Repairing a rainbow crosswalk in Capitol Hill. Photo Credit: SDOT. Summary
- Through our annual crosswalk program, our crews maintain and re-paint crosswalks on a four-year cycle in all parts of the city.
- From July to September, we will be re-striping the white and yellow lines on Seattle’s main arterial roads.
- Recently, we’ve refreshed the Pan-African crosswalks in the Central District, restored rainbow crosswalks in Capitol Hill for Pride Month, and introduced the SLURP! mural in the Chinatown International District.
Our crews work hard year-round to make sure that Seattle’s roads are clearly marked. Among much more, this helps people walking, rolling, and biking be more visible in crosswalks. This month, we’re highlighting some of our paint projects that help keep people safe, while bringing color and joy to the city!
As part of our annual crosswalk program funded by the Levy to Move Seattle, our crews typically re-paint 1,500 crosswalks per year. Due to impacts from the COVID-19 pandemic, we only had the capacity to re-mark 500 crosswalks in 2020, which means that we’re remarking 1,000 additional crosswalks this year!
So far in 2021, crews have painted 2,200 crosswalks (and counting) and will keep working until they reach a total of 2,500.
Each crosswalk in the city gets re-painted at least once every four years. In a given year, our crews repair one quarter of the crosswalks in each of Seattle’s City Council districts. This ensures that the maintenance is equitable and spread throughout the city, rather than concentrated in particular areas.
However, if a crosswalk is damaged before it’s scheduled to be re-painted, our crews will make an assessment and determine if the crosswalk should be re-painted sooner for safety reasons.
If there’s a crosswalk in your area that’s been damaged and might pose a safety risk, you can report it! Download the FindIt FixIt app to your smartphone, fill out an online form or call us at (206) 684-ROAD (7623).
Each summer, our crews also re-stripe the yellow and white lines in the middle of the city’s main arterial roads.
While Seattle’s crosswalks and most other road markings are made of liquid thermoplastic (a more durable product than paint), the yellow and white lines that you see in the middle of the street are made of paint. These lines get re-striped each year on our main arterial roads. This year, striping starts after July 4 and continues to September. When you see us restriping, please be avoid the paint lines because they may be wet!
In June, we installed a new mural and refreshed colorful crosswalks to make the city brighter!
The new SLURP! mural in the Chinatown International District (CID) was designed by local artist Akira Ohiso and installed with technical assistance from muralist Angelina Villalobos. The mural includes eight segments that meander through Maynard Alley near South King St.
This week, we’re cleaning and patching up the Pan-African crosswalks in the Central District. These community crosswalks showcase the neighborhood’s unique culture and history and liven up intersections with artistic and colorful stripes.
