Timing of Seattle bike lane construction questioned
Nov 8, 2017, 12:33 PM
(KIRO 7)
(KIRO 7)
The Seattle Department of Transportation was asked about the timing of some bike lane barrier work after wet concrete was left unattended in front of Belltown bars on a Friday night.
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On Oct. 27, a KIRO 7 employee saw people drawing graffiti into the wet concrete barrier in front of several busy bars on Second Avenue between Bell and Blanchard streets.
“Friday and Saturday nights would be the nights you’d think not to do this,” Kathryn Heustess said as she walked by the graffiti Wednesday. “I feel like anyone who’s drinking and coming out of a bar and sees it is going to be like ‘Woo, let’s play.’”
The project manager told KIRO 7 they are very upset about the graffiti, and had done the work that Friday afternoon because weather permitted. He said the concrete pouring is almost finished on the entire Second Avenue bike lane project, and they will avoid Fridays now.
Most of the graffiti is nonsense, but some contains profanity. KIRO 7 got mixed reactions from neighbors as they walked by.
“I’m an artist,” Paul Rosenthal said. “I feel like graffiti is a beautiful thing.”
“I think it’s horrible,” Lyla Hecimovich said. “The bike lane is awesome, but people should not have destroyed property.”
The project manager told KIRO 7 they will cover the graffiti. There’s no set timeline, but he says it will cost about $2,000.
