For those who wondered how a walking tour starting at Westwood Village would address pedestrian safety in South Delridge, here’s how:

(Digital image from SDOT substituted Thursday for previous photo of paper map)

That was the planned route for tonight’s SDOT-coordinated tour, meant to give people a chance to suggest how/where to build “at least 10 blocks” of sidewalks and/or walkways in the area, with money from the billion-and-a-half-dollars-plus Seattle Transportation levy that voters approved last year. The longest stretch of the road, uphill on Barton toward Delridge, actually had sidewalks, but a northward turn, west of Delridge, put participants on a street that did not.

About half of the ~20 people who participated were city employees. SDOT project leaders stressed that the walking route was by no means predetermined as the future-sidewalk route. The community members who participated had some specific suggestions about making walking safer – including the small children they brought along. Participants got to experience a variety of walking conditions.

That included the Barton Place hill where an encampment sprawls across the sidewalk close to the top of the stairway down to 22nd (which has a foil-wrapped railing):

(One walker recalled a Find It Fix It Walk in the area nine years ago, and the goat deployment that followed.) The block north of there was again without sidewalks, and the participating families had a lot to say about that since that was their neighborhood. (They expressed interest in upgrading the 22nd/Trenton crossing, too.)

We left the tour on 22nd to get to HPAC‘s 6:30 meeting; it didn’t appear to be resulting in any particular to-do list- the SDOT reps promised a report would be forthcoming; whatever project area(s) they settle on, they expect to get to “10% design” before year’s end, and construction could start as soon as next year – or as late as 2029. If you have suggestions – crosswalks, lights, and other safety measures, not just sidewalk sites, you can email this team at le***********@*****le.gov.

OTHER AREAS: They’ve already done a tour in North Delridge, and said tonight they’ll be announcing one for Highland Park on May 21.