Judkins Park Survey Update: We’ve made a recommendation!

A new light rail station is opening in the Judkins Park neighborhood soon, which is going to change how people get around. More people will walk, bike and roll in the area. To prepare for this shift, we looked at potential improvements where the I-90 ramps meet Rainier Avenue South.

This past year, we’ve heard community feedback through our I-90 Judkins Park – Reconnecting Communities Study, and we’re excited to announce that our team has made a recommendation for which alternative (option) works best.

After months of coordination, traffic modeling, and analysis… we are recommending Alternative 2!

Alternative 2 removes the westbound I-90 to northbound Rainier off-ramp (Ramp 4) and reroutes traffic to Ramp 5. (This option used to be called Concept 2 from the 2019 SDOT study.)

Alternative 2

• adds a pedestrian signal crossing Rainier Avenue South, just north of I-90
• reduces Rainier Avenue South from six lanes to four lanes under I-90 (one vehicle lane and one dedicated bus lane in each direction). This will allow more space for bikes and pedestrians
• improves the separation between vehicle and non-vehicle traffic
• “tees up” Ramp #2, slowing vehicles turning right onto the eastbound I-90 on-ramp.

Read more about Alternative 2 and what the heck “teeing up a ramp” means in our blog.

What’s next after this?

1. We will use more feedback to improve and add detail to the alternative.
2. We will get final input from the community and the Advisory Group to make sure we’ve got it right. We will also create a draft report of our findings.
3. We will finish our study report and begin designing the recommended improvements.

Keep up with the I-90 Judkins Park Station – Reconnecting Communities Study progress on our web page.