Fremont’s first red transit lanes will be painted on N 36th St as early as the end of May, part of the final phase of the Seattle Department of Transportation’s Route 40 Transit-Plus Multimodal Corridor Project.
The red lanes will run eastbound on N 36th St starting at 1st Ave NW and continuing to N 34th St, just before the Fremont Bridge. They will be in effect 24/7, consistent with how red transit lanes operate citywide.
The lanes are technically BAT lanes, short for Business Access and Transit. According to SDOT, BAT lanes in Fremont, “are curbside lanes restricted to buses but also allow people driving to make right turns as well as access driveways and curbside parking spaces. People biking are allowed to use curbside transit lanes too.”
Most on-street parking along the corridor will remain, but a few parking spots in the neighborhood will be removed to improve sight lines for safety.
New turn restrictions and lane changes
Two new left-turn restrictions will take effect for eastbound traffic on N 36th St: no left turns at 1st Ave NW and no left turns at Phinney Ave N.
At N 35th St near Dordlofva Cafe, a left-turn-only bus lane will allow westbound buses to turn south onto Fremont Ave N. Previously, other traffic could also proceed westbound in this lane. Drivers will need to use the adjacent lane to go straight or turn right.
Select sections of N 36th St will also get a center turn lane or dedicated left-turn lane, which will reduce westbound traffic to one lane on those blocks. Other blocks will keep two westbound travel lanes.
Bike lane and what to expect this month
A new protected bike lane will run northbound on the east side of Fremont Ave N between N 34th and N 36th streets.
Temporary no-parking restrictions will be posted weekdays from May 18 through June 5, 7 p.m. to 7 a.m., Monday through Friday, while crews complete striping, signage, and signal work. More information and detailed design plans are available on the SDOT project page.
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