$2 million in existing funding would be earmarked to provide left turn access to a preschool used by Rob Saka's family if the budget proviso is approved. (Google Maps)

Seattle Councilmember Rob Saka has proposed to earmark $2 million in existing City funding to modify an already-completed RapidRide project, removing a prohibition on left turns that he has been attempting to get removed since it was installed in 2021. The proposal, included in the amended budget released by committee chair Dan Strauss on Wednesday, would freeze funds, preventing them from being used for any other purpose except to “to make improvements to Delridge Way SW near the SW Holly St right-of-way to allow for left-turn ingress and egress from adjoining properties, including the Refugee and Immigrant Family Center Bilingual Preschool.”

The Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) installed the hardened median strip as part of the RapidRide H Line project, which King County Metro launched in early 2023. A standard piece of infrastructure seen across the city, the hardened median prohibits drivers from turning left across a protected bike lane near an H Line bus stop.

As first reported by PubliCola, Saka has apparently taken the barrier’s installation personally, as a parent of two kids who attend or have attended the Refugee & Immigrant Family Center (RIFC) Bilingual Preschool. With the median in place, drivers trying to access the preschool’s small parking lot cannot turn left from northbound Delridge, nor exit that direction.

The median curb prohibits left turns across the bike lane, where visibility of oncoming cyclists may be obscured by parked cars. Managing turns across a protected bike lane is one of the most effective ways to reduce conflicts and crashes. (SDOT)

In an email sent to SDOT in late 2021, Saka pushed for the immediate removal of the median, calling it “highly unsafe,” and characterizing SDOT’s justification of its installation “trite.” After a response from SDOT about the reasons that the median was installed, Saka proceeded to compare it to the 30-foot wall along the southern border of the US — a policy priority of the Trump administration.

“Historically, barriers have been used to exclude, isolate, divide, discriminate against, project power over, subjugate, render less than status to, punish, segregate, humiliate/embarrass, harass, degrade, and so much more. More recently, the Trump administration sought to build an enormous wall on the southern border with Mexico – presumably, to exclude certain individuals deemed ‘undesirable’ in the name of national security,” Saka wrote. “That is why SDOT’s ill-advised concrete barrier placed directly in front of RIFC (despite our strong feedback against) has only re-traumatized many members of the RIFC community. It is triggering for many of our members.”

This week, Saka made it clear he hasn’t let it go, after being elected Councilmember in 2023 for District 1, which includes West Seattle, the Duwamish Valley, and SoDo, and appointed chair of the Council’s transportation committee. But in Wednesday’s committee meeting, where proposed amendments were discussed in brief, Saka portrayed the proposal as more broad than it actually is, and based in equity.

Transportation Committee chair Rob Saka has apparently been carrying the desire to implement changes around Delridge Way SW and SW Holly Street since 2021. (Ryan Packer)

“Delridge is, as we know, an under-resourced neighborhood and historically marginalized and disadvantaged community. [The] very extremely busy but very important arterial corridor through the neighborhood kind of bifurcates it,” Saka told his colleagues. “Among the many communities there [are] immigrant and refugee families who continue to face, on a daily basis, conditions and unsafe access to important services along Delridge. So this is a much needed investment, and helps our city deliver safe, accessible, equitable access in that really important corridor.”

The Urbanist reached out to Saka’s office for more specifics on how his proposal would positively impact safety. In 2021, SDOT’s Madison Likenmeyer broke down the reasoning behind the curb’s installation, with safety as a primary consideration.

“This curb reinforces the new street layout that restricts people driving from crossing the new double yellow lane markings and the yellow diagonal markings on Delridge Way SW,” Likenmeyer wrote. “These yellow stripes were installed as part of the street design to enhance safety for people traveling along the corridor, including those using RapidRide station, the new southbound bike lane and newly upgraded sidewalks in this area. Restricting left-turns across two vehicle lanes, a bike lane, and a sidewalk will help achieve the community-driven goals of making Delridge Way SW a safe multi-modal corridor for all users – people who drive, take transit, bike, and walk.”

Budget committee chair Dan Strauss, who included the proviso in the budget package he put together over the past two weeks, cited some reservations with the idea, but did not elaborate. “As I shared with you privately, I do have concerns with this, but this is your number one priority, and District 6 is not going to tell District 1 how to operate,” Strauss said Wednesday.

Two other Councilmembers will have to sign off on the idea for it to make it into later versions of the budget, but because the proviso is already included in Strauss’s “balancing package,” it may not get a direct up-or-down vote on its own ahead of the full budget’s adoption in late November. But it’s not clear how the $2 million would have been utilized otherwise by SDOT — or even where the amount of $2 million came from. In 2021, Saka also asked the City to consider moving the nearby RapidRide H stop 100 yards in either direction on Delridge, in an apparent bid to distance it from the school, a move that would cost much more than removing a simple curb.

If approved, the Harrell Administration could ultimately decide not to abide by the proviso, letting the funds go unused until they become reallocated in a future year. If implemented, this would represent an extraordinary move by a first-term councilmember, exercising his power to override the Seattle Department of Transportation and its traffic safety expertise to accomplish something that clearly began as a personal concern. Saka, a lawyer by trade who has worked at Meta and Microsoft, doesn’t have a background in engineering or traffic safety.

The curb’s removal would be more than a simple change to allow left turns — it would set a precedent of councilmembers unilaterally making U-turns when it comes to implementing safe streets policy.

Take action: Email your councilmembers at council@seattle.gov to make your voice heard on the budget. Council is holding a public hearing regarding the budget, both virtual and at City Hall, on Tuesday, November 12 starting at 5pm. Budget amendments are due November 15. Final budget adoption is scheduled for November 21. Time remains to influence the budget.

Article Author

Ryan Packer lives in the Summit Slope neighborhood of Capitol Hill and has been writing for the The Urbanist since 2015. They report on multimodal transportation issues, #VisionZero, preservation, and local politics. They believe in using Seattle's history to help attain the vibrant, diverse city that we all wish to inhabit. Ryan's writing has appeared in Capitol Hill Seattle Blog, Bike Portland, and Seattle Bike Blog, where they also did a four-month stint as temporary editor.