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4 Miles of Stay Healthy Streets Announced along with a 5-day Pilot on Lake Washington Blvd

We’re opening 4 more miles of Stay Healthy Streets to allow for safe physical distancing while walking, rolling, running, skating, and biking over the next week! 

Seattleites now have 27 miles of streets around Seattle to see what it is like to share the streets and consider if they would like them in their neighborhood permanently — keep reading to learn more about permanent Stay Healthy Streets and how to get more information. 

New Stay Healthy Streets opening this week: Cedar Park Neighborhood Greenway, along the Wallingford Neighborhood Greenway, Bell Street between 1st and 5th avenues, and extending the Beacon Hill Stay Healthy Street south to S Lucile St.

These communities can now access local restaurants and stores as Seattle reopens, recreate, and walk their dogs near their homes while protecting their neighbors by keeping 6 feet apart 24/7.

Stay Healthy Streets are upgrades to existing Neighborhood Greenways. Existing Neighborhood Greenways were selected based on community engagement, connections to schools, parks, and business districts, and traffic data.

Photo of woman and dog near street closed sign. Quote says "there have been very few silver linings to this pandemic, but stay healthy streets is definitely one of them. Thank you for being leaders in making our streets a safe and healthy way for me an my neighbors to get around our community."

We’re also partnering with the Seattle Parks and Recreation Department to expand the space where people can walk, roll, and bike near Golden Gardens and along Lake Washington Boulevard.

Both locations are temporary and the boat launch at Golden Gardens will remain open. While Golden Gardens is 24/7 until further notice, Lake Washington Boulevard is a 5-day pilot to see if it might be worth extending the closure into the summer. Email StayHealthyStreets@Seattle.gov and let us know if people #KeepMoving, share the road well, and why or why not you’d like to see the closure extended throughout the summer. 

All the new Stay Healthy Streets will be implemented over the next week. Golden Gardens and Lake Washington Blvd should be done in time for the weekend.

Photo of woman with dog and quote saying "It has been wonderful having more space in the neighborhood to get exercise or walk our dog, especially during busy times of the day when more people are out. Thanks for providing the extra space for us to get outside with comfort.

Guidelines for sharing the street:

  • Drive on arterials if you don’t have a destination along the Stay Healthy Streets
  • Drive slowly and calmly
  • If you are walking, rolling, and biking, be courteous to your neighbors who are driving
  • Watch waste and recycling vehicles from at least 12-feet away
  • Be kind to your neighbors as you move along the street. The Stay Home, Stay Healthy order was tough. We could all use a little love in our lives right now

Stay Healthy Streets started as a response to the COVID-19 emergency.

Generally, we received good feedback on the concept and in May, Mayor Jenny Durkan announced we’d make 20 miles of stay healthy streets permanent. This means we can upgrade 20 miles of our existing 45 miles of Neighborhood Greenways. The locations can be where Stay Healthy Streets already exist, or could shift depending on what we hear from you.

Two girls riding tricycles on Stay Healthy Street.
Two girls riding tricycles on Stay Healthy Street.

You may be asking what does permanent mean and how will streets be selected?

At the most basic level, it means installing permanent signs at each intersection. Treatments can vary depending if the location is a busy intersection, or if there are sidewalks.

Beyond that, we want to work with the neighborhood to understand how the streets could become part of the neighborhood character. This could be celebrating cultures that have been there over the decades, landmarks, bringing people together around street murals, and whatever else is highlighted as important through community discussions.

It also means everyone traveling along the street feels safe. People choose different travel modes depending on abilities and needs. Blacks, Indigenous people, and people of color do not always feel comfortable traveling along our streets due to racism. No matter where you live, or whether you use a Stay Healthy Street, help fight racism and become an ally and help make Seattle streets for everyone.

Take our online survey and tell us what your experiences with Stay Healthy Streets have been like, where you might like to see them become permanent, and help us form our community engagement plan to center equity. The survey will close on July 15.