Did you know that the City of Seattle has an official policy on how to deal with your unpaved alley? And that essentially the policy is that they won’t do anything to fix your alley, but you still have to get approval to make any changes.
As we approach the end of winter, and the potholes intensify, we will start to see neighbors out, inspecting their alleyways and trying to band together to fix them. The official policy says:
Unpaved Alleys – Alleys which are not paved to City standards (e.g. dirt and gravel alleys) are not funded for any maintenance, repair, or improvements by the City. Adjacent property owners can maintain or make improvements to the alleys at their expense. All work requires a Street Use Permit.
Essentially what this means is that you are required, with your neighbors, to maintain your alleyway. However, if you would like to make any improvements, you have to obtain a permit.
Does anyone have any advice for neighbors looking to make improvements to their alleyways?
261 Comments
Why should property owners be forced to maintain an unpaved alley, when that same alley is damaged and destroyed by the City and its contractors to deliver public services and utilities?
In our Broadview neighborhood, Seattle City Light (power), Seattle Public Utility (water, sewer, waste and recycling collection), use the unpaved alley to deliver and maintain their services. Their large trucks cause significant damage to unpaved alleys, enlarging potholes and destroying the transition areas that connect to our paved streets. Residents cannot drive, ride or walk down the alley without cars bottoming out and pedestrians tripping. This seems like a potentially expensive liability risk for the City to ignore.
Before 2008, the City and SDOT had a program where street maintenance would use their pavement waste products to re-grade and resurface damaged unpaved alleys. When neighborhoods reported their gravel alleys had become hazardous, SDOT would send out crews to repair the damage.
As a property owner, I think it is reasonable for the city to reinstitute this program or at the very least share the costs of maintaining unpaved alleys that are used to deliver public services and utilities.
Amen and seconded, everything Ann-Marie detailed above. The city uses our Greenwood unpaved alleyway as much if not more than many residents and as she already mentioned, do far, far more damage to the alley than our passengers cars could ever hope to. Our alleyway on the West side Palatine Avenue is pot-holed, rutted and overgrown and the moment anyone makes improvements they are temporary at best. I can only park our beat-up CRV in the back parking area, while our everyday-use newer sedan can’t go back there. The ruts are so deep it drags the undercarriage along the high center, and front and back scrape on the south exit due to the destroyed transition. It is plain ridiculous.