Have you heard of Access Seattle? You’ve likely seen its results in the form of better access around construction sites, with much of the assessing and coordinating done before construction begins. The effort to keep Seattle mobile and thriving during construction booms involves the Construction Hub Coordination Program and works in part because of you — eyes on the street.
Site Coordinators are out regularly in the hub areas, partnering with Street Use inspectors across the city, to identify and help resolve infractions and hazards. More identified hubs are expected soon, but SDOT’s Street Use staff respond to access concerns regardless of location. Many concerns are raised by you – the collective community experiencing construction impacts where you live, work and travel. To collaborate more with you, save the email SDOTConstructionHub@Seattle.gov to your mobile phone and email when/if you see things like the examples below. If the area in question is not in a currently identified Hub, we’ll let our inspectors know what’s up!
Poor signage and pathways near 1601 N 34th Street
Unpermitted queuing on 11th Avenue in Capitol Hill
Unapproved traffic control near 1414 10th Avenue on Capitol Hill
All of the infractions shown above were rectified by the Access Seattle team–Construction Hub staff and Street Use inspectors–from requiring long-idling construction vehicles to leave unpermitted areas to issuing citations and working with the contractor to immediately improve the traffic control set-up. Some fixes are small, like adjusting sidewalk signage to clear the pedestrian pathway (see below) that that the first photo in our story depicts.
Pedestrian pathway cleared, near 1601 N 34th Street
Pedestrian safety is a priority, with our Access Seattle staff always working to improve pathways.
N Northlake Place near 1601 N 34th St
Pedestrian pathway installation where fencing at 665 King St had blocked access
There are of course many examples of great construction site management and contractor efforts to lessen the impacts of their work on the community. We’ll talk about that in weeks to come, along with more infraction highlights and their remedies.
In the meantime, know that Access Seattle is always working for you, negotiating for things like better pedestrian access when a project proposes closing sidewalks entirely; bringing multiple projects together to talk about ways to contribute to neighborhood needs, like street parking; or arranging for methods to improve project sites to lessen negative impacts like littering and tagging.
As you can imagine, there are a lot of sites across Seattle needing TLC/enforcement, but we’re also trying to build capacity to respond. Our small but nimble team is on it, and looking to grow with you.