The Urbanist has been urging the City of Seattle to pedestrianize streets and create a safe biking network for years, but the pandemic has made the case all the more urgent. Walking to the store or to work is many people’s safest transportation option–safer than hailing a taxi or riding the bus. Jogging or taking a bike ride is a safe exercise option while gyms are closed and while people will be looking to trim expenses like gym fees once those businesses reopen.
The Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) has added 20 miles of open streets it calls Stay Healthy Streets, but so far those interventions haven’t touched Seattle’s urban centers, which are the city’s densest and fastest growing neighborhoods. That’s a huge problem. Residents have reported feeling trapped in their homes without sidewalks or bike lanes wide enough to socially distance and intersections made more dangerous by speeding. Our urban centers also have a scarcity of parks and open space and could really use open streets to compensate.
Luckily, there’s a solution. Seattle Neighborhood Greenways has partnered with SDOT and provided volunteer labor to implement the Stay Healthy Streets program, but they’ve also been busy engaging with people across the city to ask where they want open streets in their neighborhood. That work has culminated in a map with 130 miles of open streets spanning the city, filling in gaps in our safe streets network, and serving our densest neighborhoods.
