Seattle opens 11 more miles of streets to pedestrians, cyclists during the coronavirus pandemic

Eleven more miles of residential streets in Seattle will close to vehicle traffic, giving people space and permission to walk, bike and skate in the streets.

The new closures include streets in Lake City beginning Friday and in Aurora-Licton Springs, Ballard and Delridge/Highland Park next week, according to a city blog post.

The Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) has already closed almost 9 miles of streets in the Central District, West Seattle, Greenwood, Othello, Rainier Beach and Beacon Hill neighborhoods to most drivers as part of the city’s Stay Healthy Streets program.

Traffic Lab is a Seattle Times project that digs into the region’s thorny transportation issues, spotlights promising approaches to easing gridlock, and helps readers find the best ways to get around. It is funded with the help of community sponsors Madrona Venture Group and PEMCO Mutual Insurance Company. Seattle Times editors and reporters operate independently of our funders and maintain editorial control over Traffic Lab content.

This week’s closure brings the total miles of Seattle streets prioritized for pedestrians and bicyclists up to nearly 20, exceeding the city’s original goal to close about 15 miles of streets during the coronavirus pandemic.

Through traffic is not permitted, but people who live along the streets can still drive to their homes. Delivery workers are allowed to operate on the streets.

Here are the streets that will close:

• In Lake City, 27th Avenue Northeast and a portion of 25th Avenue Northeast will close between Northeast 125th and Northeast 145th streets.
• In Ballard, 17th Avenue Northwest will close between Northwest 58th Street and Northwest 89th Street.
• In Aurora-Licton Springs, closures include Fremont Avenue North between North 92nd and North 110th streets, Northwest 100th Street between First Avenue Northwest and College Way North, Ashworth Avenue North between North 92nd and North 100th streets, and North 92nd Street between Fremont Avenue North and Wallingford Avenue North.
• In the Delridge and Highland Park neighborhoods, 21st Avenue Southwest and 17th Avenue Southwest will close between Southwest Cambridge Street and the Puget Park entrance near Southwest Dawson Street. Also, a portion of Southwest Trenton Street will close between 17th Avenue Southwest and the Highland Park Playground entrance.
• In the Central District, 22nd Avenue East between East Columbia and East Olive streets will close. The new closure on 22nd Avenue East connections with a portion of East Columbia Street that closed last week between 12th Avenue East and 29th Avenue East.

The closures will remain in place for the duration of Washington’s stay-home order, or until otherwise announced.

Several cities across the U.S., including Boston, Minneapolis, Philadelphia and Denver, have made similar decisions to expand space for people to walk and bike while maintaining social distancing.

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, after initial skepticism, agreed to close or modify 40 miles of streets in May, with a goal to expand to 100 miles before the end of the pandemic.

Oakland, California, plans to restrict access to vehicles on almost 74 miles of streets.