45 Replies to "Where does Arbor Heights most need sidewalks? SDOT walking tour announced for October 8"

• Rob September 26, 2025 (11:41 am)

  Sw 100 between 35 an 45 av sw. Leave the rest of the hood alone. Streets are narrow enough all ready. Plus everyone has great parking. 

  • nothend September 26, 2025 (1:31 pm)

      Most of street/sidewalk right of ways in Arbor Heights are 60 feet wide. Same as the rest of Seattle.  Streets just seem narrow because most of the residents occupy this public space all the way to the asphalt, forcing people to walk in the street. 

    • anonyme September 26, 2025 (3:54 pm)

      Not to mention that many people do not parallel park on the right-of-way as required by law.  Angle parking is allowed only if there is a sign specifically allowing it. The right-of-way is not just for cars, it is for pedestrians; in most areas of Arbor Heights, cars fill the right-of-way/planting strips (yes, it’s a planting strip, not a parking strip) making it impossible for pedestrians to do other than walk in the street.  But even if there were room, these areas are usually too rutted and uneven for those with any kind of mobility issue to walk safely.

  • PG September 27, 2025 (11:11 am)

    It would be great to have curbs at least along 100th.  People tend to park on the asphalt ‘sidewalk’ which is the only thing we have to walk on there currently.

• Rhonda September 26, 2025 (12:13 pm)

  This family of Arbor Heights residents and our nearby neighbors don’t want sidewalks. We love our natural dirt and grass street shoulders. 

  • WSB September 26, 2025 (12:20 pm)

    Well, then somebody should attend the tour and tell them that. The ones I’ve been on have been lightly attended enough that every voice present has seemed extra-amplified.

    • Rhonda September 26, 2025 (1:58 pm)

      Or a compromise with sidewalks but no curbs.

      • PG October 6, 2025 (9:51 am)

        Unfortunately, we have a ‘sidewalk’ (asphalt) along 100th with no curb, and people regularly park on it, blocking it for pedestrians.

  • Sarah September 26, 2025 (12:37 pm)

    Ok, we’ll gladly take them in north Fauntleroy! They’re desperately needed along 45th and 46th north of Trenton.

  • k September 26, 2025 (2:43 pm)

    Sidewalks are key infrastructure for people with mobility devices.  Dirt and grass make areas impassible for many mobility devices.  It’s great that you personally are able-bodied enough to manage that terrain, but public streets should be usable by the WHOLE public, including the disabled. Asking disabled kids to just walk down the middle of the street and hope the cars notice is a terrible (not to mention pretty selfish) solution.

    • Curtis September 26, 2025 (3:37 pm)

      LOL

    • Yabble Dabble September 26, 2025 (6:22 pm)

      K, our street has no sidewalks and everyone gets around just fine, including people in wheelchairs and Rascal scooters. Not all of us want them . I don’t want people walking that close to my house and I don’t want the ice and snow liability in the winter. There’s a nice dirt strip we all use on the other side of the street that’s undeveloped. 

      • K September 27, 2025 (12:43 pm)

        I was waiting for the person who thinks wheelchairs and rascal scooters are the only mobility devices that exist.  They’re not, and the comment that sidewalks will bring people “closer” to your house confirms my point.  Those dirt strips are not usable by certain segments of the population, who are equally deserving of getting around the neighborhood safely as you.

        • Yabble Dabble September 28, 2025 (2:40 pm)

          K, if you were waiting for my comment that means you knew it had some merit. I guess you’re the self-designated comment police.

      • PG October 6, 2025 (9:52 am)

        I want them!  (I live on 39th, and don’t feel comfortable walking in the street, which is the only option around here).

  • AJ September 26, 2025 (6:23 pm)

    City will most likely not be building sidewalks on anything but busy thoroughfares like 106th St.

  • Lauren September 26, 2025 (10:37 pm)

    And this family of Arbor Heights residents would dearly love more sidewalks. See you at the walking tour, neighbor!

  • PG September 27, 2025 (11:10 am)

    People who don’t mind walking in the street might be okay with no sidewalk, but it can be scary to walk in the dusk/dark and rain.  It doesn’t really work to talk on the sidewalk, since people park there, there are puddles & plants.

• Andrew September 26, 2025 (12:30 pm)

  106th right at the city limit really could use a continuous sidewalk on at least one side of the street! There’s no way to avoid this stretch, and it’s not pleasant if you’ve got a stroller or other wheels. It’s kind of hilarious (and sad) how the sidewalks on the unincorporated side are great both sides and then goes to garbage right at the Seattle city limits sign. 

  • AJ September 26, 2025 (6:24 pm)

    Agreed. That stretch feels like a gauntlet of accident waiting to happen.

  • Caleigh September 27, 2025 (9:31 am)

    Agreed!! There is a stretch without any sidewalk on either side. 

• RickB September 26, 2025 (12:49 pm)

  The stretch of 106th SW between 26th and 35th would be a good candidate. It’s a direct route from the White Center business district into the residential neighborhood, plus there’s at least one school and several churches nearby that could benefit from increased walkability.

  • Bill#1 September 26, 2025 (3:01 pm)

    How many people have you ever seen struggling to make that stretch?  And ADITIONALLY from 26th up to “White Center” is still another mile and almost ALL up several blocks of STEEP hill!  Get out there and WALK it yourself — and report back to us!

    • KB September 28, 2025 (9:19 am)

      I regularly walk that route and always have to be extra careful in that stretch.  Would love sidewalks right there.

• Anne September 26, 2025 (1:04 pm)

  All those commenting should try & join the tour-commenting here is one thing -but those comments don’t go any farther. Want your voice heard-join the tour. 

  • WSB September 26, 2025 (1:21 pm)

    We definitely agree that nothing beats in-person involvement. But comments here do go “farther” in some cases – I have been surprised to find various slide decks about project engagement, from various agencies, citing WSB comments. Obviously not an official role but worth noting. Also, if you follow the link to the Transportation Levy, it goes to the levy’s sidewalk program and that should have specific city contact info – TR

    • Defendant September 26, 2025 (2:07 pm)

      Heck, I used WSB comment threads in a court case when a public figure tried to accuse me of being the only person criticizing them for something. Unfortunately for them, there were hundreds of comments across multiple stories showing disapproval for their behavior. 

      Case dismissed!

• Les September 26, 2025 (1:23 pm)

  Marine View Drive south of Roxbury St. An arterial without sidewalks is not a safe place for pedestrians. M.V.D.  would become a very popular place to walk if it had sidewalks.

  • Jeff September 26, 2025 (1:52 pm)

    I agree with you wholeheartedly, but I suspect the dirt work alone on that terrain would blow the project budget.

  • Jim R. September 27, 2025 (5:39 pm)

    What Les said.  Crossing or walking along MVD is dangerous, not to mention there is a severe need for speed abatement along that stretch. 

• Admiral2009 September 26, 2025 (2:16 pm)

  How about where the abutting property owners form an LID to help foot the cost!  Per my read of the SMC sidewalk improvement are the responsibility of the abutting property owners.  

  • Eric1 September 26, 2025 (7:01 pm)

    I know that I gladly signed up to pay for sidewalks in front of my house should the city decide to install them when I got my permit for a remodel.  That being said, annexed portions of West Seattle were promised sidewalks if they incorporated into the city.  So who is responsible is actually pretty obvious as no sidewalks have been built in front of my house despite what the SMC says.  I have even suggested at previous meetings on sidewalks such as these that the city maximize it’s ability to install sidewalks by analyzing who has signed up to pay for sidewalks and install them where more homeowners would pay.  I don’t think anything ever came of that which probably indicates that even when homeowners are willing to pay, the city won’t do it. They are either unwilling to pay their portion, or are afraid to bill homeowners even if the SMC says they can. I don’t know if a LID would fare better.

    • k September 26, 2025 (7:59 pm)

      If the homeowners were unwilling to form a LID to improve water infrastructure, voluntarily paying for sidewalks seems unlikely.

• PG September 26, 2025 (2:17 pm)

  I live on 39th and would love to have sidewalks.  We walk in the street because people park all the way out to the edge of the street, plant things, there are potholes on the shoulders, etc.  There is an asphalt sidewalk along 100th, but people continually park across it, blocking it.

  • 1994 September 26, 2025 (9:57 pm)

    I thought the paved walkway along SW 100 west of 35th was considered a sidewalk until a bus forced me off the paved walkway because it pulled onto the paved walkway to let a passenger off. I wrote to Metro to complain about the bus driver forcing me off the walkway at SW 100 & 37th Ave SW corner – here is the response from Metro, “We looked into this issue, and found that at the intersection mentioned, SW 100th St & 37th Ave SW, there is no paved sidewalk. Per our operations manual, “Where there are no curbs, pull the coach completely off the roadway where possible”. I was quite surprised at Metro declaring this stretch of paved walkway is NOT a sidewalk. Wonder what SDOT says – is it a sidewalk or not.  

• anonyme September 26, 2025 (3:46 pm)

  Be careful what you wish for.  I was part of a team of neighbors who advocated for sidewalks along 35th, and was I ever sorry.  My corner was used for staging, meaning dumpsters, heavy equipment, and workers parking in my driveway (including motorcycles arriving at 5:30 am).  The plans and blueprints were constantly changing, errors proliferated, the project took 3 times as long as projected, and the noise, chaos, garbage, and damage to my property were unbelievable.  If I hadn’t physically blocked the construction at one point, they would have obliterated the only entry point to my property, as someone had left it off the current blueprint – and neither eyeballs, common sense, nor a visit from the project manager prevailed.  The PM’s exact quote was “I don’t care”.   In some areas the new sidewalks are not ADA compatible, even after being redone several times.  The workers took all their garbage, including concrete chunks, wire, and other construction debris, and threw it into my landscaping.  The planting strips, which originally were supposed to be planted with street trees, were filled instead with landscaping rocks – which would have been nice, except that they then dumped a couple of inches on top of the rock and threw some grass seed on it, making it both ugly and unsustainable.  Bottom line: avoid inviting SDOT into your neighborhood if you can help it.

• Steve September 26, 2025 (5:13 pm)

  California or 41st, between. 106th and Roxbury. We have a sidewalk going east/west along 100th but are missing a sidewalk going north/south. This would be a good connection and potential walking route for kids to Arbor Heights Elementary.

• Alki resident September 26, 2025 (6:48 pm)

  I grew up in Arbor Heights and raised my kids there. We didn’t have sidewalks nor ever wished we had. We had ample parking for company and garage sales all over the neighborhood. The streets are wide enough to drive and walk on and plenty of side road to walk on. Having sidewalks west of 35th would slim the streets down which many have expressed in the past that they wouldn’t want. 

• ltmmgm September 26, 2025 (8:42 pm)

  We live in Burien in the NW portion of Burien above Seola Beach and have sidewalks… with that said 85% of the people walking, walking dogs, riding bikes DO NOT USE the sidewalks. Reason being is because the sidewalks are not wide enough for 2 people to walk side by side. This would be a good question to ask if the sidewalks they plan on building will be wide enough.

• D-Mom September 27, 2025 (12:15 am)

  Very happy to hear this!  I walk my dog daily and would so love sidewalks. Being forced to walk in the street sux, obviously because of competing with cars, but also because of the crowned roads vs flat sidewalks. It’s ruining my hips. Also, a neighborhood with sidewalks is so much nicer with the vegetation in the planting strips. I wish they’d put sidewalks and curbs everywhere. 

• Kyle September 27, 2025 (8:00 am)

  People against building sidewalks is a wild take.

  • nothend September 27, 2025 (11:22 am)

        It’s because they know exactly where the property line is…  and feel like they’re loosing 20 feet.

• Rob September 28, 2025 (5:31 am)

  Someone should ask raincity clay how they feel about side walks. If you come down sw 100 to the corner of California an 100th you will see the new townhouses they built. You will also see the new portion of sidewalk that was built along 100th. If follow that same line the new sidewalk would literally pass just a few feet from there front door.

  • nothend September 28, 2025 (10:45 am)

       I’d ask if having a few extra parking spots is more impotant than kids walking in the street. Having foot traffic at the front of a business is a good thing.  Sidewalks make neighborhoods safer and better. 

  • AH Resident October 3, 2025 (11:00 am)

    That is literally where sidewalks go. 

Sorry, comment time is over.