A Bright Future for Fireweed

The Future of Fireweed Lane: Let's Get It Right!

This is an adapted version of a presentation given at Bike Anchorage's June 25, 2025 Advocacy Committee meeting.

The Municipality of Anchorage and Alaska DOT&PF are working on a major redesign of Fireweed Lane from the Seward Highway and Spenard Road. This project has huge potential, but we need your help to ensure that the final design puts safety and long-term sustainability first.

What’s the Goal?

The project’s stated goals are solid: improve safety, support walking and biking, and make Fireweed a functional, connected corridor. Unfortunately, the preliminary designs fall short of delivering on that promise.

Slide from Fireweed Open House #1, October 30, 2024.

Why Now Matters

Right now, Fireweed is mostly owned by the state. But after construction is complete, the Municipality of Anchorage will take over the entire corridor, including the responsibility for plowing and maintenance.

We’re in the early design phase; only one public open house has happened so far, in October 2024. That means public input today can make a huge difference in shaping the final design.

Our City Already Has a Plan

We don’t need to start from scratch. Anchorage has adopted multiple transportation plans that clearly lay out the vision for streets like Fireweed:

These plans call for:

Protected bike lanes and sidewalk-level cycletracks
Road diets to improve safety and use space more efficiently
Designs that prioritize people over cars

What’s a Road Diet, and Why Do We Need One?

Overbuilt, excessively wide roads encourage speeding and dangerous driving, and are hostile to other road users like bicyclists and pedestrians. In those situations, a road diet reallocates unneeded car travel lanes to make space for sidewalks, bike facilities, and greenery. Smart design naturally enforces safe, attentive driving, and the road becomes safer for everyone. A recent example of a successful road diet in Anchorage is the north end of Spenard Road.

Road diets are:

A Proven Safety Countermeasure endorsed by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA)
Eligible for federal funding (which the Fireweed project uses!)
Proven to reduce crashes, save lives, and improve access for everyone

Revitalization, Not Just Repaving

Fireweed is a corridor full of schools, neighborhoods, and small businesses, with important links to the active transportation network via the Chester Creek greenbelt trail and Spenard Road. It’s also lined with aging buildings, which means redevelopment is on the horizon. A walkable, bikeable, people-friendly street will support and encourage that revitalization.

Slide from Fireweed Open House #1, October 30, 2024.

Traffic volumes on Fireweed have dropped nearly 50% over the past 20 years! We don’t need a four-lane highway here; we need a destination street that supports local life, not just car throughput.

Current Conditions Are Failing People

Sidewalks are narrow, crumbling, and blocked by utility poles
Driveways interrupt pedestrian space and cause dips that make sidewalks hard to use with strollers or mobility aids
The road is unnecessarily wide and dangerous to cross
In winter, snow blocks sidewalks and there’s nowhere safe to walk or roll

Slides from Fireweed Open House #1, October 30, 2024.

The Corridor Is Overbuilt

Slide from Fireweed Open House #1, October 30, 2024.

Current layout: 4 lanes for cars, almost no space for people.
Current traffic: just 5,000–6,500 vehicles per day.

For comparison, a four-lane road is built to handle 36,000 vehicles per day! We are massively overbuilt for actual demand.

So What Does Fireweed Actually Need?

We need a design that prioritizes:

Safe, connected routes for walking and biking
Driveway consolidation to reduce conflict points and allow level sidewalks
Space for lighting, landscaping, and snow storage
A right-sized roadway that encourages safer driving
All within the existing right-of-way, no property acquisition needed

The Current Design Proposals Aren’t Good Enough

The preliminary designs are still prioritizing car throughput over safety and livability. They:

Include too many vehicle lanes for actual traffic needs
Don’t leave room for basic infrastructure like lighting or snow storage
Rely on narrow curbs that won’t allow level sidewalks
Add unnecessary street parking, when Fireweed is already surrounded by parking lots

We Proposed a Better Way

Bike Anchorage submitted two design alternatives that include:

Raised cycletracks (protected, sidewalk-level bike lanes)
Consolidated driveways and level sidewalks for better walking and biking continuity
Room for landscaping, lighting, snow storage, and signage
All within the existing road width

Change Is Hard—But Worth It

Contemplating a change this big can be intimidating. But in city after city, road diets like this one see strong opposition before construction, and then strong support once people experience the result. They're called Proven Safety Countermeasures for a reason!