Seattle City Wire

At-a-glance:  

• Overview: Get oriented with a quick recap of the Lake Washington Blvd Visioning Process. 
• New report and recommendations: Read the full report, including a summary of community survey results and Task Force recommendations. 
• Thank you: Thanks to all Task Force members for your time, dedication, and contributions! 
• Next steps: Learn how the results and recommendations detailed in the report will be advanced as project design and implementation transition from SDOT to Seattle Parks and Recreation. 
• Bicycle Weekends: Find the recently published schedule for 2023 Lake Washington Blvd Bicycle Weekends. 

On March 20, the Lake Washington Blvd Task Force voted nearly unanimously to approve the following recommendations, culminating a year-long community-oriented process:  

• Adding traffic calming infrastructure, including stop signs, speed humps, raised crosswalks, etc.
• Improving sidewalks and pedestrian paths to be ADA-compliant.
• Creating a consistent and predictable bicycle day/weekend program.
• During Parks-led implementation, continuing to conduct robust community engagement that targets historically underserved and under-resourced communities in South Seattle.

Overview 

In May 2022, we began a visioning process for Lake Washington Blvd in partnership with Seattle Parks and Recreation (Parks) and the community. The goal of this Visioning Process was to explore the right balance of street closures and potential permanent operational changes to promote more and safer walking, rolling, and biking on Lake Washington Blvd. Read more in this previous blog post. 

As part of this process, we assembled a 12-person Task Force made up of a diverse group of community stakeholders. The Task Force met 10 times between July 2022 and March 2023 to share their experiences, discuss opportunities for Lake Washington Blvd, and help us design the community outreach and engagement process. Video recordings of these meetings are available on the project webpage.  

The results of this engagement process, as well as the Task Force’s final recommendations, are now available in our Lake Washington Blvd Visioning Process and Recommendations Report.  

The report 

The full report shares survey results (virtual and in-person), the Task Force’s votes, and final recommendations. It also contains key learnings from the Visioning Process and next steps as we transition the project design and implementation over to our friends at Parks. 

The findings in the report will be used to create street design concepts that promote walking and biking, and increase safety for everyone who travels along Lake Washington Blvd.  

Summary of community engagement

Community outreach for the Visioning Process was mostly virtual, with a few opportunities for in-person dialogue and survey taking. A total of 3,158 online survey respondents answered 17 questions, including age, home neighborhood, street use habits, and specific concerns or requests related to the project.  

This feedback was organized into a set of recurring themes that helped the Task Force better understand what’s currently working well for the community along Lake Washington Blvd, what could be improved, and how we can enhance safety and the overall traveler experience. 

Survey results can be viewed in detail beginning on page 8 of the report. 

Summary of Task Force recommendations 

Our staff and Task Force members partnered with an anti-racist consultant, Vaughn LLC, to develop three long-term goals that, along with community feedback, were used to inform the Task Force’s recommendations for the future of Lake Washington Blvd. 

Long-term goals: 

• Improve access for all modes of travel. 
• Increase bicycle and pedestrian safety. 
• Preserve and improve the park experience. 

The final Task Force meeting was held on Monday, March 20. At this meeting, members voted to prioritize community recommendations based on the 3 goals listed above.  

The recommendations that were affirmed nearly unanimously include: 

• Adding traffic calming infrastructure, including stop signs, speed humps, raised crosswalks, etc. 
• Improving sidewalks and pedestrian paths to be ADA-compliant. 
• Creating a consistent and predictable bicycle day/weekend program. 
• Conducting robust community engagement that targets historically underserved and under-resourced communities in South Seattle. 

To provide transparency in this decision-making process, page 23 – 28 of the report includes all short-, mid-, and long-term recommendations from the Task Force, including available voting record of Task Force members in favor or not in favor.  

Thank you to our Task Force members! 

We want to thank the Lake Washington Blvd Task Force for their work and continued dedication over the past year to help guide the Visioning Process. Task Force members’ experience, expertise, and commitment to the Visioning Process were all vital to developing and advancing this effort! Thank you. 

Next steps 

The findings and recommendations from the visioning process report will inform the next phase of this project, which will be led by Parks. 

Our staff will remain engaged with the process as we transition to Parks-led design and implementation of near-term projects, including some previously identified ADA spot improvements on Lake Washington Blvd pathways. We will support these efforts as needed, including public engagement, design, and right-of-way maintenance.  

We envision the design process will take place this year and into 2024, at which point we will develop a budget for construction. Public engagement will continue throughout the design and construction phases of this project. 

Summer Bicycle Weekends 

We are also coordinating with Parks on the launch of the recently announced 2023 Lake Washington Blvd Bicycle Weekends. You can find all the details on Seattle Parks and Recreation’s blog. 

During Bicycle Weekends, Lake Washington Blvd will be closed to through traffic from Mount Baker Beach to Seward Park’s entrance, to prioritize people biking, walking, and rolling. 

Schedule 

10 AM Saturday through 6 PM Sunday during the following weekends:  

• May 20-21 and 27-28 
• June 17-18 and 24-25 
• July 1-2 and 15-16 
• August 19-20 and 26-17 
• September 2-3 and 16-17 

These hours are slightly different from last year’s (which went from Friday PM through Monday AM) and reflect local community members’ call for Bicycle Weekends to be more predictable and consistent, and an interest in reducing the effects on evening and morning commutes. 

Thank you for your interest and engagement on Lake Washington Blvd.  

Original source can be found here.