The South Spokane Street Viaduct Project moves forward next week with preparations to build a brand new 1st Avenue westbound on/off-ramp.  That new ramp is set to open in late 2011, but to get there crews have to, as of Monday, for up to five months, reduce the eastbound 1st Avenue S off-ramp to one lane of travel and make 1^st Avenue S between S Hanford Street and South Spokane Street one lane in each direction.  Meanwhile, the old 1^st Avenue off-ramp is scheduled to close permanently on May 17th (just as the old 4^th Avenue S Ramp did in January). 

Remember, this all leads to good things! Plus, there is good news RIGHT NOW to share: work to build the new 4^th Avenue off-ramp is showing great results.  The cool pictures say more than alphanumeric characters ever could…

Crews working on Phase II of the South Ship Canal Trail - 6^th Avenue West to 11^th Avenue West – “rolled” out about 2/3 of the required paving Wednesday.  It was smooth trails until rain started, dousing this weather-dependent work (asphalt likes it dry, dry, dry!).  The new background-blending black fencing gives the trail both improved safety and pleasant aesthetics…

Crews plan to start work up again Monday, westward toward 11^th Avenue West.  Once the trail is paved, the team goes on to install concrete warning pads; detectable warning plates; bollards; mineral aggregate for the trail shoulders; signing; hydro-seeding and more.

Are you a housing developer putting in a sidewalk in front of your new project?  A homeowner adding a garden in your planting strip?  A neighbor organizing a block party?  All of these activities use one of the over 60 types of permits for use, occupation and/or construction in the City rights-of-way that are regularly issued by SDOT’s Street Use Division.  SDOT tracks projects or activities in the street right-of-way to make sure that traffic stays moving with the right detours in place and that construction meets City standards.  For more information on Street Use permits, click here.

To get your permit, visit the Street Use office in person or use the online permitting system by clicking here. The Street Use Permit counter is located on the 23rd floor of Seattle Municipal Tower, 700 5th Avenue. The permit counter phone is (206) 684-5283.  We hope to hear from you!

The Westlake Transportation Hub is getting a well-deserved facelift to improve pedestrian, bike, and transit access in downtown Seattle. SDOT plans to construct a new pedestrian and bicycle-friendly plaza at the current terminus of the Seattle Streetcar by closing one block of Westlake Ave to traffic between Olive Way and Stewart Street. As part of the project, improvements to the historic McGraw Square Park will be integrated into the design along with new landscaping, covered bicycle parking, and additional streetcar station amenities. Slated to begin construction later this year, this grant-funded project is almost halfway through the design phase and we want to hear from you!

SDOT is hosting an open house to discuss project details. Your feedback is critical to finalizing several elements of the plaza and ensuring its success.

Join us tomorrow, Wednesday, February 3 from 5:30 – 7:30pm at the Central Branch of the Seattle Public Library (Level 4, Room 2: Wright/Ketcham Meeting Room). For background info, visit the project website here. Please note that the page is currently being revised, so stay tuned for updates.

For the past two months, we’ve been surveying some of the art that has been installed in Seattle in response to the SDOT Art Plan, jointly developed in 2005 with the Seattle Office of Arts and Cultural Affairs and written by Daniel Mihalyo. We’re wrapping up our survey today by showcasing some of the biggest items in the Art Plan’s toolkit: signature sculptures. 

Historically, stand-alone sculpture was the primary way art was incorporated into public street spaces in Seattle.  While today we focus more on integrating artistic elements into infrastructure, there is still a place for signature works of art in our right-of-way, as the pictures below attest.  Enjoy!

Sustainable Green Lake, Greenwood Aurora Involved Neighbors (GAIN) and the Seattle Department of Transportation are teaming up to bring a splash of color to Aurora Avenue North.  Local artists will create two murals for installation in Aurora storefronts or the side of buildings in an effort to promote sustainability, traffic safety, and community.

Join us on Monday, January 11th from 7:30 to 8:30 PM at The Greenwood Collective (8537 Greenwood Ave N, Suite 1) to meet with the artists and share your vision for a vibrant Aurora.  Click on the flyer below for all the details.

This project is funded through a community grant from the Department of Neighborhoods and Greenwood Aurora Involved Neighbors (GAIN).  The Washington Traffic Safety Commission also contributed funding as part of the Aurora Traffic Safety Project.

For the past several weeks we’ve been profiling the implementation of the SDOT Art Plan, jointly developed in 2005 with the Seattle Office of Arts and Cultural Affairs and written by Daniel Mihalyo.  To mix it up this week we wanted to share a couple photos of bike racks from outside Seattle. Both are outstanding examples of everyday street objects that, with a small investment, go from nearly invisible to eye-catching (and smile-invoking). 

Stay tuned for news on bringing similar bike rack concepts to Seattle!

For the past several weeks we’ve been profiling the SDOT Art Plan, jointly developed in 2005 with the Seattle Office of Arts and Cultural Affairs and written by Daniel Mihalyo.  Below are examples of two great ways to incorporate art into everyday objects in the public right-of-way.  Seen any examples of everyday street furniture turned art in your travels to other cities?  If so, let us know!

Last week, we wrote about Chapter One of the SDOT Art Plan, jointly developed in 2005 with the Seattle Office of Arts and Cultural Affairs and written by Daniel Mihalyo.

Chapter Two of the Art Plan is a nuts and bolts “toolkit” developed for SDOT project managers. The toolkit helps project managers incorporate art and aesthetic treatments into the normal design and construction process for everyday objects in the right-of-way. Sidewalks, railings, benches, tree planters and bike racks are just a few of the items SDOT designs and installs every year that provide a perfect opportunity for art.

Lessons learned from art plans in other parts of the country showed us that plans that emphasize specific one-off ideas tended to gather dust. In contrast, the SDOT Art Plan gives direction for improving the quality of urban spaces by simply expanding the range of creative options available to project managers as they go through the normal design and construction process.

Have you noticed any of the newer street furniture, sidewalk treatments or tree plantings that you suspect might have involved the hard work of an artist in your neighborhood? (Example: this special sidewalk in West Seattle we blogged about last summer.) If so, let us know what you think!

Whether your walk to school is just a few blocks or uphill for miles in the pouring rain against the rotation of the earth, SDOT’s Safe Routes to School program is doing its part to make your walk more comfortable.

Thanks to the Bridging the Gap Transportation levy, all Seattle schools both public and private are now equipped with school zone signage. As a result of this effort, all drivers must pass a “School – Speed Limit 20” sign when approaching a school. The reduced speed signs are accompanied by an advanced warning sign located 300 feet before the start of the school speed zone and an “End School Zone” sign to indicate the end of the school zone. These signs improve the walking environment for students and parents by slowing cars down and raising driver awareness to the presence of children.

In addition, our Safe Routes team installed flashing beacons at four schools in 2009. The new beacons are located at Blaine K-8, Kimball Elementary, Dearborn Park Elementary and Olympic View Elementary. We now operate flashing beacons at 39 schools around the city and we’ll be adding five more in 2010. Flashing beacons are generally installed for school zones on arterial streets with high traffic volumes and speeds. The beacons provided greater emphasis for the reduced speed limit and are programmed to flash during hours when most children are walking to and from school.

Though today is the last day of school before winter break, be mindful of these reduce speed zones when classes start up again on January 4th.