Planners are weighing a major renovation of Fireweed Lane, including roundabouts, wider sidewalks and cycle lanes

Transportation planners in Alaska are once again looking to upgrade Fireweed Lane in Anchorage, an aging commercial corridor that has seen hundreds of accidents in recent years.

Planners are focusing on the 1.2-mile stretch between Spenard Road and the Seward Highway, a dense mix of shops, restaurants, public schools and apartments.

Local business owners say the road provides a scenic, fireweed viewing spot before the city grew around it, it is now dangerous, crowded and poorly designed for modern conditions.

The sidewalks are narrow, too close to the four-lane highway and sometimes blocked by utility poles, planners say. In winter they can be plowed with snow, forcing people to walk on the streets.

Kristina Busch, project manager for the Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities, said planners are looking at options including reducing the number of lanes to improve traffic flow. That could create much more space for amenities such as wider sidewalks, bike lanes and possibly on-street parking.

Should Fireweed remain at the current four lanes, but possibly with new safety features such as an expanded sidewalk? Or should it go on a “road diet,” as planners say, and shrink to three lanes with center turning lanes?

Or should it even go to two lanes?

Those are important questions for the public to think about, Busch said.

Other options include adding roundabouts at Arctic Boulevard or Denali Street; upgrades to intersections and crosswalks; and adding road islands and undergrounding power lines, according to plans presented on the project’s website, fireweedlane.com.

“The goal is to improve safety, mobility and access for all road users,” Busch said. Reducing traffic congestion and delays is another goal, she said.

According to an early, rough estimate, the upgrades could cost between $40 million and $50 million. The municipality, which owns and maintains part of Wilgeroosje, also participates in the project. The planning effort is currently being paid for with federal funds, but construction would require additional funds.

About 50 accidents per year

Business owners along Fireweed contacted for this article said they support efforts to improve the street, in part to protect children walking to school and to reduce accidents.

“It’s a dangerous street,” said Mark Robokoff, owner of AK Bark pet store. “Because of all the accidents, we are always asked for surveillance images. So the upgrades are really needed.”

Improving the road and sidewalks would give the area a facelift, he said.

Robokoff had a large mural painted outside with fireweed and pet portraits AK Bark a few years ago to spruce up the area, he said. Another business across the street also recently painted its own fireweed-focused mural, he said.

“I hope I’m starting a trend,” he said.

Robokoff said that a “road diet” seems like a good idea at first glance. He is generally in favor of adding space for cyclists and the many pedestrians who use the area, he said.

A reported 533 vehicle accidents on Fireweed According to project materials, this happened over a recent ten-year period, primarily on A and C streets and Seward Highway. About a third of the accidents caused injuries. Eleven involved cyclists and pedestrians.

Because there are two lanes that drivers can turn into to cross, many collisions are diagonal or rear-end accidents. planners say. People trying to turn left can’t always see what’s coming.

A driver trying to make a turn may see a car in one lane, but not in the other lane until it’s too late, Busch said.

Would a ‘road diet’ work?

A previous effort to reduce Fireweed lanes ended about 20 years ago, project materials show. At the time, businesses were concerned that fewer lanes would mean less traffic.

But planners say “road diets” are increasingly being used with success in Anchorage.

They can reduce vehicle speed, as well as rear-end and corner collisions, without reducing traffic. according to a video presentation of the project. A recent example is just west of the project area, along Spenard Road between Hillcrest Drive and Benson Boulevard, planners say.

A road diet gives motorists a designated turn lane that makes it safer and easier to turn left, says Joe Taylor, who leads the project design team for Lounsbury and Associates, an Anchorage-based firm.

A three-lane road can handle 20,000 vehicles a day, “far exceeding the traffic volumes on Fireweed Lane now and in the future,” a video presentation of the project says.

The average traffic numbers on Wilgeroosje have fallen over the past twenty years. show project materials. About 6,500 vehicles drive on the busiest part of the road every day. That is a decrease from more than 10,000.

JR Wilcox, co-owner of Quantum Laundry Lounge along Fireweed, said he believes the road is extremely busy with vehicles. He said planners should prioritize vehicle safety issues.

“It’s an old road that probably needs some love because of the number of cars that use it,” he said.

“Helping traffic flow and improving turning and parking is what they need to focus on,” he said.

The next steps for the project include selecting a preferred alternative and submitting a review of alternatives to the city’s Planning and Zoning Commission before a final design can be selected, Busch said. If financing is available, construction would take place after 2028.

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