Seattle’s work to make the upcoming Judkins Park Station more walkable and attractive has helped SDOT win a national competitive award that will provide technical assistance from national experts on station access and design in 2016.
Feet First hosted a Walk and Talk over the summer where community members connected with city staffers to talk about plans for the upcoming Judkins Park Station. Photo provided by Feet First.
Judkins Park Station is part of the planned Sound Transit East Link extension and is located in the median of Interstate 90 between Rainier Avenue and 23rd Avenue. The freeway station is scheduled to open in 2023 and the following design features will benefit from the award provided by Smart Growth America, a national non-profit that advocates for better cities, towns, and neighborhoods.
Key features
- Center-platform station located in the center roadway of I-90
- Station entrances at 23rd Avenue South and Rainier Avenue South
- Bicycle and pedestrian trail connection
- Bus transfers at both east and west station entrances
Station facilities
- Secure bicycle storage
- Passenger drop-off/pick-up area
- Public art
The technical assistance effort, paired with an inclusive outreach program led by the Department of Neighborhoods, will engage our diverse neighborhoods in defining how this station and the areas amenities can integrate with a new light rail station and create opportunities that come with increased regional and local access.
Seattle is one seven cities that received the award from Smart Growth America, and stood out as a community doing great work. Smart Growth America offers twelve types of technical assistance workshops that help communities build stronger local economies, protect the environment, preserve sense of place and improve overall quality of life. The technical assistance is funded through a grant to Smart Growth America from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Sustainable Communities under their Building Blocks for Sustainable Communities program. The Building Blocks program funds quick, targeted assistance to communities that face common development problems. Through the program, Smart Growth America has already provided free assistance to over 50 communities across the United States, from Hawaii to Maine.