The city is continuing it’s outreach on new neighborhood greenway projects around the city. Next up: Highland Park/Delridge in West Seattle connecting from White Center to the West Seattle Bridge.
For this project, the city is pursuing a new strategy, teaming up with Seattle Public Utilities on a project that will both make the streets safer and help with clean stormwater drainage at the same time. Basically, this would involve building speed-reducing features in streets with gardens to capture rain before it enters the natural water system and harms fish and wildlife in Longfellow Creek. Pretty cool, huh?
The meeting is today (Tuesday) from 6 to 7:30 p.m. at the Highland Park Improvement Club.
The city is studying the neighborhoods to the east of Delridge Way SW to determine the potential for a greenway. Our study is focusing on the routes shown on the map shown here. SDOT is working with Seattle Public Utilities (SPU) to find opportunities to combine a greenway with natural drainage – rain gardens built along the edges of streets. Over the next six months staff will meet with community members to discuss the best route, what type of traffic calming and natural drainage improvements might be needed and develop a design. Improvements may include:
- Wayfinding signs, 20 mph speed limit signs and neighborhood greenway signs and bicycle pavement markings
- Medians or rectangular rapid flash beacons at major intersections
- Speed humps to help lower speeds
- New stop signs to control traffic crossing the greenway
- ADA ramps, crosswalks and crossbikes
- Bicycle parking at destinations along or near the route
- Natural Drainage Systems
Project Funding
Project design of the neighborhood greenway is locally funded by the nine-year voter-approved Bridging the Gap Levy. The natural drainage portion is funded by SPU.
Project Schedule for Neighborhood Greenway Portion
July 2013: Public Meeting
Fall/Winter 2013: Meetings with community groups and preliminary design
Winter 2014: Final design and 2nd public meeting
Visit SPU’s web page to learn more about the schedule to construct natural drainage in Delridge.