Accessibility

We want everyone to be able to enjoy the new waterfront!  Here are the accessible and inclusive features you'll find:  

A space for everyone:

  • The Park Promenade creates a much wider and continuous pedestrian space to improve access for people walking and rolling. 
  • Railings have see-through mesh so people can see views at all heights.
  • Most seating at public tables accommodates wheelchair users.
  • Accessible Pedestrian Signal (APS) push buttons with audible messaging let people know when to cross at intersections.    
  • Curbs have bulbs and some sidewalks are curbless to calm traffic.
  • Wide, clearly marked crosswalks and a raised intersection that is 3 inches above the roadway to prioritize pedestrians. 

Tactile elements for mobility canes:

  • Detectable warnings at crossings of Alaskan Way, on crossings of the protected bike path, and at other key decision points. 
  • Detectable wayfinding strips running north-south when navigating the Park Promenade. The strip becomes smooth where an east/west street crossing connects to the promenade.
  • Detectable warning plates on all curb ramps and all ramps are aligned directly with the crosswalks.

Elevators: 

There are four (4) elevators connecting to the waterfront located at:  

  • Union St, connecting Western Ave and Alaskan Way.  Hours of operation: 6:00AM to 11:00PM
  • MarketFront, connecting Western Avenue to Alaskan Way
  • Pike Place Market Garage, connecting Western Ave to Alaskan Way   
  • Seattle Aquarium Ocean Pavilion, connecting the Park Promenade and Overlook Walk.    

See the Seattle Accessible Route Planner to locate the public elevators.  

Mobility and Parking: 

  • On-street parking is limited along Alaskan Way and the surrounding streets. Nearby private parking garages and lots provide additional parking opportunities for visitors to Waterfront Park.
  • New on-street accessible loading zones and ADA parking stalls provide easier access to the Colman Dock ferry terminal transit hub.  Between Marion and Columbia Streets, we have established a loading and unloading zone. This zone includes two (2) ADA stalls for loading and unloading. Find the ADA parking stalls on the Seattle Accessible Route Planner map.

  • Friends of Waterfront Park maintains a website for planning your visit that covers parking, public transport, the Waterfront Shuttle, and more.

  • The City of Seattle’s parking map shows publicly accessible paid parking near the waterfront.

Public Restrooms:  

  • The Pier 58 restroom is located between Union St and University St and staffed with an attendant
  • Portable restrooms are located on Pier 62
  • These restrooms are gender-neutral and ADA-accessible

Additional public restrooms are also available at the Pike Place Market, Washington State Ferry Terminal, and Pier 57.

For more information on planning your trip including shuttle options and accessibility features, please visit:

A close up view of a tactile strip along the promenade walkway

A strip of pavers detectable by hand-held mobility canes runs north-south along the promenade as an element to help people find their way.

Bike path and intersection showing marking and tactile surfaces.

Intersections where people biking and walking will overlap include accessibility features, such as detectable (tactile) surfaces, bollards and planted buffers.

Intersection signals include Accessible Pedestrian Signal (APS) push buttons with audible messaging letting people know when to cross.

Intersection signals include Accessible Pedestrian Signal (APS) push buttons with audible messaging letting people know when to cross.

The elevator at Union Street Pedestrian Bridge

The elevator at Union Street Pedestrian Bridge provides mobility assistance for people needing an accessible connection between Alaskan Way and Western Ave.

Creating a more accessible waterfront 

It is our hope and desire, that everyone will find the new waterfront to be inclusive, accessible, and welcoming.

All public works construction must meet the guidelines and standards established by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). With the Waterfront Program, we've pushed beyond ADA standards toward a Universal Design that is usable by people of all abilities. 

Working with disability communities

A crew member putting in a tactile strip during construction of the waterfront

Our goals in developing the Waterfront Park elements and street included being inclusive and accommodating to users while complementing the existing accessibility elements found throughout the City.

To meet this goal, the Waterfront Design Team established a project specific Disability Roundtable, with disability advocates and members of the disability community representing many different viewpoints. This included people from low-vision, blind, and deaf/blind communities, the Northwest ADA Center, the King County Mobility Coalition and several other groups that came together to help us understand what improvements could make the waterfront more accessible for everyone. Their feedback provided our designers insight and guidance to help increase our inclusivity in many of the elements within the Waterfront Park.

For example, we participated in a workshop led by Lighthouse for the Blind and a project-specific Disability Roundtable supported by the City of Seattle’s Disability Commission. Before we built features, our design team used laser technology to create a tactile 3D model. Blind community members could feel these street intersections and the features and provided feedback that helped improve our design.  

Our community partners also helped us develop a list of recommendations that guided the improvements for Waterfront Park design. Through these recommendations, we created the Waterfront Seattle Accessibility Plan, which highlights improvements made based on community feedback.