor vehicle lanes are so narrow that trucks and buses frequently “split the lane,” effectively reducing Aurora Ave to two-lanes in each direction
There is very little in the way of physical separation between modes of travel on the bridge, putting all users at risk
While the 2003 WSDOT study ruled out widening the bridge deck and recommended the costly option of building new sidewalks below the roadway, in the short term, repurposing a motor vehicle lane for a two-way protected bike lane would address all of these problems:
Constructing the bike lane at the same grade as the existing sidewalks creates a multi-use space for people walking and biking—and for those just taking in the view!
Wide, dedicated Freight & Transit Lanes optimize bridge traffic for the movement of goods and people
Wider traffic lanes with a solid center barrier make travel much safer for motor vehicles
Reducing the number of lanes available for Single Occupancy Vehicles would be in keeping with the goals of the City’s Climate Action Plan
Taller, more robust barriers will provide safe separation between motor vehicles and more vulnerable bridge users
Expand capacity and increase separation for all modes of travel
What might have been… a 2003 proposal to place biking and walking facilities below the car deck
As noted in WSDOT’s 2003 Route 99 Development Plan:
The existing Aurora Bridge has narrow lanes (9.5 feet), no median barrier, and no barrier separating the roadway and sidewalk
The lanes are so narrow that buses and other large vehicles sometimes straddle two lanes while traveling on the bridge
The combination of narrow lanes, lack of a median barrier, and driver actions (speeding, following too close, etc) creates a risk for sideswipe, rear-end and head-on traffic accidents
Over 80% of the accidents on the bridge are either sideswipe or rear-end accidents
Unfortunately, as that study also noted “the design of the existing bridge deck will not allow any additional weight loading. This limitation prohibits simply widening the lanes and sidewalks and adding barriers.”
As a result, the WSDOT study recommended placing pedestrian and bike facilities beneath the bridge deck:
The proposed bridge improvement (Figure 6-6) would widen the lanes from 9.5 feet to 11.5 feet for the curb and inside lane and 11 feet the middle lane. A median barrier would be added to the bridge and approaches [...] In addition, the sidewalks would be widened to 10 feet to provide for multiple users and non-motorized vehicles. The ramps connecting the existing and proposed sidewalks would meet ADA guidelines and strive to preserve bicycle and pedestrian access to neighborhoods on both the north and south ends of the Aurora Bridge.
Such extensive upgrades to the Aurora Bridge would cost at least $45 million in today’s dollars--but is worth considering, if additional capacity is needed.
Other Recommendations
Expand Troll's Knoll along the east side of the Aurora Bridge
An example of a successful use of public greenspace along Aurora Ave is the Troll’s Knoll Park and P-Patch. The west side Troll’s Knoll Park opened in 2016 and includes a thriving P-Patch. Expanding Troll’s Knoll east of the Aurora Bridge would provide an obvious benefit to Fremont—but also to Aurora Ave, by reducing noise pollution and improving air quality.
The goals of the Troll’s Knoll expansion include:
Built design would qualify the space as an activated park by Seattle Parks Department that meets all code and ADA criteria.
The space will activate the community and will draw tourists and residents to utilize the area more fully.
The proposal will feature design elements that reduce the impacts of SR-99 including lowering noise pollution and improving the local air quality.
Design contains environmentally beneficial features that promote the health of our urban forest and improves water quality for salmon. Features promote sustainable stormwater mitigation strategies and create habitat for native species.
Design contains features to improve the cleanliness of and drainage of the space directly surrounding the Fremont Troll.
A little background: In 2010, Friends of the Troll’s Knoll was awarded a grant for creation of a park through the Parks & Green Spaces Levy Opportunity Fund. The original funding proposal included plans for a park on both the east and west sides of the Troll. However, due to budget limitations, the east side was removed from the project scope and it remains an opportunity for additional development.
Using Troll’s Knoll as a model for the entire Aurora Ave corridor in Fremont, the undeveloped greenspace could be repurposed for parklets, p-patches, and rain gardens.
Install observation stations on the Aurora Bridge
The views from the Aurora Bridge are spectacular, yet are ignored by the drivers speeding across the bridge deck and are largely inaccessible to pedestrians and cyclists. Installing several “observation stations” would be a way to showcase the local scenery. Placards could provide information on the local area, while educating people about the often traffic history of the Aurora Bridge.
Memorialize the people who have died on the Aurora Bridge
Collaborate with the Fremont Arts Council to solicit designs from local artists for a series of memorials to all the people who have died on the Aurora Bridge. It’s the least we can do as a community.
Aurora Bridge Facts & Figures
Background
The Aurora Bridge (officially called the George Washington Memorial Bridge) is a cantilever and truss bridge.
The bridge is owned and operated by the Washington State Department of Transportation.
It is 2,945 ft (898 m) long, 70 ft (21 m) wide, and 167 ft (51 m) above the water.
The bridge was designed by the Seattle architectural firm Jacobs & Ober, with Ralph Ober as the lead engineer on the project.
The bridge was dedicated Feb. 22, 1932, which was the 200th anniversary of Washington’s birthday. Then-president Herbert Hoover pressed a telegraph key that severed a silk barrier across the span and released flags furled over each end. The ceremony was broadcast across the western United States by NBC radio.
A time capsule was installed on the bridge by the widow of Judge Thomas Burke and is planned to be opened in 2032.
The bridge is now listed on the state and national historical registers. As a result, the Landmarks Preservation Board, the state Department of Archaeology and Historic Preservation have been part of the suicide prevention fence approval process—and need to approve any other major changes.
History of Vehicle & Pedestrian Safety Issues
The Aurora Bridge is the tightest six-lane highway bridge in the state, some 4½-feet leaner than any of its peers, according to a Seattle Times analysis of federal records. It also lacks a median divider, a feature on most comparable bridges in the state.
The 9½-foot-wide lanes on the bridge are barely enough to contain some vehicles. King County Metro Transit buses are 8½-feet wide, while a Duck boat or a container truck takes slightly more than 8 feet, not counting their mirrors.
The sidewalks are extremely narrow at less than 46” wide and are not ADA accessible.
From 2011-2020, there were 117 collisions, with 5 fatalities and 44 serious injuries
A WSDOT study in 2003 noted that the bridge’s narrow lanes posed risks and that the lack of a center barrier to separate cars often traveling faster than the speed limit, “increases the risk for crossover/head on traffic accidents.”
In 2005, concrete barriers were anchored onto the sidewalks, to protect pedestrians. This was also meant to reduce incidents where a truck or car jumps the curb.
On September 24, 2015, five people were killed and fifty were injured when an amphibious "duck tour" vehicle crashed into a charter bus on the bridge in a collision that also involved two smaller vehicles.
In 2003, WSDOT Engineers found the bridge “will not allow any additional weight loading,” which ruled out widening the whole deck. Instead, they recommended building new sidewalks below the road deck, to allow wider car lanes and a 2-foot-wide barrier above, at a cost of $29 million.
In 2015, The Urbanist proposed that WSDOT “rechannelize the lanes on the bridge and add a central barrier like the rest of Aurora Avenue. The resulting extra space must be used to widen the bridge’s sidewalks for safe passage by people walking and bicycling, and could also be used to provide a wider median than proposed.”
In 2021, the Seattle Department of Transportation installed vertical posts down the centerline of the Aurora Bridge
It is worth noting that Google Maps will not use the Aurora Bridge to provide a walking route between Fremont and Queen Anne.
History of Suicides
Since construction, there have been over 230 suicides from the bridge, with nearly 50 deaths occurring in the decade 1995–2005. The first suicide occurred on January 20, 1932, when a shoe salesman leapt from the bridge before it was completed.
In December 2006, six emergency phones and 18 signs were installed on the bridge to encourage people to seek help instead of jumping.
Around that time, a group of community activists and political leaders living near the bridge created the Fremont Individuals and Employees Nonprofit to Decrease Suicides (FRIENDS), their primary focus being the installation of a suicide barrier on the bridge.
In 2007, Washington Governor Christine Gregoire allocated $1.4 million in her supplemental budget for the construction of an 8-foot-high (2.4 m) suicide-prevention fence to help reduce the number of suicides on the bridge. Construction of the fence began in spring 2010 and was completed in February 2011, at a total cost of $4.8 million.
Bridge Integrity & Seismic Stability
Following the collapse of the Minneapolis I-35W arch-truss bridge on August 1, 2007, WSDOT was directed to perform inspections of all steel cantilever bridges in the state that used gusset plates in their design, including the George Washington Memorial Bridge.
The bridge was given a sufficiency rating of 55.2% and evaluated to be "better than minimum adequacy to tolerate being left in place as is". Its foundations and railings met the acceptable standards and no immediate corrective action was needed to improve it
Seismic strengthening was completed for $10 million in 2013.
According to The Urbanist: “In the long term, the Aurora Bridge likely needs to be expensively retrofitted or completely rebuilt (which the WSDOT study estimates would cost $200 million in 2003 dollars). It is over 80 years old and functionally obsolete.
Sources
From the archives: History of the Aurora Bridge - Seattle's Big Blog (seattlepi.com)
Span’s narrow lanes a longtime safety concern | The Seattle Times
Seattle’s Aurora Bridge Needs a Safety Redesign | The Urbanist
Vertical posts installed to divide lanes on Aurora Bridge – My Ballard
WSDOT Route Development Plan, State Route 99 North/Aurora Avenue North, 2003
Your Thoughts and Ideas
As you walk across the Aurora Bridge, take note of what could be done to make the bridge a viable option for all modes of travel and people of all ages, abilities, incomes, and backgrounds. Feel free to share your ideas for a better future for the Aurora Bridge with the Aurora Reimagined Coalition.