by Lizz Giordano
With $400,000 recently set aside by the City to fund upgrades for people walking, rolling, and biking along Lake Washington Boulevard, a redesign might be coming to a South End road beloved by cyclists, pedestrians, and drivers alike.
Continue reading Task Force Weighs Redesign Options for Lake Washington Boulevardby Agueda Pacheco Flores
Seattle has spoken, and they don’t just want better infrastructure, they want infrastructure that’s more pedestrian, bike, and business friendly.
That’s according to new poll results released today by the Northwest Progressive Institute (NPI), a research and advocacy nonprofit based in Redmond, in partnership with Seattle Neighborhood Greenways (SNG).
The poll, which was conducted in October leading up to the most recent election, surveyed 617 “likely voters” and has a 4.1% margin of error. The results come at a pivotal time when Seattle is likely to benefit from the bipartisan infrastructure bill signed into law by President Joe Biden on Monday.
Continue reading New Polls Show Seattle Wants More People-Friendly Streetsby Mark Van Streefkerk
For Seattle to meet its carbon-neutral goal, we need to take an honest look at how we get from one place to another. Burning fossil fuels, like gasoline and diesel for motor vehicles, emits greenhouse gasses. In Seattle, roadway transportation makes up 40% of greenhouse gas emissions. For the U.S., emissions from transportation account for 29% of total greenhouse gases. Reducing our reliance on cars and gasoline plays an important role in reducing our carbon footprint. The good news is that everyday choices to walk, bike, scoot, or roll instead of driving can significantly reduce the greenhouse gasses we produce. Earlier this year a study found that ditching the car for one day out of the week can reduce personal carbon dioxide emissions by a quarter. Swapping even one trip in a car with walking or rolling makes a significant impact over time.
Continue reading The South End Guide to Reducing Our Carbon Footprint: Safety to Walk and Rollby Lizz Giordano
A car crash in SODO took the life of a pedestrian just over three weeks into 2021. Days later, another traffic death occurred within the same block. Two months after that, a semi-truck collided with a bicyclist on the industrial streets of Georgetown, marking another fatality in the South End, where traffic deaths were quickly outpacing other areas of the city.
In April, a driver fled the scene of a deadly crash with a bicyclist near Seward Park. Early one morning in June, another person died after an SUV hit a man walking along Airport Way South. Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) and police blogs show yet another pedestrian was killed near the Columbia City light rail station a few days later.
Six months into 2021, more than half of all Seattle traffic fatalities have occurred in Council District 2, which includes Rainier Valley, SODO, and parts of Chinatown/International District.
Continue reading District 2 Bears the Brunt of Seattle’s Traffic Deathsby Jack Russillo
Over the holiday weekend, the Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) will close a one-mile section of Lake Washington Boulevard — from Mount Baker Park to Genesee Park — to cars and open it up for pedestrians to recreate freely. The closure will begin “around noon” on Friday, May 28, when SDOT crews put up barriers on the roadway. The road will be open to cars again on the morning of Tuesday, June 1.
“We hear from a lot of people who love it and that it just feels like freedom for them to have this space to walk, bike, walk with strollers, roller skate, scoot on scooters, and just be with the open space of Lake Washington,” said Sara Colling, a senior outreach lead at SDOT. “It just opens up a lot of opportunities. With that, there are tradeoffs, which is why the decision-making process is complicated.”
Continue reading Lake Washington Boulevard Closed Memorial Day Weekend, Summer Plans Not Decided
