In August 2015, SDOT’s Street Use Division collaborated with the Seattle Office of Economic Development (OED), Seattle Police Department (SPD), Capitol Hill Chamber of Commerce, and Capitol Hill Eco District to pilot a series of temporary, pedestrian-only closures of Pike Street on Capitol Hill. The closures, aimed at making the streets more vibrant and ped-friendly, were held on three consecutive Saturday nights between Broadway and 12th Ave. In addition to making the streets pedestrian-only for a few hours, on-street programming such as live music, yoga classes, and dancing was also provided.
Yoga class on Pike Street
To help us determine whether the closures were successful, and to gauge whether they should occur again in the future, we conducted a rigorous study that included pedestrian counts, interviews and surveys, and site observations. The results of our study have now been analyzed and some of the major findings include:
- 25,000-30,000 people walked through the closure area on an average night
- Sidewalk locations that are normally pedestrian chokepoints saw significantly decreased congestion during the closure nights
- 82% of visitors to the closure area were from Seattle, 86% didn’t drive alone, and 72% went to multiple locations or participated in multiple activities throughout the night
- In post-pilot surveys, 66% of all respondents said that they’d like to see future closures
If you would like to read our full report of findings and recommendations, please view our newly released Pike St. Pedestrian Pilots Data and Recommendation Report.
SDOT and OED will be also be hosting community workshops in Spring 2016 to discuss the results from our pilot study, and to explore options for future programming. The exact times and locations will be announced shortly – so please stay tuned!