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Saka is seeking to remove the Delridge Lane Divider, which he has compared to the border wall

Posted on by Peyom
Saka is seeking to remove the Delridge Lane Divider, which he has compared to the border wall

$2 million in existing funding would be dedicated to providing left-turn access to a preschool used by Rob Saka’s family, if the budget contingency is approved. (Google Maps)

Seattle City Council member Rob Saka has proposed allocating $2 million from existing city funds to modify an already completed RapidRide project and repeal a left-turn ban he has been trying to eliminate since its introduction in 2021. The proposal is included in the amended budget released Wednesday by committee chairman Dan Strauss would freeze the funds and prevent them from being used for any purpose other than to “make improvements to Delridge Way SW near the SW Holly St right-of-way to provide a to allow left turns”. Entry and exit from adjacent properties, including the Refugee and Immigrant Family Center bilingual preschool.”

The Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) installed the paved median as part of King County Metro’s RapidRide H Line project Launched in early 2023. The hardened median is a standard piece of infrastructure throughout the city and prohibits drivers from turning left across a protected bike lane near an H Line bus stop.

As first reported from PubliColaSaka apparently took the installation of the barrier personally, as he is a parent of two children who attend or have attended the Refugee & Immigrant Family Center (RIFC) bilingual preschool. With the median in place, drivers attempting to enter the small preschool parking lot will not be able to turn left from Delridge northbound or exit that direction.

The middle curb prohibits left turns across the cycle path, as the view of oncoming cyclists can be impaired by parked cars. Turning through a protected bike path is one of the most effective ways to reduce conflicts and accidents. (SDOT)

In an email sent to SDOT in late 2021, Saka urged the median’s immediate removal, calling it “highly unsafe” and calling SDOT’s justification for its installation “absurd.” Following a response from SDOT about the reasons for installing the median, Saka compared it to the 30-foot wall along the U.S. southern border — a policy priority of the Trump administration.

“Historically, barriers have been used to exclude, isolate, divide, discriminate, exert power, subjugate, diminish status, punish, exclude, humiliate/embarrass, harass, degrade, and much more.” More recently, the Trump administration attempted to build a massive wall on the southern border with Mexico — presumably to exclude certain people deemed “undesirable” in the name of national security,” Saka wrote. “For this reason, SDOT’s ill-advised concrete barrier placed directly in front of the RIFC (despite our strong feedback) has only re-traumatized many members of the RIFC community. It’s triggering for a lot of our members.”

This week, Saka made it clear he’s not letting up after being elected as the 2023 council member for District 1, which includes West Seattle, the Duwamish Valley and SoDo appointed chairman of the Council’s Transport Committee. But in Wednesday’s committee meeting, where the proposed changes were briefly discussed, Saka portrayed the proposal as broader than it actually is and based on equity.

Transportation Committee Chairman Rob Saka has apparently had a desire to implement changes around Delridge Way SW and SW Holly Street since 2021. (Ryan Packer)

“Delridge, as we know, is an underserved neighborhood and a historically marginalized and disadvantaged community. (The) extremely busy but very important artery through the neighborhood sort of divides it up,” Saka told his colleagues. “Among the many communities, there are immigrant and refugee families who continue to face daily conditions and unsafe access to essential services along Delridge. So this is a much-needed investment and will help our city ensure safe, accessible and equitable access in this really important corridor.”

The urbanist reached out to Saka’s office for more details on how his proposal would positively impact safety. In 2021, SDOT’s Madison Likenmeyer explained the reasons for installing the curb, with safety at the forefront.

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

Budget Committee Chairman Dan Strauss, who included the caveat in the budget package he put together over the past two weeks, expressed some reservations about the idea but did not elaborate. “As I have shared with you privately, I have concerns, but this is your top priority and District 6 will not tell District 1 how to proceed,” Strauss said Wednesday.

Two other council members must approve the idea for it to be included in future versions of the budget. However, since the reservation is already included in Strauss’s “balancing package,” there may not be a direct vote before the full budget is passed at the end of November. However, it is not clear how the $2 million would otherwise have been used by SDOT — or where the $2 million amount came from. In 2021, Saka also asked the city to consider moving the nearby RapidRide H stop on Delridge 100 yards in either direction, apparently moving it away from the school, a move that would cost much more than removing one simple curb.

If approved, the Harrell administration could ultimately decide not to abide by the caveat and leave the funds unused until reallocated in a later year. If implemented, it would be an extraordinary move by a first-term council member wielding his power to override the Seattle Department of Transportation and its traffic safety expertise to accomplish what clearly began as a personal concern. Saka, a lawyer who has worked at Meta and Microsoft, has no background in engineering or traffic safety.

Removing the curb would be more than a simple change to allow left turns — it would set a precedent for council members to unilaterally make U-turns when it comes to implementing safe streets policy.

Take action: Email your council members at [email protected] to make your voice heard on the budget. The council holds one public hearing regarding the budget, both virtually and in town hall, on Tuesday, November 12th, from 5 p.m. Budget amendments are due November 15th. The final budget adoption is planned planned for November 21st. There is still time to influence the budget.


Ryan Packer lives in the Summit Slope neighborhood of Capitol Hill and writes for the The urbanist since 2015. They report on multimodal transport topics, #VisionZero, monument protection and local politics. They believe in using Seattle’s history to create the vibrant, diverse city we all want to live in. Ryan’s writing has appeared in Capitol Hill Seattle Blog, Bicycle PortlandAnd Seattle Bike Blogwhere they also worked as temporary editors for four months.