Seattle Neighborhood Greenways · Make LWB Accessible for Walking, Running, Riding and Rolling

Dear city leaders and staff,

Please make Lake Washington Boulevard accessible to everyone. Open the street from Mt Baker Beach to Seward park for walking, biking, rolling, playing, and running, and conduct equitable community engagement to create a permanent space.

Popular: The summer, fall and winter LWB openings in 2020 were very popular and well used according to the city’s data, but never dangerously crowded. And most of the concerns that arose can be addressed.
Accessible: People of all backgrounds, ages, abilities, and races enjoyed the space for walking, rolling wheel chairs, pushing strollers, roller skating, biking, running, and other activities.
Community Space: The quality of the park experience was significantly enhanced as a result of reduced vehicle traffic and the availability of the street as a safe, wide, and accessible space for people. Creating more community space is something our growing city needs.
Sustainable Travel: The openings created a safe route to bike between SE Seattle and the rest of the city, helping us get closer to our goals of safe and sustainable transportation as a city.

So, I urge the city to open up LWB to people from Mt Baker to Seward Park, keep it open all year, and conduct equitable engagement to create a permanent design:

Mt Baker to Seward Park hybrid design: Close LWB entirely to cars and open it to people from Mt Baker Beach to 43rd Ave S, and close the water-side, northbound, travel lane from 43rd Ave S to Seward Park to cars and open it to people (creating a temporary, ADA accessible, trail like space using sturdy barriers). This hybrid design would allow 100% driver access to all homes and Parks Department parking lots via a one way southbound travel lane, while creating an accessible space for people to walk, bike, and roll from Mt Baker to Seward Park.
Open all year: Open it all year so that it is easier for the community to understand what is going on, reduce frustration from confusion, and allow people to adapt.
Equitable community engagement: Conduct equitable community engagement to co-design a permanent design while the pilot is happening, not afterwards. This will allow community members to experience the potential design first hand. It will also allow the city to measure impacts (like cut-through traffic), respond to community identified needs, and test solutions in real time.

Your ideas here!

Sincerely,

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