43 Replies to "EXPANDING: City adds more 'Stay Healthy Streets' in east West Seattle"

• Joe Z May 1, 2020 (10:09 am)

  Awesome!Can we get one in the Junction/Admiral please? There is too much car/bike/pedestrian traffic to bike with a 7-year-old on the existing bike routes. 

  • me May 1, 2020 (11:27 am)

    I would love that! The more closed streets the better.

    • Joe Z May 1, 2020 (12:06 pm)

      With Summer Fest and other large events not happening the Junction businesses really need to get behind opening up California to bikes/pedestrians on Sundays. Other cities have done this and the massive increase in foot traffic leads to more sales. Getting a nearby street closed will be the first step to building the political will to do it (and changing the prevailing mindset that parking = customers). 

• rc98106 May 1, 2020 (10:36 am)

  I love this! Running and having to jump on and off the sidewalk (potentially into the increased traffic near Holden/Henderson) has been not great so safe running courses in which I can maintain distance and not tale my chances on another curb are so welcome!

• High Point May 1, 2020 (11:19 am)

  Its an interesting idea but cars are ignoring the signs and cones. I live on one of the original stay healthy streets and we’ve seen the same number of cars cutting through our neighborhood but now with people in the street. And most of our signs disappeared in the past 48 hours (I’ve reached out to SDOT to let them know).

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  • Amy May 1, 2020 (12:28 pm)

    In theory it is a great idea. In actuality non-local cars are driving fast down 34th Ave SW. I thought it would make our street quieter, but now crowds of young people are gathering and not social distancing. The concern I have is people think they are safe walking in the street but no one is enforcing keeping traffic out. You can’t implement a change in vehicular patterns without enforcement. 

• heyalki May 1, 2020 (11:22 am)

  How is this helpful? Is it because the streets are narrow or something?

  • KM May 1, 2020 (2:54 pm)

    No, the sidewalks are. There’s not a way for people to social distance while passing each other on most city sidewalks without having to step into the street or on private property. For those neighborhoods that even HAVE sidewalks.

• Anonymous May 1, 2020 (11:39 am)

  No one should be using streets as a playground.

• Gina May 1, 2020 (11:41 am)

  One side of the closed Fauntleroy expressway should be opened for walkers/bikers.  A lane for each. Other side could be for for access to upper bridge vehicles. A blockade could be put up at the point where collapse of bridge might cause danger.

  • Joe Z May 1, 2020 (11:58 am)

    It’s unofficially open. You can bike straight to the path that connects to the low bridge by Delridge using the eastbound side. Way easier than dealing with Avalon which has seen a significant increase in traffic since the closure. 

• Lola May 1, 2020 (11:59 am)

  Even if the streets are not closed off people are still walking, jogging, in the street with their dogs.  I can’t tell you how many I have have to dodge as you refuse to use the sidewalks when nobody is even on them.  Now we are closing off streets so you can do this?  Not sure did we have this problem before Covid 19, where you were not able to walk or jog on the sidewalks?  I know we are practicing social distancing but now People are using it as an excuse to Walk, Jog down the middle of the street.  

  • WSB May 1, 2020 (12:04 pm)

    As a two-times-a-day pedestrian, I have to say that my co-publisher and I often wind up walking in the street when people are headed in our direction on sidewalks on BOTH sides of the street, or when someone is headed our way on one side while there’s someone doing yard work by the sidewalk on the other. (We also wind up having to make multiple midblock crossings, too – if we were keeping a GPS track of our walks, it would probably be a fairly bizarre-looking zigzag.) Since going out for a walk is pretty much the only exercise many can do, drivers really need to yield big time, and we realize that when we are out driving too. – TR

    • John May 1, 2020 (4:03 pm)

      95% of the time it’s not necessary to walk in the street to be 6 ft away from somebody walking in the opposite direction as you on the sidewalk. It’s really quite dangerous and annoying to a twice a day car driver commuter. 

      • WSB May 1, 2020 (4:11 pm)

        Sorry, you don’t know my walking route, and yes, it is. Would stay out of the CENTER of the road but unfortunately parked cars get in the way!

        • John May 1, 2020 (4:14 pm)

          Generally speaking a sidewalk is 5 ft wide. If you don’t believe me take a tape measure. Unless there’s absolutely no room on either side of the sidewalk it’s easy to be 6 ft apart without being in the street. 

  • KM May 1, 2020 (3:22 pm)

    Lola, if you have to “dodge” pedestrians, you are driving way too fast for conditions, which means you are likely not in the position to gauge why people in the street are trying to social distance or not. Please, slow down and share the road. There are lot more people on bike and foot, and nearly half as many drivers, let’s adapt accordingly.

• Tp May 1, 2020 (12:24 pm)

  I walk every day and have had zero problems with other people/cyclist/joggers or cars.  I’m confused why anyone thinks California would need to be shut down due to festivals being canceled as well. I drive down California regularly as I am an essential employee and dont endorse the closing of roads at all.

  • Joe Z May 1, 2020 (1:15 pm)

    No, not shut down. Opened up. Using all 5 lanes for cars greatly limits the capacity

• Scott May 1, 2020 (12:32 pm)

  Very poorly planned.  No notice.  They are being ignored because of their poor placement.  Another city fail

• denden May 1, 2020 (1:13 pm)

  Didn’t your mother teach you anything? I agree with ANONYMOUS No one should be using streets as a playground! Craziest thing I have ever heard  of.

• Mary May 1, 2020 (1:18 pm)

  They need to do this on Fairmount Ave SW. There are no sidewalks and a huge increase in the pedestrian traffic during the stay at home order. It’s dangerous. 

• Davis Schreiber May 1, 2020 (2:19 pm)

  This has to be one of Seattle’s more stupid ideas. There are some of us who are essential workers. I myself am a commercial truck driver so I have to commute to work still and I make some money doing food delivery on the side. And one of the street suddenly closed down is the street onto which the parking garage from my apartment building exits and enters. I mean I get the impetus for this idea that if there’s more space people can spread out but that assumes that everyone’s out walking and bicycling at the same time which I can tell you having driven to every corner of this region in both my personal vehicle and in my truck is not the case. To me this is the city just trying to cater to the special interest group that is anti car. look I have said time and again if public transportation could get me from West Seattle, where I live, to Kent, where my truck base is, in a reasonable amount of time for a shift that starts anywhere from 3:30 to 5 in the morning then by all means I am for public transportation. and if the city can come up with a way that on bicycles and by foot that I can pick up BBQ in the junction and get it – still hot – to Georgetown in 10 minutes then by all means I’m on board with all of this let’s shut down the streets and create more room for pedestrians and bicycles. The sad truth of the matter is is that cars are still needed to make large segments of this economy function and idiotic ideas like this just make it harder for those of us who have to be out here right now. and no I am not just one person there is a pretty significant population of us who need our cars not just because they are a luxury but because we cannot do our jobs or get to our places of employment without them based on the infrastructure we have right now.

  • Tp May 1, 2020 (2:30 pm)

    I second this! 

  • sam-c May 1, 2020 (2:54 pm)

    I thought these closed streets were a good idea and good use of street for residents, but you raise an interesting point that I hadn’t thought of.  I checked the City’s website linked here, but didn’t see it mentioned.  Are deliveries allowed on these closed streets (can big trucks even get around those signs) ? Amazon? food delivery, etc allowed ? On the original WS example of 34th Ave SW in High Point, there are lots of cross streets where a delivery driver could park and then walk to their delivery locations.  But, that stretch of 21st from Myrtle to Dawson doesn’t  really have any cross streets (due to the topography), so I imagine delivery drivers and residents will still need to drive down that street…

    • WSB May 1, 2020 (4:27 pm)

      The original post on SDOT Blog says these streets are OPEN to deliveries.
      https://sdotblog.seattle.gov/2020/04/16/announcing-stay-healthy-streets/

  • Vic May 1, 2020 (3:19 pm)

    You are still allowed to drive in and out of your garage… this is a minuscule amount of streets affected and is only meant to lessen cut-through traffic (often speeders). If you live there and need to use it with your vehicle, you can. So I’m not sure what problem this is actually causing you. I myself also drive (like many people who either support or are simply unbothered by this) and I really don’t understand your anger.

  • Ice May 1, 2020 (3:22 pm)

    Nobody is taking your car away from you and forcing you on a bus or a bicycle, stop playing that victim card. The city has just simply ‘closed down’ a few streets to through traffic, one of which you happen to live on. You can still drive on it. This is a far cry from the drastic measure you are pretending it is. Also, if you are getting from the junction to Georgetown in 10 minutes in a car then you are driving completely irresponsibly and endangering the lives of others. 

  • Marilyn May 1, 2020 (6:03 pm)

    I agree with you.  Closing the streets for people to walk and  bike is just stupid.

    • KM May 2, 2020 (10:04 am)

      Marilyn, the streets are ALWAYS open to cyclists.

  • Jon May 4, 2020 (6:54 am)

    You drive from the Junction to Georgetown in 10 minutes?  This means you’re driving double the speed limit. YOU are the reason that the city is closing streets for the safety of pedestrians. 

• Lola May 1, 2020 (2:32 pm)

  WSB,I’m not talking about people moving out of the way when they see someone coming if they are walking, I’m talking about just walking down the middle of the street with nobody on either side of the sidewalk.  It seems to be a thing that more and more people are doing just because they think they can do it without any regard to the cars on the road.I can’t believe the people who come out from in-between cars to try to cross as well.  At least have some sense to go to a corner or a cross walk instead of darting out into a load of traffic coming from both ways. 

  • Erin98126 May 2, 2020 (8:25 am)

    We are seeing this a lot on our street, too. It’s odd because I haven’t seen a single person on the blocked-off-for-street-walking 34th. But there is an oddly large amount of walking/skating/biking in the street a couple blocks away on 31st. Most are mindful that it is still a street for cars. But the people with headphones pushing strollers oblivious (or maybe uncaring?) to cars behind them  exasperates me. 

• Happy May 1, 2020 (3:02 pm)

  My family walks/bikes a ton so I like the idea.  We are often walking out in the street to avoid people, yard work, cars in drive, closures.  Id suggest other streets that are flat (generally that is where you see the most walkers).   We’ve tried to walk on 34th but the signs are largely ignored and West  Seattle Elementary  is still offering lunch so there is a lot of in and out traffic at times.   To Davis, you should still be able to access your building. The signs are clearly marked “local access and deliveries”.  

• mem May 1, 2020 (5:08 pm)

  Trenton St is a minor arterial. Most people in Highland  Park use it to go to Westwood Village. School buses and parents of HP Elem use Trenton. The short block between 16th and 17th cannot be blocked off for traffic. Please rethink. 

  • Joe May 9, 2020 (5:08 am)

    Totally agree

• J May 1, 2020 (5:11 pm)

  Perfect timing. West Seattle Bridge is shutdown greatly increasing commutes so the city decides to make it even more difficult to get around. This increases drive times and more pollution. For those cheering they can walk and social distances at same time? Maybe walk at a slight diagonal. Problem solved. 

• Tp May 1, 2020 (7:46 pm)

  Again, I’m confused as to where all these people are having such a hard time walking. I live in North Admiral, walk to the junction, around various neighborhoods and have not have one problem avoiding people, and definitely have not had to walk in the street to avoid them.  

• Linda May 1, 2020 (9:50 pm)

  So if you don’t live on the closed street, are you still able to use it?  This closure has blocked all access to my mother’s house and there is no alternate route via an open street.

• Amy May 2, 2020 (6:55 am)

  Closing residential streets anywhere near Highland Park drive SW doesn’t sound well thought out. As anyone that lives in WS knows, the streets around here are wonky and rarely go through. In order for me to get to my house, I’ll have to use a closed street to get there to avoid the now very busy 16th Ave. I do like the idea, just wish the streets near HPW were better thought out. 

• Ted May 4, 2020 (5:10 pm)

  How about the SDOT use the funds dedicated to this nonsense measure -and put it toward building a tunnel. Yes I know – smaller amount but sheesh. Closing streets so groups of kids hang out on them. OH BTW – save all the comments about other flatten the curve measures. I support them. This seems like much to do about nothing. 

• Miko May 9, 2020 (4:20 pm)

  Can the city mark and secure Alki Ave for safer pedestrian access? Bikers, runners and skateboarders impede social distancing on walk path. How can the road and paths be better marked or CLOSED off so everyone can social distance safely. This corridor gets more visitors and is overcrowded. 

• tania May 10, 2020 (4:01 pm)

  I live on Trenton in HP, and while I fully support fewer speeding cars, room for bikes and kids, and a quieter front yard, I am very concerned about SDOT closing off streets in a neighborhood that funnels all WS traffic from both Marginal and Myers Ways with the closure of the High Bridge. It’s already getting nasty congested at both of these exits and up the hills and we haven’t even seen a full fledged rush hour yet.

Sorry, comment time is over.