Here we are – halfway between the start of 2013 and the end of 2015, the three-year cycle for the Neighborhood Street Fund (NSF) program. So, just how is the program doing? Pretty darn well it turns out!
By December 2012, 87 applications were received from groups and individuals for a portion of the $4.5M reserved by the Bridging the Gap levy for NSF projects. These projects had to be reasonably big transportation projects located entirely on SDOT right-of-way, but could address any sort of problem. Safety was nearly always the driving force behind these proposed projects and was one of the key criteria used to determine which would be funded.
2013 is the year when the projects were planned and prioritized. By mid-February Seattle’s 13 District Councils had each selected 3 projects for further consideration. By the end of May SDOT had studied the proposal, developed a preliminary design and an initial cost estimate. The District Councils then ranked their choices (1st, 2nd and 3rd) in June and the Bridging the Gap Oversight Committee selected a dozen projects for funding from the full list by August. By October of last year the recommendations were included in the City’s budget. Nearly all of the selected projects will improve pedestrian safety.
This year, 2014, is when most of the projects are designed, and the plans and specifications are prepared. In most cases this involves coordination with other agencies or utilities and in some cases there are details to be worked out with the project sponsors or nearby stakeholders.
One of the twelve projects that was funded– a 2 block long extension to SDOT’s West Duwamish Trail Project which was already in design – was fast-tracked and started construction this week.
Five other projects were bundled together for design (by SDOT staff) and construction (by a single contractor to be selected next year). These mostly feature new curb bulb or sidewalks for pedestrian safety:
- Waterway 22, along Northlake Boulevard and N Stone Way south of North 34th Street
- West Woodlawn, modifications to Third Avenue NW at NW 56th Street
- 19th Avenue at East Union and Pike Streets
- 12th Avenue at East Howell and Olive Streets
- Lake-to-Bay route improvements on West Harrison Street
The Pioneer Square ADA access project has three locations; one on South Jackson Street which will be done later this summer and three others on Yesler Avenue which will be done next year. (As a bonus, SDOT received a grant which will allow the Neighborhood Street Fund to address additional locations next year.)
The Georgetown Festival Street project proposed for 12th Ave South and South Vale Street is 50 percent designed, thanks to the able assistance of a Citizen Advisory Group who has been working with the design team. This will also be built in 2015.
Three locations on Rainier Ave South are being designed to improve pedestrian movements: One at Rainier and Dearborn, one in the historic district of Columbia City, and one in Rainier Beach. These are in various stages of design (10 to 60 percent), but all are planned for construction next year.
Greenwood Ave N has NSF-funded sidewalks at 90 percent design, located at key locations between N 92nd and N 105th Streets. Construction is scheduled to start by March 2015.
Overall, the Neighborhood Street Fund program is doing just what was intended when it was included in the Bridging the Gap levy; directing scarce resources at the neighborhood transportation projects deemed most important to address. For more information about the program, please visit http://www.seattle.gov/transportation/btg_nsf_large.htm .