MLK Jr Way Safety Project

April 12, 2024

Creating a safer street for everyone

What's happening now?

Construction Update

Our crews will be working at the following locations in the next two weeks:

April 15-19

S Walker St & MLK Jr Way S

Crews will remove sidewalk and begin electrical work on the southeast corner of the intersection. This work was previously scheduled to begin April 1, we apologize for the schedule change.
Pedestrian detours will be in effect. People walking north on MLK Jr Way S should plan to cross over to the west side of the street at the S Bayview St intersection.

S Rainier St & MLK Jr Way S

Crews will pour new roadway, sidewalks, and curb ramps on the southeast corner of the intersection.
King County Metro bus stop 8690 continues to be temporarily closed, please check the King County Metro website for updates on associated bus routes.
This construction work requires partial street closures. A traffic control officer will be on site to assist with the flow of traffic during active construction. Arterial streets, travel lanes, and sidewalks (MLK Jr Way S and Rainier Ave S) will remain open during peak traffic hours: 6 AM to 9 AM and 3 PM to 7 PM, Monday through Friday.

April 22-26

S Rainier St & MLK Jr Way S

Crews will remove sidewalk and roadway pavement and begin electrical and drainage work on the northeast corner of the intersection.
Pedestrian detours will be in effect while crews work on the sidewalks on the east side of the intersection. Some pedestrian detours will be long and may inconvenience people walking or rolling in this area.
King County Metro bus stop 8400 may be temporarily closed or relocated. Please check the King County Metro website for updates on associated bus routes.
Left turns will be restricted from westbound S Mt Baker Blvd onto southbound Rainier Ave S during roadway work.
We will temporarily close westbound S Mt Baker Blvd. Detours will be in place directing people driving and biking to use alternative routes. For more details on this timing, please contact the project inbox or phone line.
This construction work requires partial street closures. A traffic control officer will be on site to assist with the flow of traffic during active construction. Arterial streets, travel lanes, and sidewalks (MLK Jr Way S and Rainier Ave S) will remain open during peak traffic hours: 6 AM to 9 AM and 3 PM to 7 PM, Monday through Friday.

Construction progress

The Rainier Ave S & MLK Jr Way S intersection during sidewalk and electrical work

New curb ramps at the southwest corner of Rainier Ave S & MLK Jr Way S

What to expect during construction

Typical work hours are Monday – Friday, from 7:00 AM to 5:00 PM. During this time you can expect:

Temporary traffic revisions to accommodate construction vehicles
Temporary parking restrictions near work zone
Noisy construction activities, such as backup alarms for safety, heavy vehicle use, and the use of power tools.

On October 6, 2023, we celebrated groundbreaking for this project with some of our biggest project supporters sharing a few words about this exciting milestone to local media. We were honored to have speeches from Mayor Harrell, SDOT Director Greg Spotts, Sound Transit CEO Julie Timm, Cascade Bicycle Club Executive Director Lee Lambert, and Franklin High School Principal Erik Weiss. Read more about the event on our blog post.

Photo showing Mayor Harrell sharing speech at groundbreaking event.
Mayor Harrell giving a speech in support of the MLK Jr Way Safety Project at the groundbreaking event. Photo credit: City of Seattle.

Photo showing Mayor Harrell, Director Spotts, and project supporters holding shovel during groundbreaking ceremony.event.
Left to right: Sound Transit CEO Julie Timm, SDOT Capital Projects Director, Cascade Bicycle Club Executive Director Lee Lambert, Mayor Bruce Harrell, Franklin High School Principal Erik Weiss, SDOT Director Greg Spotts, and Council Member Tammy Morales partaking in the groundbreaking ceremony. Photo credit: City of Seattle.

Construction of the MLK Jr Way S Safety Project began September 28, 2023 and will continue through Summer 2024. Check out our 100% design plans. Want to stay up to date on construction information? Sign up for our listserv to receive construction updates.

We are updating the street design on MLK Jr Way S to reduce driving lanes, slow down people driving, build new protected bike lanes, widen sidewalks, and add new ADA-compliant curb ramps. These changes will improve safety and access to transit and local destinations for people walking, rolling, biking, and driving between Mount Baker Station and the future Judkins Park Station.

Changes coming to MLK Jr Way S

This project will:

Redesign the road to create more predictable vehicle movements. There will now be one lane in each direction with a center turn lane. The travel lanes will continue to accommodate freight and transit movements.
Install concrete-protected bike lanes on both sides of MLK Jr Way S and add new bike detection signals at intersections.
Repaint the road to improve visibility and safety conditions for pedestrians, vehicles, and bicycles.
Repair or widen sidewalks and add or widen crosswalks to better separate pedestrians from traffic.
Add or upgrade pedestrian walk signals and bike detection signals to make people walking and biking more visible to drivers.
Upgrade 30 curb ramps to improve accessibility according to the most current ADA standards
Revise parking while maintaining access to local businesses.

Our project was guided by Seattle’s Vision Zero plan to prevent serious collisions by designing safer streets. This project will help manage driver speeds and encourage more walking and biking. When construction is complete, you will notice the following changes to the street:

Graphic map showing the project route and key changes we are making that reflect the bullet points above.

Work began September 28, 2023 and will continue through 2024.

During construction, you can expect:

Typical work hours are Monday - Friday, from 7:00 AM to 5:00 PM
Temporary traffic revisions, to accommodate construction vehicles and equipment
Temporary parking restrictions
Noisy construction activities, including backup alarms for safety, heavy vehicle use, and the use of power tools

Questions about the project?

Email us at MLKWay@seattle.gov or leave us a voicemail at 206-900-8750.

Project Description

We are updating the street design on MLK Jr Way S to reduce driving lanes, build protected bike lanes, slow down cars, and create safer pedestrian connections to transit. These changes will improve safety and access to transit for people walking, rolling, biking, and driving between Mount Baker Station and the future Judkins Park Station.

Project Goals

The number one priority of this project is to improve safety for people traveling on MLK Jr Way S. As a major arterial road, MLK Jr Way S poses a higher risk of serious and fatal crashes. In our 2022 High Injury Network assessment, the MLK Jr Way corridor scored high. Our crash data showed that there have been 305 collisions on MLK Jr Way S since 2016, which resulted in 152 people being hurt or seriously injured. Since 2020, there have been two fatalities of people walking on MLK Jr Way S who were struck by vehicles while crossing an intersection at MLK Jr Way S & S Massachusetts St and MLK Jr Way S & Rainier Ave S.

While the speed limit on MLK Jr Way is 25 mph, our data showed that most people drive over 35 mph on this corridor south of S Plum St. This is why redesigning MLK Jr Way S to encourage safer roads and speeds is so important.

This project aims to:

Reduce traffic fatalities and serious accidents
Increase ADA accessibility
Prioritize pedestrian movement
Create safe connections to new transit options
Build a citywide bike network

Learn about how each of these goals are incorporated in the construction plan in the Project Area section of this webpage.

Safety Improvements

Our project design was guided by our Vision Zero Top to Bottom Review and the USDOT's Safe System Approach. This project will help manage driver speeds and encourage more walking and biking. When construction is complete, you will notice the following changes to the streets:

Vehicle travel land reduction: 74% of pedestrian fatalities occur on arterials with more than one lane in each direction. Instead of two travel lanes in each direction between S Holgate St and S McClellan St, there will now be one lane in each direction with a center turn lane. The travel lanes will continue to accommodate freight and transit movements.
Wider sidewalks and crosswalks: In order to better separate pedestrians from traffic and encourage walking, we are widening sidewalks and crosswalks. Additionally, we will add new crosswalks at the south and east crossings of MLK Jr Way S & Rainier Ave S and at the south crossing of MLK Jr Way S & S Bayview St.
Protected bike lanes: Our data shows that 80% of people killed while biking were biking where no biking facility was available. This project adds one mile of protected bike lanes connecting people to destinations like I-90 Trail, Rainier Valley Neighborhood Greenway, Franklin High School, Mount Baker Transit Center, and the Mount Baker and future Judkins Park Link light rail stations. We will add bike detection at the following intersections: S Judkins St, S Massachusetts St, S McClellan St, and Rainier Ave S.
Wheelchair access: To make our sidewalks accessible to everyone, we are adding or upgrading 30 curb ramps throughout the project area to meet the most current ADA design recommendations.
Pedestrian movements: Our analysis shows 93% of epedestrian fatalities occur on arterials. We will update pedestrian walk signals between S Judkins St and Rainier Ave S. MLK Jr Way S currently has leading pedestrian intervals (LPIs) installed from S Judkins St to S McClellan St, and we will add LPI to the intersection of MLK Jr Way S & Rainier Ave S. LPIs give pedestrians a head start when crossing, which makes them more visible to drivers who are turning.
Parking revision: There will be changes to street parking along MLK Jr Way S, including some parking removal, to support bike lane installation while maintaining access to local businesses.
New roadway paint: A fresh coat of roadway paint will improve visibility and safety conditions for pedestrians, vehicles and bicycles.

Learn more about the ways we are improving safety with this project in our Final Project Design section of this webpage.

Project Area

For more details, see a summary of the final project design.

Funding

This project is funded in part by Puget Sound Regional Council, Washington State Department of Transportation, Accessible Mount Baker, Connecting Washington Grant, and the Levy to Move Seattle.

Project Schedule

Schedule graphic identifying this project as in the construction phase

Community Outreach

We want this design to work for not just people who bike, but also everyone who lives and works in the area. Please feel free to get in touch with us to ask questions or set up a meeting: MLKWay@Seattle.gov or (206) 900-8750.

Summer 2019	MLK was identified as an important Southeast Seattle bike connection as part of the latest Bike Master Plan Implementation Plan
Early 2020	Phone interviews with project neighbors and interested stakeholders
Spring 2020	Mailer, online survey and other outreach to engage neighbors in the early design
Summer 2020	Mailer, online early design drop-in session with Live Q&A, online survey and additional outreach to neighbors and community members
Fall 2020	Mailer, online early design (30%) drop-in session with Live Q&A, online survey and additional outreach to neighbors and community members
Spring 2021	Mailer, door hangers, posters, A-frames, 60% design drop-in session with Live Q&A, online survey, pop-up event, stakeholder interviews, and additional outreach to neighbors and community members
Summer 2023	Announced new project schedule at events including Bike Everywhere Month pop-up at Sam Smith Park, Big Day of Play, and Rainier Beach Back2School Bash
Ongoing	Email and web updates

Materials

September 2023 Fact Sheet - English

September 2023 Construction Mailer

July 2023 100% Design Summary

July 2023 100% Design Plans

May 2023 Project Fact Sheet

July 2021 Outreach Summary

April 2021 Drop-in Session Recorded presentation

April 2021 Drop-in Session Presentation Script

April 2021 Drop-in Session Q&A

May 2021 Updated Fact Sheet

April 2021 Drop-in Session Q&A

Early Design Project Map

Accessible Mount Baker Proposed Biking/Walking Improvements

January 2021 Updated Fact Sheet

November 2020 Outreach Summary

November 2020 Drop-in Session Q&A

August 2020 Outreach Summary

August 2020 Drop-In Session Q&A

Spring 2020 Outreach Summary

March 2020 Fact Sheet

Channelization Graphics

Need Translation?

If you need this information translated, please call 206-900-8750.

如果您需要此信息翻譯成中文請致電 206-900-8750.

Kung kailangan mo ang impormasyon na ito na nakasalin sa Tagalog mangyari lamang na tumawag sa 206-900-8750.

Si necesita traducir esta información al español, llame al 206-900-8750.

Odeeffannoon kun akka siif 206-900-8750.

Nếu quý vị cần thông tin này chuyển ngữ sang tiếng Việt xin gọi 206-900-8750.

የዚህን መረጃ ትርጉም ከፈለጉ፣ በዚህ ስልክ ቁጥር ይደውሉ፡ 206-900-8750.

ናይዚ ሓበሬታ ትርጉም እንተደሊኹም፣ በዚ ቁጽሪ ስልኪ ይድውሉ፡ 206-900-8750.

당신이 번역이 정보를 필요로하는 경우에, 206-900-8750 로 전화 해주십시오.