SDOT installing more curb ramps

May 18, 2010: published by Troy Heerwagen at 12:00 pm - Closed

The SDOT blog mentions that more curb ramps (inclined planes) will be installed this summer:

As previously reported here, SDOT is busy installing inclined planes, which we call curb ramps, throughout the city. As a result, we are creating a barrier-free environment for all and improving our pedestrian system in the process.

SDOT crews will focus much of their efforts on Aurora Avenue North this summer. More than 30 new ramps will be installed to ease access to transit and local businesses. These new ramps will be constructed between N 85th St and N 100th St.

But Aurora isn’t the only place where you’ll see new inclined planes popping up. Our crews will be installing these ramps from 14th Ave S to 20th Ave E to 33rd Ave W this year. So whether you’re travelling via wheelchair, pushing a stroller, or carting groceries back home, be thankful for the inclined plane.

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Walking Schmitz Preserve Park

May 16, 2010: published by Troy Heerwagen at 8:29 pm - Closed

Schmitz Preserve Park is the only Seattle park with old-growth forest and is a beautifully forested area that makes you feel like you’re in the foothills of the Cascades rather than in West Seattle.


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Schmitz Preserve Park walking route

Schmitz Preserve Park walking route in green

Start at SW Admiral Way and SW Stevens St, which you can get to by the 56 bus. By car, the directions would have you take the West Seattle bridge to the Admiral Way exit and take Admiral Way across West Seattle and turn left on SW Stevens St, where you can often find street parking near the park entrance.

Enter the park entrance near the SW Admiral Way and SW Stevens St intersection. The road into the park used to be open to vehicle traffic until a landslide in 2002. Though this is a fairly small park, there are several different unsigned trails. If you take a wrong turn, it won’t be too difficult to find your way back. The trail can be somewhat uneven and muddy, but is not too difficult overall.

Walk along the main park road and, at the fork in the trail, veer right downhill. At the next fork, take a left before crossing the creek.

Continue walking and you’ll cross over the stream a couple times. Keep right at the next intersection (turning left will take you back to the entrance) and continue deeper into the park. There are some sections of the park soil that remain damp, though fortunately there are a few boardwalks that keep your feet dry over the worst parts.

You’ll approach an intersection of several different trails. The left-most path will take you into the surrounding neighborhood. Take the trail second from left even farther into the park. The other trails on the right will take you back along the other side of the creek.

This path continues along the stream. Turn right at the next fork to loop back, otherwise you will enter the surrounding neighborhood.

This section of the trail is fairly straight and a little elevated from the creek. Stay straight along this main trail and after passing a side trail to the left, you’ll reach another intersection. Turn right here to cross the creek and the next intersection may seem familiar. Turn left and then left again to return to the main entrance.

Highlights: old growth forest, quiet, not very busy, multiple trails, cool and damp, stream

Lowlights: can be muddy, unsigned trails

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Walking through Eastlake

May 3, 2010: published by Troy Heerwagen at 5:20 pm - Closed

Eastlake is a relatively quiet and historic neighborhood on the east side of Lake Union that is nice to stroll through.


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Start at the south end of the University Street bridge. You can find street parking nearby, or arrive here by the 70, 66, 71 (local), 72 (local), or 73 (local) bus.

At the east corner of Eastlake Ave E and Fuhrman Ave E is the location of the original Red Robin restaurant (now closed). At the south corner is the Martello, Eastlake’s most architecturally significant building in Norman French style. It was was built in 1916 as a private residence and converted to a furniture store in 1920. It currently houses Romio’s Pizza and Pasta as well as condominiums.

Head south along Eastlake Ave E on the west side of the street toward the I-5 bridge. Several condominiums have been built along Eastlake Ave on the north and south ends of Eastlake.

Harvard Ave splits off from Eastlake Ave to the left and heads toward Capitol Hill. Keep walking and you’ll pass Lake Union Cafe and a Psychic Palmist.

After crossing E Allison St and passing the Eastlake Bar and Grill, you’ll approach a wooded area on the right. This is the upper part of Fairview Park. Feel free to take a seat at one of the benches, though the trees obscure the view somewhat.

Head down the stairs toward the lake. If you desire an easier walk, feel free to continue along Eastlake. Once you’ve reached the bottom of the stairs, turn left to take the sidewalk along Fairview Ave. You’ll pass by the Eastlake P-Patch and then the sidewalk will end. Cross Fairview Ave where the sidewalk continues along the water.

At E Hamlin St, turn left up the hill back to E Eastlake Ave. Turn right at E Eastlake Ave and continue toward the heart of Eastlake. At E Roanoke St, you’ll see Rogers Playground, which was named after a former governor in time for the 1909 Alaska-Yukon Pacific Exhibition. You’ll soon pass a few restaurants and other local establishments.

You can turn around wherever you wish, but our route will end at Garfield St where you can cross and walk back along the other side of Eastlake Ave.

highlights: street-level retail, lake view, historic architecture, quiet, few traffic signals to wait for

lowlights: steep hill to the lake shore, not as many places to eat or things to do as other neighborhoods

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Fighting for sidewalks along Aurora

April 30, 2010: published by Troy Heerwagen at 11:30 am - Closed

In the 1950s, Seattle annexed unincorporated land between N 85th St and N 145th St. However, with no local jurisdiction, much of that area was not developed with sidewalks and according to local resident Richard Dyksterhuis, little has changed since then. Like the Bitter Lake resident who wants to make his neighborhood more walkable, Dyksterhuis wants to make this part of town better for walking.

For the past five years, Dyksterhuis, 83, has rallied neighbors and contacted city officials numerous times to call attention to the lack of sidewalks on his street. “Between 800 and 1,200 low income elderly live in the Linden Avenue area,” said Dyksterhuis, who wants to make it into a complete neighborhood street where his peers can walk or use their wheelchairs safely.

There has been some improvement recently:

A 100-foot stretch of gravel and potholes has been asphalted and a line painted on the pavement to mark the path for pedestrians. Further north, bewteen 143rd and 145th streets, an 8-foot-wide sidewalk was built last fall, three years after Dyksterhuis and other neighborhood activists got Mayor Nickels to pay a visit and the project was included in the city’s budget.

However, more could be done to transform the area by making it more walkable:

But opportunity for change has opened since two car dealerships have gone out of business and the big lots have been put up for sale. “I want you to find a developer with a heart, compassion, sense of beauty and commitment to social change,” said Dyksterhuis, who envisions a residential complex with a 18-story apartment building, a European-style plaza and small businesses. “It would help transform Aurora Avenue North.”

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SDOT Annual Report

April 29, 2010: published by Troy Heerwagen at 4:30 pm - Closed

SDOT has released its 2009 Annual Report. In 2009, SDOT did the following:

  • Built 26 blocks of new sidewalks
  • Rehabilitated 24 blocks of sidewalks
  • Installed 36 new single crosswalks
  • Re-marked 810 crosswalks
  • Installed 34 curb bulbs
  • Constructed 392 curb ramps
  • Retrofitted 19 curb ramps
  • Retrofitted 5 stairways
  • Improved 6 walking routes to schools for safety
  • Installed 40 pedestrian countdown traffic signals
  • Improved 116 pedestrian and bicycle spots

In 2009, SDOT also completed its Pedestrian Master Plan toward prioritizing pedestrian-oriented improvement areas and policy and program implementation actions.

SDOT made a lot of progress toward making Seattle more walkable in 2009, but there is still plenty of room to go.

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Pedestrian hit and killed in Ballard

April 26, 2010: published by Troy Heerwagen at 9:02 pm - Closed

A 67-year-old man was walking through a parking lot and was backed into and run over. He was dragged under the vehicle and died on the scene. More details are available at the Seattle Police Department Blotter.

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Walking Madison Park

April 25, 2010: published by Troy Heerwagen at 8:16 pm - Closed

Madison Park on the shore of Lake Washington is a peaceful place to walk with a small village of shops and restaurants.


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Madison Park used to be a popular destination for Seattlites in the early 20th century. A cable car ran from downtown to the lake. Until 1950, there was a ferry that took passengers across the lake to Kirkland.

Start at E Madison St and E McGilvra St. There is street parking in the area, or you can get here by the 11 bus.

Head northeast on Madison St along the southeast side of the street, passing retail establishments on both sides of the street. At E Blaine St, turn right. You’ll pass by the tennis courts of Madison Park on your left before reaching 43rd Ave E.

Cross 43rd Ave E before turning left. On your right is the Madison Park beach. Feel free to stop at a bench or walk down to the water for a view across lake Washington toward the Cascade Mountains and Bellevue.

Then, continue north along 43rd Ave E until you reach E Madison St. This intersection is a little unclear for pedestrians, but traffic should be light. Cross over to the northwest side of E Madison St when you can and head southwest along E Madison St.

Feel free to stop and enjoy a meal or drink at one of the restaurants you walk by. Otherwise, continue through this main part of Madison Park back to our starting point at McGilvra Blvd E.

Our short walk ends at McGilvra Blvd E & E Madison St, but feel free to explore the nearby upscale residential area or head back to the park and the water before heading home.

highlights: view across Lake Washington, quiet tree-lined streets, restaurants, park

lowlights: may be a little too upscale for some, park is a little small, can become crowded on a summer weekend day

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Pedestrian hit by Link light rail train

April 23, 2010: published by Troy Heerwagen at 9:47 pm - Closed

It’s important to watch out for cars while walking, but any moving vehicle can be dangerous. In this case, a pedestrian was hit by a Link light rail train. Fortunately, the train was going slowly enough that injuries aren’t life threatening.

A teenager was taken to the hospital after being struck by a Sound Transit Light Rail train Friday afternoon.

It happened around 3:45 p.m. at S. Othello Street and Martin Luther King, Jr. Way S.

A Sound Transit worker tells KING 5 the girl was on her cell phone when she walked in front of the train.

A Seattle Fire Department spokesperson says the girl was conscious and alert. It appears her injuries are non-life threatening. She was taken to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle.

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SDOT sidewalk repairs

April 21, 2010: published by Troy Heerwagen at 7:00 am - Closed

Here’s an interesting look into an SDOT project to repair a West Seattle sidewalk.

Property owners are required to maintain sidewalks around their property, except where damage is caused by the city or a tree. In this case, the city and property owner worked together:

By sharing the cost of the sidewalk, rather than just making repairs around the tree base which the BTG funding would cover, the property owners and SDOT were able to expand the scope of the work to repair the entire sidewalk length of the block from curb to the building, preserving street trees and giving them a better growing space for years to come.

This blog entry from SDOT has some more interesting information on sidewalks, including how sidewalk repairs are prioritized and the huge need:

SDOT Pavement Management estimates there are well over 7 million square feet of sidewalk that need fixing throughout Seattle.

To report any concerns you have or suggest a repair, use the Street Maintenance Online Request Form.

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Bringing sidewalks to Greenwood

April 20, 2010: published by Troy Heerwagen at 10:43 am - Closed

Our current mayor started his path into politics by helping to get sidewalks installed in his neighborhood of Greenwood. However, there are more sidewalks needed. Residents are working to have sidewalks installed in Greenwood and needs more volunteer support.

The “Greenwood Sidewalks” Neighborhood Matching Fund project is getting underway, and the group working on it needs more volunteers to make it happen. The project includes not just sidewalks, but drainage, planted buffers, etc.

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