New Radar Signs on Avondale!
I’m sure you have all noticed, but our efforts have paid off and we now have two radar signs on Avondale. One Northbound and one Southbound. It is working people are slowing down.
Do you notice a reduction in noise? If you do – let us know!
Thank you for your interest and involvement – together we are making a difference!
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Radar Sign Update – Delay Due to Weather
Unfortunately our Avondale Permanent Radar Sign project has been temporarily delayed due to the recent snow and flooding conditions.
King County crews are currently making repairs on existing traffic control devices that were causalties from the “20 year storm event“.
In addition, the schedule will be delayed a few weeks to allow soil conditions to normalize before they can auger and pour the concrete foundations for the poles.
This update is courtesy of Scott Sawhill, King County Department of Transportation, Traffic Engineering.
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Great News: Permanent Radar Speed Signs Approved for Avondale!
We were notified this week that King County has approved our request for radar speed signs on Avondale. Two permanent radar signs will be placed on Avondale in early 2009. The lead time is required to order the signs and make arrangements with PSE to install the power. We have asked the County to strongly consider solar-powered signs since they are environmentally-friendly and would not require the PSE hook up. The County is looking into this option.
We are considering the following locations for the signs: a northbound sign between 143th Place and 144th Place and a southbound sign between 159th and Bear Creek Road. The County will attempt to place them in locations where they won’t be intrusive to nearby neighbors. The signs will flash a vehicle’s speed if it is traveling over 40 MPH… a very effective deterrent to speeding. We are grateful to Executive Ron Sims and the King County Road Services Division for assisting us in our efforts to control excessive speeding on Avondale.
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It isn’t just about the noise – AR is Safer when it is wet out!
Asphalt Rubber increases the safety of our road by reducing the spray off of tires. In areas like the Pacific Northwest where rain is a frequent occurrance – we are the perfect choice for this safer pavement.
Click on this short movie to see the difference in the amount of road spray compared with and without an AR Road
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Video Source: Rubber Pavements Association
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Our Thanks to the Avondale Bible Church!
The Avondale Road Committee appreciates Pastor Mike and the Avondale Bible Church for providing a meeting room for our 11/12/08 meeting with King County Transportation and Roads Divisions. We wanted to hold the meeting on Avondale Road and when the Woodinville and Redmond libraries were both unavailable, we thought of contacting Pastor Mike since the KC Joint Forum had been held there last month. Pastor Mike offered the room and help with set-up, providing a valuable community service. Thanks Pastor Mike!
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Excellent Meetings held with top level King County Officials!
November 12, 2008: Avondale Committee members met with top level King County staff at the Avondale Bible Church to explore options to improve safety and mitigate noise. Linda Dougherty, KC Roads Division Director and Harold Taniguchi, KC Transportation Director provided technical and budgetary information about resurfacing options. We discussed and evaluated the County’s proposal to do a “Pilot Program” in 2009 which would involve doing extensive preparation work and an overlay on 300 feet of Avondale. The Roads Division has inserted estimated funding of $284,000 for this project in the current budget while options are being evaluated and refined. Walter Scott, the asphalt rubber (AR) advocate who was instrumental in obtaining the 520 AR test patch, described the advantages of using AR and success rates in Arizona and other states. Christine Jensen, Policy Director for Kathy Lambert attended and confirmed the support of their office for Avondale improvements. Nancy Stafford of the Upper Bear Creek Community Council offered helpful history on prior efforts to repair the road. The 2-hour meeting was very productive and a fine example of teamwork between the County and the community.
November 14, 2008: After hearing the Avondale Committee present their case for road improvements at his Joint Forum held October 28th, King County Executive Ron Sims asked to meet with the Avondale Committee about their concerns. We had an extremely positive and productive meeting in Executive Sims’ office in the Columbia Tower. All the attendees of the November 12th meeting were present including Linda Dougherty, KC Roads Division Director and Harold Taniguchi, KC Transportation Director, along with King County Deputy Executive, Sheryl Whitney. After reviewing noise and safety concerns, technical options, the Pilot Program, an AR overview by Walter Scott and the budget, Executive Sims asked to see budgetary estimates for completing a longer segment of the road. The Avondale Committee stressed the desire to complete the project in one phase to save cost and delays (rather than do an initial Pilot Program). We are very appreciative of the time and efforts devoted by King County staff members in researching and evaluating the various options and to Executive Sims for providing a leadership role in finding a solution. We are currently waiting to hear from the County about cost estimates and the feasibility of doing a longer “test area”. We are very encouraged by the response of the County and their willingness to work with the community!
The County is also exploring installation of permanent speed radar signs which will flash when you are above the speed limit. Research has shown the slower you drive, the quieter and safer it is.
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Dateline Segment on Asphalt-Rubber – you need to watch to this
Not only will Asphalt-Rubber make Avondale quieter – but using Asphalt-Rubber is good for the environment and cost effective! But don’t just take our word for it – here is a NBC Dateline segment that was dedicated to how important this is and the support and opposition at the Federal level. Talk to your representatives and make sure they know how important this is for Washington State and Woodinville!
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Road Rehabilitation with Asphalt-Rubber
If you have been reading the posts on this site, you know that the North end of Avondale is paved with Portland Cement Concrete (PCC). The people supporting A Better Avondale would like to see the next paving done with Asphalt-Rubber. This is being done and has been studied in depth in other communities. For more information please read this report on the overlays in Arizona.
Rehabilitation of Portland Cement Concrete Pavements With Thin Asphalt-Rubber Open Graded Friction Course Overlays in Arizona, by Douglas D. Carlson.
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Where Rubber Meets the Road – Hear the Impact in this Video
About 1000 lane miles have been covered in Phoenix to date to reduce noise. Here is an excellent video produced by ASU’s School of Engineering and the Maricopa Association of Governments about the quiet pavement project which shows the thin paving material being placed on concrete.
Where the Rubber Meets the Road from ASU School of Engineering on Vimeo.
Click here, if Video doesn’t work http://www.fulton.asu.edu/fulton/video/
Where the Rubber Meets The Road is at the bottom of the web page
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Joint County Meeting Update 10/28/08
Avondale Road Testimony given at Executive Sims’ Joint Forum on 10/28/08 -Critical Meetings between County and Avondale Committee are Planned
On Tuesday, 10/28/2008, members of the People for A Better Avondale attended The Joint Forum for King County Unincorporated Area Councils to make a plea for the Avondale Road critical improvement project. It was a perfect opportunity to voice our concerns because the meeting was not only hosted by King County Executive Ron Sims, it was also attended by two senior-ranking members of his transportation team: Harold Taniguchi, Transportation Department Director and Linda Dougherty, Roads Services Director.
The Avondale Committee thanks our local council (the UBCC) for giving us 2 minutes of their 5-minute allotment to make a strong pitch for the Avondale Road project. It was supported by additional testimony by citizens concerned about bike safety, noise, speed, and State Representative Roger Goodman who said he has heard many concerns about Avondale Road when talking to citizens in the area.
After the meeting, we had a chance to talk with Directors Dougherty and Taniguchi about working together to find a solution for Avondale Road. Ms. Dougherty apologized for delays caused by her absences in her office and confirmed that $284,000 had been put into the 2009 budget to do a pilot program on the road. Initially, this pilot program was proposed as a “patch and repair” job on 300 feet but as we did not feel that this was money wisely spent, it was not endorsed by the Avondale Committee. We were informed that it has evolved into a test patch to study the best overlay option for Avondale. Our plan and ongoing goal is to persuade the County that asphalt rubber is feasible and the optimal surface on this particular 2.5-mile stretch of high-density road.
Two critical meetings have been requested by the County to address the Avondale problem.
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Executive Sims has asked to meet with representatives of the Avondale Committee and senior Transportation officials, Taniguchi and Dougherty, on 11/14 in Seattle. We are very excited about this opportunity to meet with top County officials about the Avondale Road problem. We will be covering the global issues of safety, noise, speed, pedestrian and bike lanes… and, of course, the budget!
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In addition, Director Dougherty is organizing a meeting with Avondale Committee representatives in November to discuss the best option for Avondale and define the Pilot Program in 2009. Director Taniguchi will attend the meeting as well along with 2 additional staff members from the Roads Division. Joining us will also be our asphalt rubber advocate, Walter Scott, and leadership of the UBCC. The meeting will begin in an area home and continue to the library conference room.
We are very excited about these developments and appreciatethe support of County leadership to help us find a solution for Avondale!
Best regards,
Joanna and Megan, People for a Better Avondale
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