The Delridge Way SW Pedestrian Bridge. Photo: SDOT What you need to know:
- We installed a community requested crosswalk and walk signal as part of the Delridge Way SW – RapidRide H Line project at SW Oregon St and are considering if making the pedestrian bridge earthquake safe and continuing ongoing maintenance is still the right approach.
- Take our survey and share your thoughts. Visit us at the Delridge Community Center Friday, August 27 from 2 to 4 p.m. or Sunday, August 29 from 1 to 3 p.m.
- Most of our RapidRide H Line construction on Delridge Way SW will be complete the year. Work on the pedestrian bridge would begin as early as spring 2022.
As part of the Delridge Way SW – RapidRide H Line project, we installed a new crosswalk and walk signal on Delridge Way SW at the intersection with SW Oregon St.
This project was chosen by the community during the Your Voice, Your Choice project selection in 2017. It includes a new crosswalk, walk signal, and curb bulbs, and has the additional benefit of making people driving more aware of people walking, rolling, and biking to the Delridge Playfield and adjacent Youngstown Cultural Center.
The new signal and crosswalk are accessible to everyone, so we expect it to be highly used to cross the street. People walking, rolling, and biking across Delridge Way SW are now able to move straight across at ground level instead of climbing the steep spiral bridge ramps which can present challenges to people with disabilities, small children, the elderly, and people biking.
Most importantly, the new signal and crosswalk is designed to be fully accessible for people with disabilities and in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), including curb ramps onto the sidewalk and a push button which vibrates and makes a noise to let people with limited vision or hearing know when it is safe to cross.
The pedestrian bridge is part of the Levy to Move Seattle , which provides the funding required to bring the bridge up to modern earthquake safety standards. The project would cost roughly $4-5 million based on early estimates. Demolition of the bridge would also require funding, but it would remove ongoing maintenance needs.
We’re considering if the investment to preserve the pedestrian bridge is the right one.
With the new signal and crosswalk offering a new way to get across the street, we believe many community members will find the pedestrian bridge redundant. However, Seattle’s older bridges often have sentimental value and even interesting characteristics the neighborhood has come to love.
We’re asking the public to help us decide whether upgrading pedestrian bridge makes sense. We haven’t made any decisions yet, and for now want to get a better sense of whether the community has a strong preference one way or the other.
We’d like to hear from you and create a plan for this location that fits the needs of you and your neighbors. Construction for repair or removal would begin as early as spring 2022.
Here are some ways to share your thoughts on the future of the bridge:
- Come talk to the project team in-person at the Delridge Community Center entrance on:
- Friday, August 27 from 2 to 4 p.m.
- Sunday, August 29 from 1 to 3 p.m.
- Contact us: DelridgeTransit@seattle.gov or (206) 775-8739
Thanks to your investment in the Levy to Move Seattle, you can expect to see new pavement, sidewalks, and curb ramps along Delridge Way SW by the end of 2021, and ride the RapidRide H line in late 2022.
We’re on schedule to complete a major project along Delridge Way SW improving safety whether you are traveling by bus, car, bike, foot, or wheels. New protected bike lanes, improved bus amenities, and addition of trees not only support the new Rapid Ride H Line, but help bring to life the communities vision of Delridge Way SW becoming a boulevard for the people living and working in the area to enjoy. Learn more here.