Thanks to community members and the City’s Neighborhood Street Fund Program a key east/west connection is safer and better serves all travel modes. Along Othello and Myrtle, between Seward Park and Beacon Avenue S, gravel shoulders had cyclists risking a slide into vehicles and vehicles were left scrambling for better driveway access due to limited left turn options. Other problems along this corridor included poor site lines due to angled parking, unclear pedestrian crossings and significant speeding (recent study showed about 75% of drivers traveled over the speed limit) leading to a higher than average number of collisions. No more.
S Othello BEFORE
S Othello AFTER
The Othello Street Project added important elements along S Othello Street and S Myrtle Place including dedicated bike lanes in both directions, curbs and planting strips and also reconfigured the lanes to improve access and safety. Construction took place this summer and has now wrapped up, with the whole effort funded by the voter-supported Bridging the Gap levy.