Walking news roundup

There’s a lot of news out there to cover – here are a few stories:

• A Wallingford resident has started a letter-writing campaign to have a crosswalk installed on NE Pacific Street for users of the Burke Gilman trail.
• There’s a great piece in the Atlantic criticizing the City of New York for not taking traffic crimes more seriously. “We need the NYPD to get out from behind their windshields and start systematically ticketing people who run red lights and rocket down residential streets and blow off stop signs. Catching the small stuff can change the culture and avoid the worst outcomes for everyone.”
• The mayor released a transportation action agenda that Publicola criticizes as “surprisingly action-free”. The goals are modest but work within the city’s budget without new levies or fees, and include reducing vehicle speeds and collisions – two things that are aided by road diets. The city’s next road diet is planned on South Othello Street from Beacon Hill to Seward Park, but maybe they will consider others *hint hint*.
• Feet First writes about a new sidewalk and specifically a new curb built in South Park near Concord Elementary School. “This simple curb eliminates ambiguity about where to park and opens the sidewalk up for pedestrians.” The post includes before and after pics and more on the benefits of this simple roadway feature.
• Help Feet First create the South Park neighborhoods on foot walking map by attending a meeting on March 29.
• SDOT shares more information about sidewalk repairs, including before and after pics of E Louisa St in Eastlake. Also, a tidbit of info – “In Seattle, property owners are responsible for repairing the sidewalks next to their property, and the City is responsible for the sidewalks next to city facilities as well as curbs and pedestrian ramps.”
• Maneuvering through the re-making of the Mercer mess is a muddle for peds and bikes – you can find a map of the detours here.
• Bellingham recycles toilets into sidewalks.

And a couple SDOT news releases that I don’t have links for:

• “Seattle Department of Transportation’s Roadway Structures crew will construct a new staircase near the southeastern city limits at 72nd Avenue South between Rainier Avenue South and South Taft Street.” The stairway will be closed starting next Monday through early May. “The new staircase will be wider with hand rails on both sides, and will sport a new bike runnel making it easy to roll a bike up and down the stairs.”
• “Repairs are underway on the Duwamish Trail in West Seattle. The asphalt trail has been heavily damaged in places by tree roots and needs to be repaired for bicyclist and pedestrian safety.”
• NE Ravenna Blvd between Green Lake and 15th Ave NE will be repaved. “Work includes grinding and removing the existing asphalt roadway, repairing areas of the concrete roadway base, repaving, upgrading pedestrian curb ramps and building a curb bulb at E. Green Lake Drive N. and N.E. 71st Street. Work is expected to be completed by the end of summer, dependant on weather conditions.”
• Also, the pedestrian paradise known as the Ballard bridge will have a closed west sidewalk starting next Monday and continuing into April due to a painting project.

One final thing – the nomination period for the worst intersection in Seattle ends this Sunday.