The Kirkland City Council has approved a study of the 100th Avenue Northest corridor that looked at possible ways to help mitigate traffic problems as well as improve safety for bikers and pedestrians.

The council also authorized $589,200 in matching funds at its Jan. 6 meeting for a $2.6 million federal grant that will help pay for the $3.2 million in engineering design costs for the project. Capital Project Manager Dave Snider told the council that the grant will allow them to design the entire corridor project at one time rather than in phases.

The corridor study, released in its final form in October 2014, looked at the 100th Avenue Northeast corridor between Northeast 132nd Street and Northeast 145th Street for the purpose of determining potential improvements to ease traffic congestion and make it friendlier to pedestrians and cyclists. At the council’s Jan. 6 meeting, Project Engineer Frank Reinart said there has been a long-time public desire for improvements along the corridor for commuters and pedestrians, as well as bikers.

From south to north, the current roadway transitions from a five-lane road with sidewalks on both sides of the street to a two lane roadway with no sidewalk on either side of the street, according to the city memo. There are also no designated bicycle lanes in the corridor north of Northeast 132nd Street.

“The lack of pedestrian and bicycle amenities, together with the absence of access turn lanes, makes 100th Avenue Northeast a strong candidate for safety access and mobility improvements,” a Dec. 9 city memo stated.

Data gathered during a two-year period highlighted certain patterns. Out of the 100 collisions reported, a third occurred between 3:30-6:30 p.m. and two-thirds of collisions occurred during the months of October through March. Additionally, 63 percent of collisions involved vehicles rear-ending others. The second most frequent collisions were turning-traffic related.

The study attributed these patterns to heavy congestion during peak traffic hours and at times of the year when it is still dark in the afternoon, as only a third of the collisions occurred between April and September.

Additional data gathered found that the southern section of the corridor experienced the highest traffic demand, with 29,915 average annual daily traffic (AADT) at Northeast 132nd Street compared to 16,149 AADT past Northeast Simonds Road. Peak direction of travel in the morning commute hours was southbound and northbound in the evening commute hours. Morning and evening peak hour demand was heaviest near Northeast 132nd Street, according to the study.

Public input, obtained through door-to-door and online surveys of residents in the Finn Hill and Juanita neighborhoods, along with public presentations and open houses, helped shape the major goals for the project.

One consistent message the city received from the public input was any attempt to improve the corridor had to focus on all the elements, rather than focus on specific areas, according to Reinart.

The input from residents strongly urged no traffic lanes be added to the corridor, and Reinart added at the council meeting that it would be unrealistic for them to do so, nor would it improve pedestrian safety. Instead, city staff has recommended extending turn pocket lengths at intersections and adding an intelligent transportation system to synchronize traffic signals.

Among the recommendations based on the study to improve bike safety is providing five foot bike lanes along the entire corridor from Northeast 132nd Street to Northeast 145th Street, with the ultimate goal of constructing buffers for the lanes, in addition adding painted bicycle lanes to separate cyclists and pedestrians from vehicle travel lanes.

Other solutions include modifications to phasing for east-westbound Northeast 137th by separating the green signals, as well as removing the speed bump on the west approach.

The project also allows an opportunity for modifications at the Juanita Creek culvert, which is also needed in order to improve the sidewalks there. The culvert currently does not allow for fish to travel through it.

The federal grant, awarded to the city in November 2014, must be obligated by June. Before then, the city will go through a consultant selection process and get approval of the chosen consultant’s contract, according to Snider.

After that, the city will begin the preliminary design phase in addition to public outreach, which is estimated to last 18 to 24 months. The total corridor project is estimated to cost $13.49 million. During that time they will consider the recommendations included in the study.

The corridor study was first authorized by the council as part of the 2013-2018 Capital Improvement Program update.