As you know, SDOT has been studying parking in Capitol Hill over the past year and we are preparing to implement new parking measures on certain streets. One of the more visible changes will be the expansion of two existing RPZs, Zones 4 and 21, in the next few months.  Click here for a map and the days and hours that the zone will be in effect.  

The Restricted Parking Zone (RPZ) Program was created to help ease parking congestion in residential neighborhoods, while balancing the needs of all people to be able to use the public streets.  RPZs help neighborhoods deal with non-residential impacts through signed time limits from which vehicles displaying a valid RPZ permit are exempt.   As SDOT works to improve parking in neighborhoods, we occasionally add RPZs. 

This is just one of several changes we’re implementing in the Capitol Hill neighborhood, as part of SDOT’s Community Parking Program.  Please click here for more information about the Community Parking Program.

If you have questions about the RPZ program, please click here.

We just got some good news: Governor Gregoire signed the 2010 Transportation budget this week which includes funding from its Regional Mobility Grant program for the Rainier Avenue and Jackson Street Transit Improvements!  The Rainier Avenue Transit Improvement project will improve speed and reliability for transit service within the Southeast Seattle neighborhood, including the Metro #7. 

The improvements include sidewalk extensions, traffic signal priority, queue jumps, curb ramps and pedestrian enhancements. Also included is a transportation demand management program to encourage people to think about trying the improved transit. 

This project is part of SDOT’s efforts to make transit a priority through our Transit Corridor Improvement project, which is partially funded through the Bridging the Gap transportation funding package. Construction on the project is scheduled to begin in summer 2010.

Technician performing GPR test for SDOT on a downtown sidewalk

How can Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) save trees in  Seattle?  Read on!  GPR, historically used by SDOT to locate underground structures, tested  positive by SDOT Urban Forestry for its potential to find tree roots!   The idea, from a student in a class on tree protection , inspired SDOT landscape architect Shane DeWald to explore.  Motivated to meet canopy cover goals in Seattle’s Urban Forestry Management Plan and accessibility goals in the SDOT Pedestrian Master Plan, she took the idea to heart and contacted GPR experts at GeoRadar to ask “Can GPR see tree roots down deep …through concrete?” and the answer was “Yes!”

Check out these pictures of a test for SDOT.  With a trained eye, a GeoRadar expert sees GPR images like a radiologist reads an X-ray, and can spot roots even though they don’t look like roots at all! The GPR technicians explained, “Tree roots show up all the time when we use GPR to locate underground structures so we knew it would work!”

Tree roots as they appear on GPR screen

Read more »

Created by Zach Bohnenkamp, John Osgood and Kevin Sullivan of Seattle Mural Art

On Tuesday, March 23^rd, more than 70 people gathered for the unveiling of Seattle Mural Art’s latest masterpiece located in a storefront on Aurora Avenue North.  The mural, funded by Sustainable Green Lake and Greenwood Aurora Involved Neighbors (GAIN), was installed to help Aurora gain a competitive edge in tough economic times by attracting businesses and creating an atmosphere where people want to walk and bike. 

The mural features the theme “Awake to a New Aurora” with a vibrant scene transitioning from green space to a rising sun backdropped with the view of the downtown cityscape as seen from the Aurora Bridge. 

Walk, bike, or ride on over to 7615 Aurora Avenue North to check out the new art and click here to see more photos.

Saturday, March 27, you’ll have a chance to get a jump on Earth Day and help make West Seattle a little greener! The Seattle Department of Transportation, together with the Rotary Club of West Seattle and several troops of West Seattle Boy Scouts of America will be greening up Fauntleroy Avenue SW between SW Edmunds and SW Holly streets.  With an ambitious schedule, shovels and dirt will be flying as the volunteers and city staffers will plant more than 130 trees starting at 9 a.m. The trees are funded by the Bridging the Gap transportation initiative which was approved by voters in 2007.

If you’d like to help, please bring your gloves, elbow grease, and arrive by 9 a.m. at the Fairmount Playground located on the 5400 block of Fauntleroy Avenue SW at SW Brandon Street.  State Forrester, Chuck Turley, will the get the action underway when he awards Seattle its 25^th consecutive Annual Tree City USA designation. 

As in the past, the Seattle Department of Transportation Urban Forestry Division no longer plants one tree species along a corridor.  The department has chosen a diversity of trees in order to diminish the possibility of insects and disease building up to harmful levels in the trees.  In addition, the trees have been carefully selected for their variety of beautiful spring blossoms, great fall color, wildlife habitat and other desirable attributes.  The goal is to optimize the tree canopy in support of the 2007 Urban Forest Management Plan which is a comprehensive strategy to increase the number of trees throughout the city by 30 percent in 30 years.

Since September 2009, SDOT contractor C.A. Carey Construction Company has been tackling the daunting task of completely reconstructing Fourth Avenue between South Jackson Street and Olive Way. After months of working hard, enduring torrential downpours and living with daily traffic congestion, the Fourth Avenue repaving project is nearing completion, and over a month ahead of schedule!

The reconstruction of Fourth Avenue came just in the nick of time. Concrete typically lasts for around forty years, and many of the panels on Fourth Avenue have been in place for over sixty! To see concrete work then and now, take a look at the pictures below.

Beginning next week, crews will be actively working along the west side of Fourth Avenue between Seneca Street and Olive Way. During this time, two lanes of traffic will be open along the east side of Fourth Avenue north of Seneca Street. Sidewalk work is also planned for the coming weeks in this area, but all businesses will remain open. Once final roadwork and sidewalk work is finished, the Fourth Avenue repaving project will be complete, potentially before the end of April.

Have you been thinking about changing your commute and leaving the car at home more? Well, to add to the benefits of lower gas expenses, less traffic stress, less carbon emissions, and more exercise, you have a chance to win a trip to Hawaii, for a few more days. Commute without driving alone at least twice during March 14-27 and Wheel Options is offering Washington residents who use alternative transportation options a chance to win prizes, including a grand prize trip to Hawaii. Several Washington cities including Seattle co-sponsor the efforts of Wheel Options to help promote more sustainable traveling. You can learn more about Wheel Options and the contest here. You can also read this month’s Way to Go newsletter for this story and other stories and tips to help you walk, bike, and use transit more.

The Phase II construction portion of the Ship Canal Trail is broken into two parts, and part one has reached substantial completion.  Construction on this phase of the trail extension began in February 2010. The project has extended the multi-use trail along the south side of the Ship Canal from 6^th Avenue West to 11^th Avenue West. The work included paving the trail, removing railroad ties and rails, installing low retaining walls, installing chain link fencing, adding signage and wheel stops. In addition, a new portion of paving on 11^th Avenue West and West Ewing Place was added.

“Punchlist”, or final construction, tasks in part one of this phase will be completed in the next few weeks. For updates and more photos on the project, click here.

Trail construction in progress

Seattle has a robust transit program that is focused on making transit an easier choice for getting around the city. SDOT manages the public right of way, so we work to ensure that streets, sidewalks, and paths are well maintained to and serve transit and transit users well. You may have noticed some of the tools we use to improve bus stops, like bus bulbs that help buses load and unload without having to constantly merge in and out of traffic. Other tools include accessible bus stops, dedicated transit lanes, queue jumps, and signal priority. All of these measures help create a smoother, more dependable transit experience.

Our Transit Program has a lot of useful information about the work we do and future improvements. Click here to learn more about Seattle’s efforts to improve transit.

A new and improved version of the popular Seattle bike map is hot off the press.  The 2010 maps are more intuitive; provide additional information such as bike shops, schools, libraries, farmers markets, streetcar stations, and light rail stations; and include new bike facilities built last year. In 2009 SDOT distributed over 30,000 maps – a new record, and 30% more than in 2007.  To order a hard copy, view online, or print from your computer, click here.

Photo © 2010 Pauh Wang