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#Sidewalks

Transportation

Move Seattle: The NE 95th ST Sidewalk Project

If you live in North Seattle, you know all too well that an evening walk with the intention of staying on the sidewalk can be a bit of a guessing game. Some blocks are great, others with no sidewalk at all, and sometimes you end up thinking you’re on a sidewalk and before you know it you’re walking in someone’s front yard (I’m looking at you… 75th and 40th).

Regardless, one of the worst offenders is 95th street, connecting Lake City Way and 35th, two major arterials for commuters, and the street that yours truly walks almost daily after hopping off the 312 bus. Walking up 95th can feel a bit like Frogger, running between sections where the sidewalk is non-existent to get on more protected pedestrian territory. In recent winter months, I have instead opted to walk up the hill as soon as possible and use 94th as it seems like a safer alternative, perhaps on occasion swinging into Fiddler’s Inn to have a quick beer before heading home.

However, there is new hope for safe foot traffic between these two arterials! In 2011, the city worked with local residents to improve foot traffic safety on 95th. The plan called to fix one of the worst sections of the street, with a full sidewalk rework between 32nd-35th, and more room for street parking. After years of delays and budget issues, the project is now on track, and slated to be finished in May if weather holds (there have been a few delays due to heavy rain this winter).

Below you can see some of the progress of the project:

I spoke with a resident who lives in-between the project’s construction zone, and she was very excited about the upcoming change. She mentioned that the city has covered the cost of the re-landscaping, giving several of the houses a fresh rock wall (as seen in the photos above). No property had to be purchased from residents to start this project, but there was some community outreach conducted to ensure that the locals wanted this fix to take place.

Between the street and sidewalk there will be a small easement where the city plans to plant trees, which should improve the look and feel of 95th in this section as well.

The strange thing about the project is that it only stretches between two intersections. 95th is a very long street for pedestrians, and while there are sections have have some sidewalk, for the most part this project seems to shortchange the majority of the street. It would be nice to see the project connect the entire Lake City – 35th corridor to drive more foot traffic safely between these two thoroughfares.

Regardless, this project is taking care of one of the worst parts of the street, so it’s exciting to see this progress.

This article was written by Rob Toledo, editor at exstreamist.com and sportfacts.org.

Transportation

Here’s How Bad the Sidewalk Problem is in North Seattle

It’s well known – Sidewalks in North Seattle leave something to be desired.  When I walk to the bus in the morning from my house, I walk 3 blocks.  Only 1 of those blocks has a sidewalk on it, and I’m one of the lucky ones.  The rest of the time, I’m dodging cars on the side of the road.

But how bad is the problem? It’s pretty bad.  Here’s a file (Source: City of Seattle/SDOT) that really shows you just how bad this is.  Take a look at this diagram and you’ll see that North Seattle as a whole is the most shortchanged of all neighborhoods in Seattle.

And the issue is widespread in North Seattle.  All the way from the Sound to Lake Washington, we see Tier 1 sidewalks across the North Seattle region.

Yet, in reports, such as this one, or this one from the City of Seattle don’t mention any of the North Seattle neighborhoods once.  This means that in strategic plans produced by SDOT, they have essentially de-prioritized all of North Seattle.  No matter that we are a center of families and commuters to downtown, we just don’t end up getting a piece of the pie on sidewalks.

How to fix this? As a friend of mine once told me when I was dealing with what seemed to be an insurmountable problem: keep asking the hard questions.  Write to City Council. Talk about this issue.  Tell your friends.

North Seattle is underserved – and it’s clear from the lack of sidewalks.  Some of this is history, some of this is representation.  But none of this means that we can’t move forward with the rest of Seattle.

Blog News

Welcome to North Seattle

It all started with a conversation. A digital conversation, that is. Who knew that nextdoor.com was the hotbed of local discussion, but it is Seattle – and in this tech-centered city, it only seems right. The conversation was about suspicious activity right around the corner from my house, and it brought up a gaping hole in the North Seattle community – effective police presence.

I started to think more as I got up the next morning, put on my shoes, walked down the pothole-filled alley and onto the street – because there’s no sidewalk – to Lake City Way where I would take a crowded bus downtown to work.  My thoughts led me to look up more information about these seemingly normal services that were just lacking from the North Seattle that I have come to love.

North Seattle was annexed from unincorporated King County in the mid 20th century through several different acquisitions.  It was largely communities that didn’t have a strong central presence and just needed a local government to represent them.  But, as is typical of annexations like North Seattle’s, it wasn’t quite what it was cracked up to be.  Sidewalks were ignored. Representation on the City Council was nonexistent. Services were low.  It was largely a bedroom community for people who wanted to live cheaper but still live close enough to downtown Seattle.

But this doesn’t define the North Seattle that I know. Neighbors watch out for each other.  They engage in spirited debate. People go out to places like Elliott Bay, Cloud City Coffee, Roosevelt Ale House, Naked City Brewery, Diva Espresso, Thornton Place, and more.  They commune with friends for Seahawks games.  Or maybe I’m just describing my life…

But there’s something about the North Seattle community. Though we lack centralized organization, fair representation on boards and committees, and adequate services like Ballard or Queen Anne have, this is an amazing community.

So walk with me down the small gravel patch on the side of the road as I meet business owners, community leaders, and update you on the happenings of North Seattle.  And maybe, just maybe, through our community here, we can show the rest of Seattle what they’re missing.