On Saturday morning, The Urbanist was pleased to be joined by Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) and dozens of advocates for a walking tour of Rainier Avenue S from Hillman City to Mount Baker. SDOT’s Vision Zero Coordinator Jim Curtin described what the agency learned from its rechannelization pilot project in Columbia City and what it had planned for Phase 2 of the Rainier Avenue road diet.
Hillman City
Our tour started outside Firehouse No. 28 in Hillman City, which is at the border of where the road diet pilot project ended. Phase 2 will extend the four lane to three lane rechannelization from Columbia City south to Rainier Beach. We walked north to Tin Umbrella Coffee where a pocket park was a recent improvement to the streetscape. To help the tour visualize what a protected bike lane would be like, Curtin stepped into the street (with cars whizzing by) to show the new lane dimensions.
