As reported by Wallyhood back in December, the Department of Transportation has plans to add permanent planters and permanent signs supported by concrete bases to the Healthy Street closures along 44th and 43rd from Latona to Interlake. You know, those closures they did for the pandemic that never went away. The city plans on making those closures permanent. But should we?
I personally think they’re ineffective and a nuisance. But I wanted to know if I was the only one, so I did a Facebook poll on the Wallingford Fremont Community page. Of the 261 individuals that responded, 66% said they did not like the street closures, while 34% did like them. This is similar results to an SDOT study which found that of the 512 Wallingford residents that responded, 62% did not want the Healthy Street closures to remain permanent.
People still live on these streets, garbage trucks still have to weave their large trucks around these signs, delivery drivers, emergency vehicles. They can’t really close the streets so they’re not really closed at all.
I was curious how many cars, bikes, etc. were using these street closures so I decided to count. I picked two days, one was a Friday 8:25-8:55 AM, the half hour before Hamilton and Lincoln schools’ start time. I parked where I could see three intersections on 43rd Street closest to the schools and I counted what type of vehicles were using the “closed” street. In a half hour’s time I counted 119(!) cars, one bike, and one skateboard. Even I was surprised it was so many cars, but I guess I shouldn’t be considering the schools, which are only a couple of blocks away from each other, have a combined enrollment of over 2,000 students plus faculty.
The second time I chose was a sunny Sunday afternoon from 4:30-5:00 PM. Certainly a ton of bikes would ride the road then? Nope. During this time period I counted 18 cars, one motorcycle, and only four bikes. And during both sessions, while there were many pedestrians on the sidewalks, zero pedestrians were walking on the road.
Now mine is admittedly a small sample, so to look back at the SDOT study, they reported that the average daily crossings in 2022 over a seven day period at the intersection of 43rd and Wallingford was 229 vehicles (87%) and 33 bikes (13%). Still not a staggering support that this street should remain “closed.”
I’m not against all road closures. I personally think The Ave in the U District could make a great pedestrian walking area if it were closed, as well as the area in Ballard that they already block off once a week for the Farmer’s Market. Similar to the pedestrian shopping areas of Europe. But I don’t think these residential street closures make any sense.
One additional thing I really dislike about the road closure signs is the graffiti. So. Much. Graffiti. In an act of research (or rebellion) I drove the entire route from Latona to Interlake (don’t worry, I wasn’t the only one). Of 26 road closure signs, 23 had been graffitied (it may be more by now). The permanent planters that the city wants to install would just be larger canvases. Anyone want to bet me how long it will be before those are graffitied too? Do we really want to invite this not-so-lovely street art onto the residential streets?
Can we stop pretending this is a street closure? It made more sense before the closure signs went up. These streets were designated “Greenways.” They have bike share signs painted on the roads, traffic circles, and stop signs. Can we please remove the street closure signs and call it what it is? It’s a bike share route.
For more information on Healthy Street closures:
https://www.seattle.gov/transportation/projects-and-programs/programs/healthy-streets
To make comments, I recommend you contact the Department of Transportation and District four City Councilmember Maritza Rivera.
Department of Transportation:
Phone: (206) 900-8760
Email: [email protected]
City Councilmember Maritza Rivera:
Phone: (206) 684-8804
Email: [email protected]