Large Neighborhood Street Fund (NSF) Projects: North 143rd Street Safety Improvement Project

PROJECT TYPE Sidewalk
APPROXIMATE LENGTH 3,200 lf
COST ESTIMATE $552,000

APPLICANT PROBLEM

143rd street. N is in very poor condition and is not a safe environment for bicyclists, pedestrians, transit riders or motorists. The pavement is in very poor condition, portions of the roadway are frequently flooded, there is no place for bicyclists to ride and the sidewalks are non existent. 143rd Street N is adjacent to the Bitter Lake Urban Village. Two developments alone will add capacity for 600 additional cars in a four block area. It also is an area with a large and growing multifamily residential population, including many seniors and disabled residents who depend on the metro transit stops on 143rd St. It would also make the urban village safer, more inviting and accessible for present and future residents.

APPLICANT SOLUTION

North 143rd Street Safety Improvement Project--This project would make safety and access improvements for bicyclists, pedestrians, transit riders and general purpose traffic on North 143rd Street between Palatine to Aurora Avenue North. Highest priority should be the blocks immediately west of Linden Avenue North on 143rd which are Fremont, Evanston and Dayton and if possible the entire corridor on 143rd between Linden and Greenwood Avenue. At our Public Safety Forum Wayne Wentz mentioned traffic calming and other measures may be in order for this corridor. New development will have a percentage of residents who are elderly and disabled, creating further need for pedestrian access and safety.

SEATTLE DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION (SDOT) REVIEW

SDOT has started to install an asphalt walkway on the northside of the street to achieve the communities desire for a walkway. To continue this lower cost solution and minimize impacts to adjacent properties, SDOT recommends that a 6’ asphalt walkway be built behind an extrubed concrete curb on the north side of the street where sidewalk is missing. Sidewalk exists for the block east of Greenwood and a new asphalt walkway is being built this year west of Aurora to the Seattle Housing Authority’s Tri Court Apartments.

Constructability

• There is no drainage infrastructure along 143rd, but there are facilities on some of the major cross streets.
• There are fences and trees in the right-of-way between Freemont and Evanston.
• Tying into existing driveways with new improvements may require driveway reconstructions.

Community Issues

• There is strong community support for SDOT to address right-of-way encroachments.
• Outreach to the community will be needed, mainly because work will be occuring along the frontage of people's homes.
• Some trees, fences and driveway parking stalls may be impacted.
• Informal on-street parking may not be maintained.

Benefits

• Improves pedestrian access to/from transit stops. Greenwood Avenue and Aurora Avenue also have transit service, and METRO operates route #28 along the N 143rd corridor.
• Improves pedestrian connections and safety by filling in missing gaps of sidewalk along corridor. There are part of the street that have no sidewalks on either side.