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Lake Washington Blvd updates: community visioning process starting soon, and summer 2022 Bicycle Weekends schedule published.

A family walks along Lake Washington Blvd during a summer street closure in 2021. Photo credit: SDOT.

Summary:


Lake Washington Blvd Visioning Process Overview

In the coming weeks, in partnership with the Southeast Seattle community, the Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) will begin a visioning process for Lake Washington Blvd. This process will continue through the end of 2022 and result in a framework for how the City of Seattle will make future decisions on what driving, biking, walking, and rolling will be like on Lake Washington Blvd. We will continue to post more information on our Lake Washington Blvd web page as it becomes available this spring and summer.

For more information about Seattle Parks and Recreation’s plans for this summer, please scroll to the bottom of this update or see Seattle Parks’ recent blog post.

For the visioning process, the Southeast Seattle community will be actively involved in shaping the framework. We value your history and perspectives on Lake Washington Blvd. You will have multiple opportunities this summer to share your experiences and priorities for Lake Washington Blvd.

We are designing the outreach and engagement process from the ground up. We have asked a group of Southeast Seattle community members that represent long-time residents, people that ride bicycles, and neighborhood community organizations to help us design a community outreach process that will kick off this summer. We hope you will participate in the engagement activities when they start this summer.

We anticipate outreach and engagement will include a of mix community meetings, email updates, and in-person events in Southeast Seattle with opportunities to learn more and meet City of Seattle staff to discuss ideas, ask questions, and provide feedback.

As you may be aware, in response to the pandemic, during summer 2020, we closed 3 miles of Lake Washington Blvd to cars and opened it for people to walk, bike, roll, scoot, and roller skate. Building on the program’s success and an outreach campaign in early 2021, last summer we again closed 3 miles of Lake Washington Blvd to cars on the weekends and holidays, from July 2021 to October 2021.

People biking on Lake Washington Blvd during a summer 2021 weekend closure.
People biking on Lake Washington Blvd during a summer 2021 weekend closure. Photo credit: SDOT.

Now, thanks to Councilmember Tammy J. Morales, we have $200,000 in the City of Seattle’s 2022 budget to work with the community and explore the right balance of closures and possible permanent operational changes to promote more walking, rolling, and biking on Lake Washington Blvd in the future.

“South Seattle has constantly been left out of the conversation when it comes to increasing safety in mobility. There are over four thousand miles of road in this city, and less than one percent of it is actual protected bike infrastructure. I’m excited to see positive changes that will increase pedestrian safety moving forward, and I’m proud our office was able to secure this funding and ensure that there will be a participatory process to engage our community members.”

– Seattle City Councilmember Tammy J. Morales

Photo of community members walking their dogs, rolling a stroller, and biking along Lake Washington Blvd during a previous summer street closure.
Photo of community members walking their dogs, rolling a stroller, and biking along Lake Washington Blvd during a previous summer street closure. Photo credit: SDOT

Summer 2022 Bicycle Weekends on Lake Washington Blvd – Schedule Details

While we are engaging in the Lake Washington Blvd visioning process, Bicycle Weekends (previously known as Bicycle Sundays) will return and take place during several weekends this summer, typically from Friday evening to Monday morning.

On these scheduled weekends from May to September, a portion of Lake Washington Boulevard will be closed to motorized vehicles from 7 p.m. Friday to 7 a.m. Monday. Seattle Parks and Recreation invites everyone in the community to bike, jog, or stroll along the boulevard between the Seward Park entrance and Mount Baker Park’s beach during these times. Exact street closure and re-opening times could vary depending on weather, staff availability, traffic conditions, etc.

Local access: People driving to homes along the boulevard because they live there, are visiting, or are making deliveries will be allowed access from the nearest cross street.

Parking lots: Parking lots will also be open and accessible from the nearest cross street (see parking details and map below).


2022 Bicycle Weekend dates on Lake Washington Blvd:

Lake Washington Boulevard will be closed to motor vehicles on the following weekends in 2022 (7 p.m. on Friday – 7 a.m. on Monday. Note: when there is a Monday holiday, the closure would extend until 7 a.m. on Tuesday):

  • May 20-23; 27-31
  • June 10-13; 24-27
  • July 1-5; 15-18
  • August 12-15; 19-22
  • September 2-6; 16-19

We’ll continue to post the latest information on our Lake Washington Blvd web page, if and when additional updates are needed. Please visit our website anytime!

Community members biking along Lake Washington Blvd during a previous summer closure of the street. On the right side, a couple youngsters enjoy the sunny day and view of green trees lining the street.
Community members biking along Lake Washington Blvd during a previous summer closure of the street. On the right side, a couple youngsters and an adult enjoy the sunny day and view of green trees lining the street. Photo credit: SDOT.

Seattle parks with free parking near the Bicycle Sunday route include:

  • Colman Park – 1800 Lake Washington Blvd. S
  • Mount Baker Park Beach – 2521 Lake Park Dr. S
  • Stan Sayres Memorial Park – 3803 Lake Washington Blvd. S
  • Adams St Boat Launch – 4200 Lake Washington Blvd. S
  • Ferdinand St Boat Launch – 5018 Lake Washington Blvd. S
  • Seward Park – 5900 Lake Washington Blvd. S

Map of bike route and parking access along Lake Washington Blvd

Map of the bike route and parking access locations on Lake Washington Blvd during the 2022 Bicycle Weekend dates. Map credit: SDOT.

Access to Stan Sayres Boat Launch and Mt Baker Rowing & Sailing Center

Map of access points to the Stan Sayres Boat Launch and Mount Baker Rowing & Sailing Center along Lake Washington Blvd S in Seattle. Map credit: SDOT.

Thank you, Southeast Seattle and community members for your upcoming engagement on the vision process, as well as for participating in the Lake Washington Blvd Bicycle Weekends this coming summer, if and when you’re interested and able to do so. We appreciate your time and interest!