Stay Healthy Streets

Updated: August 12, 2021

What's happening now?

As we work toward providing COVID-19 vaccinations to Seattleites, we're creating more space for people to get outside safely. Should some Stay Healthy Streets be made permanent? How should they change? What would help neighbors feel included? Take this Stay Healthy Streets survey to let us know what you think.

Note: Current Keep Moving Streets at Green Lake, Alki, and Lake Washington are not included in the Stay Healthy Streets survey. We will conduct separate outreach processes for each Keep Moving Street.

Web: English • Spanish • Tigrinya • Amharic • Vietnamese • Somali • Korean • Chinese - Simplified • Chinese - Traditional • Tagalog

Phone: Leave a message, request a listening session, or take our survey by calling: (206) 727-3565 and press for language: 1 Spanish • 2 Cantonese • 3 Mandarin • 4 Vietnamese • 5 Somali • 6 Amharic • 7 Tigrinya • 8 Korean • 9 Tagalog 

Green Lake Keep Moving Street

Our team is in the process of identifying a safe, feasible design to return driving and parking lot access back to W Green Lake Way N as well as add extra comfort for people traveling by bike or foot. We plan to make that change early this fall. 

Creating a more seamless connection between two major parks 

Beyond returning traffic lanes to W Green Lake Way N, we'd like to discuss creative solutions for making the street less of a divider between Woodland and Green Lake parks. We have a rare opportunity to build on the Keep Moving Street and reimagine how W Green Lake Way N can serve multiple functions. We'll seek community input on how to improve connections between the parks by keeping speeds calm and including possible solutions like more crosswalks, additional walking improvements, decreasing the speed limit to 20 MPH, and temporary changes in street operations to encourage community use and celebrations. 

Studying a full outer Green Lake biking and walking loop  

As we work on the final design for this near-term change, we'll begin talking to neighbors about how we might expand a walking and biking path connecting around the lake, building off the recently completed Green Lake and Wallingford Multimodal Paving Project. We've heard a lot from the community who are interested in creating a full outer loop for people to walk and bike around the lake, including repurposing the eastern-most lane of Aurora Ave N adjacent to the lake. We will be gathering feedback and sharing concepts with WSDOT, our partners in the corridor. Simultaneously, we'll support Seattle Parks & Recreation in gathering feedback on reopening the inner loop of Green Lake Park to biking and other wheeled uses.

Check out our July 28 email update and Green Lake Keep Moving Street FAQ for more info.  

Summer weekends on Lake Washington Blvd 

Starting 4th of July weekend, 3 miles of Lake Washington Blvd (from Mt Baker Park to Seward Park) are open to people walking, rolling, and biking on weekends* and holidays through at least September.  

*For consistency, barricades will be placed each Friday afternoon and removed Monday morning. This also reduces costs in paying staff overtime. On Labor Day weekend, barricades will be removed the following Tuesday morning.  

Parking lots are open and will be accessible from the nearest cross street (see full map and click here for specifics for driving to Stan Sayres Boat Launch/Mt Baker Rowing & Sailing Center). Those driving to homes along the boulevard because they live there, are visiting, or making deliveries are allowed from the nearest cross street. 

Visit our Lake Washington Blvd Keep Moving Street webpage for more info.

Lake Washington Blvd 3-mile map and access to parking lots

Click for pdf of the map

South Park and Georgetown - Pilot Stay Healthy Street 

After working with neighbors on design, in early May, we started installing pilot Stay Healthy Streets along with traffic calming (e.g. speed humps and painted curb bulbs) and walking/biking improvements (e.g. stairway improvements, flashing beacons at crossings, and new street trees) as part of the South Park and Georgetown Home Zone project.

Little Brook Park - Pilot Stay Healthy Street

We're working with Lake City Collective to open up more space for play in the Little Brook neighborhood and piloting a block closure outside of Little Brook Park. Check out this flyer for details. 

Young boy waving with caption, “Our family loves the 25th Ave Stay Healthy Street. I’ve been surprised by how much it’s impacted our neighborhood’s quality of life. What has been a wonderful unexpected aspect is seeing how the whole neighborhood uses space

Program Overview

What are Stay Healthy Streets?

Stay Healthy Streets are open for people walking, rolling, biking, and playing and closed to pass through traffic. The goal is to open up more space for people rather than cars as a way to improve community and individual health.

Stay Healthy Streets can include:

  • Traffic safety features like easier crossings at busy streets, speed humps to slow down drivers, and sign and pavement markings to help people find their way
  • Neighborhood activities like hop scotch and basketball (that you would otherwise need to get a street closure permit for)
  • Intersections with traffic circles and street murals to discourage people from driving on Stay Healthy Streets unless they have to

What does this mean for drivers?

  • People driving who need to get to homes and destinations along Stay Healthy Streets are still able to drive on these streets; drivers should use extra caution and yield to people
  • People enjoying the street should be mindful of drivers trying to get to homes and destinations as well

Stay Healthy Street and Keep Moving Street locations: 

Check out our Frequently Asked Questions and PowerPoint videos for more info: English • Spanish • Amharic • Vietnamese • Somali • Korean • Chinese - Simplified • Chinese - Traditional • Tagalog

children riding big wheels and being glad people are driving the pace of people walking and rolling

Background

In response to the Covid-19 pandemic, in spring and summer of 2020 we upgraded over 25 miles of Neighborhood Greenways to Stay Healthy Streets by closing them to pass through traffic and opening them to people walking, rolling, and biking. Neighborhood Greenways are residential streets identified through past public engagement with enhanced safety features like speed humps, stop signs, and crossing improvements at major streets. Like any residential street, cut-thru traffic is discouraged, but local access, deliveries, waste pickup, and emergency vehicles are allowed. 

Street selection included working from our 45-mile Neighborhood Greenway network and avoiding impacts to businesses, fire response routes, transit operations and layover, and COVID-19 response efforts like healthcare provider parking. Neighborhood selection considered the Race and Social Equity Index, where existing neighborhood greenways served areas of dense housing or limited public open space, geographic coverage, and access to essential services and open businesses.  

Keep Moving Streets

Starting in summer 2020, we partnered with Seattle Parks and Recreation to create more space for people to exercise and keep 6 feet apart. While parking lots were closed, and people were discouraged from congregating, we opened streets adjacent to 4 destination parks to create more space for people to get outside.

Now in 2021, we want to continue creating space for people to stay healthy and enjoy some of Seattle's best features.

See below on the plans for continuing Keep Moving Streets (streets adjacent to major parks that are closed to vehicles and open to walking and biking) this summer to help people travel and play in a healthy way.  

GREEN LAKE 

W Green Lake Way N is currently closed to vehicles and open to people walking and biking. (Drivers can still enter and exit the Lower Woodland tennis court and off-leash parking lots from E Green Lake Way.)

Based on community feedback, Vision Zero safety goals, and desire to provide more travel options, we're pleased to share that early design shows we have enough street width to accommodate both a 2-way walking and biking path and 2-way vehicle traffic at reduced speeds and plan to make the change early this fall. 
LAKE WASHINGTON BLVD  

Starting 4th of July weekend, 3 miles of Lake Washington Blvd (from Mt Baker Park to Seward Park) will open to people walking, rolling, and biking on weekends* and holidays through at least September.  

*For consistency, barricades will be placed each Friday afternoon and removed Monday morning. This also reduces costs in paying staff overtime. On 4th of July and Labor Day weekends, barricades will be removed the following Tuesday morning.  

Parking lots are open and will be accessible from the nearest cross street (see map). Those driving to homes along the boulevard because they live there, are visiting, or making deliveries are allowed from the nearest cross street. 
ALKI POINT 

We're working to secure funding for designing and building permanent changes on the street based on community input. In the meantime, Alki Point will remain a Keep Moving Street in its current form until spring 2022 or until we secure funding for permanent changes on the street.    

In the coming weeks, we'll do more outreach to hear from more voices, learn what the community thinks of this Keep Moving Street as it is today, and understand what people want the street to look like in the future. Go to the Alki Point to get involved. 
GOLDEN GARDENS 

There are currently no plans to close either the parking lots at Golden Gardens or Golden Gardens Drive. Seattle Parks and Recreation (SPR) would only consider closing parking lot(s) as a last resort and SPR's decision would inform whether SDOT decides to close Golden Gardens Drive. 


Both SPR and SDOT are actively considering alternative steps to avoid parking lot and road closures at this location including taking measures to reduce illegal parking and improving pedestrian safety. This may include new signs along the street and in parking lots or additional staffing on site. 

Outreach and Engagement

Stay Healthy Streets can only be an asset with input and support from the people who live along and use them. In summer 2020, we collected feedback from over 9,000 people using an online survey. Question 5 and question 19 do not show up well, so we've included PDFs.

The majority of participants identified as white, so while we compile the comments, we're working with the Department of Neighborhoods and Vida Agency to include more Black, Indigenous, and People of Color in the conversation. We're discussing how to center race and equity, respect the cultural significance of neighborhoods, understand how to make streets feel safe for all, and aiming to determine where up to 20 miles of Stay Healthy Streets should be made permanent by the end of 2021. 

To share your thoughts, click the survey link at the top of this webpage and sign up for a project listserv.

We've also heard concerns from BIPOC communities around how enforcement will be handled, maintaining established cultural practices, and reports of racism directed toward BIPOC people traveling the routes. If we truly want to rebuild to better than before, then "we" must include everybody. For many white people, it means understanding cultures that existed in the neighborhood you live in now before you arrived. It means valuing everyone's voices and finding ways to include them. It means everyone feels safe traveling on our sidewalks and streets. It means recognizing racism and becoming an ally. Use these links to learn more: 

What's next?

We're thinking long term. We're planning to make 20 miles of Stay Healthy Streets permanent and we want to hear from you on where they should be and what they should look like.   

They can be used for gardening, games and sports, potlucks, and other celebrations. Because the street is already closed to pass through traffic, you don't need permits to close the street for these activities, you just need to notify neighbors on your block and be able to move if someone needs to get to their home or get a delivery. Tell us what you think about making them permanent. Take our online survey at top of this webpage. 

Program Library

Current Stay Healthy Streets survey

Previous Survey Results

SDOT Blog Posts

Stay Healthy Streets next to schools

We're supporting schools by offering to close the block outside the school entrance to vehicles and open it for a more-socially distanced drop-off/pick up. Check out our School Streets page for more. Some schools are on or near Stay Healthy Streets. Here are maps and details on how to use the Stay Healthy Street when getting kids to and from school:

Aki Kurose - Cascadia - Cedar - Concord - Dunlap - Garfield - Greenwood - Hamilton - Highland - John Muir - Lincoln - Maple - MLK - Nova - Robert Eagle Staff - Sanislo - West Seattle Elementary 

Translation and Intrepretation 

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