Sidewalk Development Program

Sidewalks are the building blocks of an effective pedestrian network. There are currently more than 2,000 miles of sidewalks in Seattle, yet many areas in the city do not have sidewalks at all.

SDOT is committed to increasing the number of sidewalks in the city. More money is now available to fund sidewalk construction as part of the Bridging the Gap levy for transportation maintenance and improvements. In addition to local funds, SDOT also looks for state or federal grants to build sidewalks.

Questions? Please refer below for additional information about SDOT’s Sidewalk Development Program.

Will SDOT be building a sidewalk in my neighborhood?
The mission of SDOT’s Sidewalk Development Program is to construct new sidewalks throughout Seattle. Projects are selected using the Seattle Pedestrian Master Plan, which is a long-term action plan to make Seattle the most walkable city in the nation. The plan establishes the policies, programs, design criteria, and projects that will further enhance pedestrian safety, comfort, and access in all of Seattle’s neighborhoods.

The Plan’s analysis addresses two overarching categories when it comes to prioritizing potential sidewalk projects.  The first is referred to as ‘Along the Roadway.’  This component considers the presence of existing sidewalks primarily, and also looks at other characteristics that influence conditions from a pedestrian standpoint—physical buffers such as on-street parking, traffic speeds & volumes, and block length.  The basemap for this part can be found here.

The second category identifies ‘High Priority Areas’ in the city.  This is made up of three separate demand analyses (potential pedestrian demand, socioeconomic / health equity, and corridor function).  These three components were weighted and combined to identify the High Priority Areas.  See this page for further explanation.

The top-tier locations score high in both of the overarching categories.  Project lists & maps are found on this page.

For a detailed look of the high-scoring locations in your neighborhood, take a look at  the District Council maps towards the bottom of this page. 

Where are SDOT’s 2013 sidewalk projects?

SDOT’s Sidewalk Development Program is planning to build the following new sidewalk connections in 2013:

• on the north side of NE 125th Street between 35th Avenue NE and Sand Point Way NE
• on the south side of N 90th Street between Dayton Avenue N  and Fremont Avenue N 
• on the west side of 13th Avenue NW between NW 90th Street and Holman Road NW
• on the north side of NW 90th Street between 12th Avenue NW and 13th Avenue NW