NE 43rd Street
Proposal for NE 43rd Street
The U District Mobility Group remains committed to a holistic, multi-modal station area mobility plan for the U District, so we took your feedback on an online survey. Check out the results:
NE 43rd Street Improvements - Online Survey Results
In coordination with the public open house hosted by the Seattle Department of Transportation to present the 30% designs for the re-build of NE 43rd Street, we hosted a concurrent online survey to solicit feedback and revisit the priorities from our community-driven mobility plan, completed last year. The 210 results of the survey are summarized below, with the full report of the survey comments, available for download.
The clear priority for this improvement project is for widened sidewalks to accommodate the projected 24,000 daily commuters to/from the U District light rail station, scheduled to open in the Fall of 2021. The second priority is for safe bike lanes with direct access to the station, and the third priority is for street trees and well-maintained urban landscaping.
The clear priority for this improvement project is for widened sidewalks to accommodate the projected 24,000 daily commuters to/from the U District light rail station, scheduled to open in the Fall of 2021. The second priority is for safe bike lanes with direct access to the station, and the third priority is for street trees and well-maintained urban landscaping.
Priorities Ranked
Preferred Street for Transfers
Public Open Space in Street
It is important to note the overwhelming preference for locating transit on Brooklyn Avenue NE by 80% of respondents, for the most efficient transfers between buses and the station, although it is just outside the scope of the NE 43rd Street project. Buses on Brooklyn is supported by 21 organizations already. A supermajority of 60% favor using our public right-of-way in the street and sidewalks to address the 5 acre (2 city block) deficit of public open space in the U District.
We encourage you to compare the results of this survey with the distillation of community input, as summarized in the U District Mobility Plan. For your reference, you can download a copy of an excerpt of this plan, focused on NE 43rd Street.
Note: The survey was announced to our mailing list, which includes participants in the development of the U District Mobility Plan and other interested individuals, and was subsequently and independently picked up by the Seattle Bike Blog and re-broadcast. Although these channels might preselect respondents who are generally more supportive of walking, biking, and transit, that was unintended.
The U District Mobility Group remains committed to a holistic, multi-modal station area mobility plan for the U District, so we took your feedback on an online survey and the results are below. Thank you for participating.
We encourage you to compare the results of this survey with the distillation of community input, as summarized in the U District Mobility Plan. For your reference, you can download a copy of an excerpt of this plan, focused on NE 43rd Street.
Note: The survey was announced to our mailing list, which includes participants in the development of the U District Mobility Plan and other interested individuals, and was subsequently and independently picked up by the Seattle Bike Blog and re-broadcast. Although these channels might preselect respondents who are generally more supportive of walking, biking, and transit, that was unintended.
The U District Mobility Group remains committed to a holistic, multi-modal station area mobility plan for the U District, so we took your feedback on an online survey and the results are below. Thank you for participating.
Proposal for NE 43rd Street
The U District Mobility Group remains committed to a holistic, multi-modal station area mobility plan for the U District, so we took your feedback on an online survey.
A curbless street design could achieve the following:
Maximize space for pedestrians while safely supporting vehicle access
Curbs must be at least 20’ apart to meet fire code, much more space than required to maintain one lane of traffic for access purposes. The concept above shows how a 20’ clear corridor can consist of a 12’ designated vehicle lane to shrink down the vehicular path and two buffer zones to support emergency vehicles as needed.
Reduce vehicle speed
A well designed curbless street with high volumes of pedestrians will slow vehicles and effectively deter cut-through traffic. Widened sidewalks can foster outdoor dining opportunities to indicate the need for caution by vehicles.
Ensure the most flexibility possible for long term success
Curb lines will be expensive to change. In contrast, it is relatively cheap to alter bollard placement to change loading zone configurations, close the street for events, or reduce vehicular access in the future if Metro, businesses and new development require alternate access paths.
Alternative 1
Of the four alternatives proposed by Seattle's Department of Transportation, Alternative 1 is the only curbless option. This flexible design can support transit (in the short-term), deliveries to small businesses, and become pedestrian-only in the future.
For more information on the project, prepared by SDOT, click below:
For more information on the project, prepared by SDOT, click below:
In Collaboration
King County Metro
Seattle Department of Transportation
Stay in the Loop
Subscribe to receive our monthly newsletter.