The Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) is loosing the cars on Lake Washington Boulevard on Monday, but it should stay an open street permanently dedicated to people walking, rolling, and biking.
Lake Washington Boulevard has proved a popular biking and pedestrian route after ten weeks as an open street, but–despite this success–SDOT is shutting it down and letting cars rule once more. In a tweet, the agency has teased re-opening the street to people walking, rolling, scooting, and biking for one long weekend per month, advocates are asking for more. Seattle Neighborhood Greenways started a petition asking the City to keep the program going every weekend through the winter and spring. It quickly gained more than 300 signatures.
The “Keep It Moving Street,” as SDOT and Seattle Parks branded it, has been in place since July 24th on a three-mile stretch of Lake Washington Boulevard from Mount Baker Beach to Seward Park. Among more than a dozen open streets SDOT initiated across the City in response to Covid, Lake Washington Boulevard stood out as the most popular with Seattleites of all ages and abilities. Kids are learning how to bike on a boulevard otherwise known for burn cruises and rich people revving their oversized sports car engines.
Due to this smashing success, we implore SDOT and the Mayor to make the open street on Lake Washington Boulevard permanent. We count four reasons why.
First off, the open street returns Lake Washington Boulevard to its historic use and designed purpose. The Olmsted brothers designed the boulevard as a linear park for people walking, biking, and picnicking. It wasn’t designed as a motor speedway. It was intended to be one of Seattle’s signature places to relax, bike, and stroll. Car traffic has detracted from that.
Secondly, it’s a key bike route serving underserved Southeast Seattle. Lake Washington Boulevard provides a safe and flat bike route connecting to the rest of the bike network in a quadrant of the city sorely lacking such connections. The Seattle Bike Advisory Board, Cascade Bicycle Club, Seattle Greenways, Seattle Bike Blog, and just about any other group of advocates out there have identified safe bike routes in Southeast Seattle as their highest priority.
