Press Releases

City Breaks Ground on Long-awaited Linden Avenue North Complete Street Project

SEATTLE - Guided by the Broadview/Bitter Lake/Haller Lake neighborhood's vision of an enhanced Linden Avenue N, today the City of Seattle broke ground on the Linden Avenue North Complete Street Project. To be completed over the next year by the Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT), the $12.1 million project will reshape Linden Avenue North between North 128th and North 145th streets into a more pedestrian, bicycle and neighborhood friendly boulevard.

"This project is a great example of the power of community engagement," said McGinn. "I thank all the residents who have worked so hard with the City to help build a greater neighborhood for all. And I thank Seattle Department of Transportation staff for their work with the community to help make today possible."

Home to dozens of senior and multi-family housing developments, this part of Linden Avenue North is viewed as uninviting to the many pedestrians and bicyclists who travel the corridor. The street has few sidewalks, deteriorating pavement, poor lighting and is adjacent to the heavily congested Aurora Avenue North. Community activists worked diligently to rally neighborhood support, urged the allocation of funds to the project, and worked closely with City staff to make it a reality.

In line with the City's Complete Streets ordinance, the Linden Avenue project will repave and widen the roadway, and enhance pedestrian safety with continuous sidewalks, curbs and curb ramps and a new pedestrian crossing with infrared detectors near the community center. It will improve street lighting and drainage, create a two-way buffered bike lane known as a cycle track on the road's east side, and incorporate art celebrating the neighborhood's history. The project will also add street trees and landscape plantings along both sides, while also completing a missing segment of the Interurban Trail.

One of the longtime community stalwarts says his neighborhood is thrilled to see a safer Linden Avenue North on the horizon, especially for the many seniors and families in the area. "The Lindy Hop now means hopping over puddles, depressions, gravel drifts and debris," said Richard Dyksterhuis, member of the Committee to Improve Linden Avenue North and resident of the Linden Park Condos. "Next year the Lindy Hop will be a Charleston Dance step, modified to fit the resident population. We are rejoicing and saving up for those dancing shoes!"

The $12.1 million dollar Linden Avenue North Complete Street Project will be funded largely by Bridging the Gap, the voter-supported transportation levy and commercial parking tax. Real estate excise taxes and street vacation fees will provide the remaining funding.

For more information on the Linden Avenue North Complete Street Project, visit SDOT's project website, http://www.seattle.gov/transportation/linden.htm.

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