Monthly Archive for October, 2010

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Lights on 20th Ave over Ravenna Park

With the days getting shorter, many of us will soon be doing more walking in the dark. While there are many places in the city that need better lighting, there is now one fewer.

20th Ave NE over Ravenna Park has been closed to cars for decades, and while the old street light poles were still in place, they hadn’t been in use until recently. Just last week, those old light poles were retrofitted with modern LEDs to keep this pedestrian right-of-way lit after dark. Now people passing through here after sunset can feel a little safer.

Lighting on 20th Ave NE

Photo sent in by reader Nick Collecchi


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Should Pike Place be closed to motor vehicles?

One of the best places in Seattle to experience on foot in Seattle is Pike Place market. However, with the crowds of tourists that the summer months bring, the people overflow from the sidewalks into the road and people compete for space with vehicles.

Jaywalking is legal around the market, but if the streets were closed to cars, people on foot could walk around with more freedom, turning the market into a great pedestrian plaza.

However, market vendors tend to prefer the current configuration, which allows access by delivery drivers and early-morning customers.

[poll id=”2″]

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Go walk in a park for health benefits

Scientific studies have found that a walk in a green environment is good for your health. Benefits include improved immune system function, lowered blood pressure, and better feeling of overall health.

Fortunately, Seattle has plenty of green spaces to walk. There are a couple of good green environments to walk in that we’ve covered here already, including Volunteer Park, Schmitz Preserve Park, Seward Park, and Discovery Park Loop Trail.

What are your favorite green environments to walk in?

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Walking Wallingford

Stroll by the eclectic retail and historic buildings in one of Seattle’s most walkable family-friendly neighborhoods.


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Start at Wallingford Ave N & NE 45th St, accessible by the 16 and 44 buses. The 26 also connects you with our route.

What is now Wallingford Center at this intersection was built in 1904 as the Interlake School. In the 1970s the school was closed and became vacant until it was renovated into Wallingford Center. The top floor has studio apartments and the other floors have retail and restaurants. The sculpture pole near the intersection, Wallingford Animal Storm, was commissioned in 1985 and depicts wildlife in the area.

Wallingford Center

Wallingford Center

Head east along the south side of N 45th St, passing various shops, restaurants, and bars. You’ll also pass the Guild 45th Theatre, which was built in 1919 as a live stage venue named the Paramount Theatre. The name was changed when the Paramount opened downtown in 1928, and The Guild added a second screen in 1983. The Guild Theatre has been chosen by Francis Ford Coppola for test audience screenings.

Looking east along N 45th St

Looking east along N 45th St

Continue on this side of 45th St for several more blocks. At the intersection with Thackeray Ave N, cross to the north side of 45th St and go west.

At Sunnyside Ave N, turn right. After just a couple blocks, you’ll come to the Home of the Good Shepard, built in 1906 to be a Catholic Girls School. In the 70s, the land was proposed as the site of a shopping center, but that was rejected by local residents and the building was transferred to Historic Seattle. The building is currently used by schools and other non-profit organizations.

Home of the Good Shepherd

Home of the Good Shepherd

Walk around the left side of the building. Look for a path that will take you to through the Good Shepherd P-Patch and through the Meridian Playground. Turn left and go south along Meridian Ave N.

You’ll pass by a few more nice, historic homes in the neighborhood before turning right on N 45th St. Continue back through the heart of Wallingford. Toward the edge of the neighborhood near Stone Way is Archie McPhee. Archie McPhee was in Ballard from 1983-2009 and is a popular place for bacon-flavored toothpicks, Mr. T voice-boxes, and other novelties.

Cross 45th St and go south along the east side of Stone Way. After two blocks, turn left on N 44th St to walk towards Seattle’s old Lincoln High School, which was closed as a high school in 1981 and is now a temporary home to other Seattle schools while their own buildings are being restored.

Turn right on Interlake Ave N and then turn left on N 43rd St. You’ll pass the Wallingford Playfield on your right.

Turn left on Wallingford Ave N to head back toward N 45th St. You’ll soon see Wallingford Center on your right and pass by some more retail on your left. At 45th St, you’ll see the large WALLINGFORD sign of the QFC. When QFC took over this supermarket from Food Giant in the late 90s, the neighborhood protested the grocer’s plan to ditch the “FOOD GIANT” sign and so QFC re-used many of the letters to identify the neighborhood. This brings you back to our starting point and the end of the walk.

Wallingford QFC

Wallingford QFC

highlights: retail and restaurants, parks, historic schools, nice homes with greenery, many benches available
lowlights: heavy motor vehicle traffic on 45th can be loud, some interactions with motor vehicles entering surface parking lots or driving on cross-streets.

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What a difference a sidewalk makes

SDOT posts an example of a sidewalk project in Columbia City – take a look at their photos to see what a difference a sidewalk makes to a neighborhood


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New crosswalks to be added in Maple Leaf

Maple Leaf will be receiving three new crosswalks this year. Two crosswalks had already been approved by SDOT and another one was recently approved after additional study.


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Westlake Streetcar Plaza Closed to Pedestrians

Westlake Streetcar Plaza under construction

Westlake Streetcar Plaza (also known as McGraw Square) is currently under construction at the southern terminus of the Seattle Streetcar. This project will provide a new public space downtown and should be a welcome improvement to people on foot in the area. However, it appears that six crosswalks will remain closed during the construction period through Thanksgiving.

The area in red below is closed to pedestrians:

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Like much of downtown, this is an area of high pedestrian traffic, however the area under construction is completely closed to pedestrians. SDOT spokesperson Rick Sheridan says that safety is the reason:

The southeast corner of Stewart and Fifth is closed because buses, trucks and larger vehicles have difficulty making the corner in turning left from Stewart and often cut it. Until it is reconfigured as part of the work, it is not safe for pedestrians to stand there. The closing the sidewalk and crosswalk are due to this corner not being available for use.

The northeast corner of Olive and Fifth Ave is closed because it is now under construction. There is a deep excavation of approximately 20 feet in depth at that location. As it is now a construction zone it is no longer an area where we should have pedestrians walking.

We apologize for the inconvenience but safety is a key priority as we undertake construction. We encourage walkers to respect the closures as they exist to keep pedestrians safe.

I’m appreciative that SDOT is concerned for the safety of people walking in the area. However, sometimes obstacles can create unsafe situations as people walk around them. While passing by earlier in the week, I saw a man on crutches walking in the roadway of 5th Avenue along the fence. While that kind of behavior is not legal, it’s not surprising either.

This makes me wonder – does the closure of these crosswalks really improve safety in the area, or does it just invite people to make dangerous decisions? It seems like parts of this area could be made available to pedestrians during parts of the construction process. Should SDOT be doing more to make the area passable for pedestrians while under construction?

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Show of support for budget needed

Streets for All Seattle is organizing to make a strong presence at the remaining two budget hearings. You can RSVP to receive a T-shirt from them.

The City Council needs to hear from you about the importance of funding pedestrian, bicycle and transit improvements. At the two upcoming budget hearings the City Council will listen to members of the public like you and make crucial decisions about the budget. We need more budget hearing heroes to demonstrate strong community support for Streets For All Seattle.

The next budget hearing is this Wednesday evening at The Brockey Center at South Seattle Community College, 6000 16th Avenue SW, 98106, at 5pm.

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$2 mil for peds in mayor’s budget

PubliCola dives into the details of the mayor’s proposed $13 million Walk Bike Ride Plan. Of that, $5 million is expected in 2011 and pedestrian projects would get the largest piece at over $2 million.

Mayor McGinn’s office sent out this information about the budget:

What’s in the Walk Bike Ride package? More funding for:

Safe, Healthy Neighborhoods

  • More Neighborhood Street Fund projects that will improve neighborhoods. These projects have undergone an extensive ranking process involving district councils, neighborhood residents, and the Bridging the Gap Oversight Committee. These projects include:
    • Cedar Park: NE 12th St: new sidewalk between Sand Point and 35th Ave NE (2011)
    • Central District: E Union pedestrian and bike improvements between E Madison and 13th St (2011)
    • South Park: 8th Ave South: new sidewalk between S Director and S Concord Streets (2011)
    • Arbor Heights: 35th Ave SW sidewalk between SW 97th and 104th St (2012)
    • Crown Hill: 18th Ave NW sidewalks between NW 85th and NW 89th St (2012)
    • Pioneer Square: 3rd Ave S sidewalk repair between Prefontaine Pl S and S Washington St (2012)
  • Full funding for the Linden Ave North Complete Streets project.
  • Projects that speed up implementation of the Bicycle and Pedestrian Master Plans. This means more sidewalks, bike facilities, crossing improvements, stairways, pedestrian lighting, and other neighborhood improvements.
  • Getting started on the creation of a bikeshare program in Seattle.

A Dependable, Connected Transportation System

Frequent, Reliable Transit

Creating Great Places

We hope you can help us make Seattle a better place. Thank you.

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Trees to be planted along S Columbian Way

This Sunday from 8 am to 12:30, volunteers will be planting up to 100 trees along South Columbian Way near the VA Medical Center.


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Currently this stretch of road is somewhat barren and the addition of these trees will make the street much greener and more friendly for taking a stroll.

The new trees will be planted on South Columbian Way from South Oregon Street to Beacon Avenue South and adjacent streets. They will “green” the neighborhood, helping to transform this well-traveled corridor into a pedestrian and bike-friendly boulevard. The trees to be planted include nine different species to reflect the diversity of Seattle’s population and many diverse countries involved in similar events on this important date. The effort will supplement SDOT’s paving project on Columbian Way that is now nearing completion.

Visit the SDOT blog for more information.

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