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New, permanent Healthy Streets locations coming to Seattle!

by on August 22, 2023
People enjoy riding bikes and jogging with their dog on a Healthy Street in 2021. Photo: SDOT.

Editor’s note (August 22, 2023): We originally published this blog post on October 12, 2022, and have updated it since then with the latest information.

Please note: you can click on the links below to jump down to any section:

We are making 6 new Healthy Streets locations permanent!  

Over the last year, we’ve been evaluating existing Healthy Streets and using community feedback to determine whether they should be made permanent or reverted to Neighborhood Greenways, as they were before the pandemic.

Based on our learnings, the following locations are becoming permanent Healthy Streets: 

  • Aurora-Licton Springs 
  • Lake City- Cedar Park and Olympic Hills 
  • Wallingford 
  • Othello/Rainier Beach 
  • Georgetown 
  • South Park 

Thank you to everyone who participated in the evaluation process to make these Healthy Streets permanent! To view our evaluation results, please visit our project webpage. We will be working to change the temporary signs at these locations and add in planters and concrete bases where needed. You can expect to see these changes as soon as 2024.

The project is funded in part by the 9-year, $930 million Levy to Move Seattle.

Healthy Streets community engagement event at Dunlap Elementary School in Rainier Beach as part of a Peace Peloton and SDOT Safety Routes to School Bike Bus event in May 2023. Image Credit: SDOT.  

Updated Healthy Streets City-Wide Map 

Click here to view map in a new tab. Graphic Credit: SDOT

Sign up to take care of a Healthy Streets Planter!

For permanent Healthy Street locations, we can install planters instead of concrete block bases at Healthy Street intersections (see diagram below). Healthy Street planters will need to be watered and maintained by neighbors.

If you are interested in requesting and taking care of a planter at your Healthy Street please click here for more information.

Below is an image of what the two permanent Healthy Streets sign options will look like. Pictured on the left is a Healthy Streets sign with a planter option, and on the right a sign with the concreate base.

A photo of permanent Healthy Street signs with planters and markings. Credit: SDOT

Play on your Healthy Street

Many neighbors have taken advantage of the No Permit Required status of Healthy Streets to easily host their own events like community dinners, neighborhood gatherings, and Play Streets. We want to continue to celebrate and support neighbors that want to have fun on their Healthy Streets by providing FREE Healthy Street kits.

The free Play on your Healthy Street Kit includes play cones, signs, pennant flags, chalk, and more! Please click here for more information and to sign up to get your free Play on your Healthy Street Kit.

Help us spread the word about this great, community-centered program. Share your pictures on Twitter or Instagram using #PlayOnYourHealthyStreet.

Original Post (October 12, 2022)

We introduced Healthy Streets during the pandemic in 2020 as a way for Seattleites to get outside safely and stay active in local neighborhoods throughout the city. Healthy Streets are open for people walking, rolling, biking, and playing, and closed to pass-through traffic.

We’re updating our Healthy Streets across Seattle based on the trends we’ve seen in terms of community use and public feedback. Next, we will:

  • Make some locations permanent Healthy Streets
  • Return some locations to neighborhood greenways, which they were prior to the pandemic
  • Further review some Healthy Streets and conduct more outreach to determine next steps. These locations will remain Healthy Streets until further notice.

At each location, there may be a combination of permanent Healthy Streets, neighborhood greenways, and/or areas for further review and outreach.

Here are the locations of current Healthy Streets. The plan for each can be found on the web pages below:

Below is a map that shows the plan for Healthy Streets locations throughout the city moving forward. You can also visit our website for the latest information.

Map of planned permanent Healthy Streets moving forward. Permanent ones are shown in solid purple, under review in dashed purple, permanent construction completed in orange, in construction to become permanent in dashed orange, neighborhood greenway in green, and multi-use trail in brown. The map shows 15 locations in purple dots, throughout north, central, and south Seattle.
Citywide map of Healthy Streets, Neighborhood Greenways, and Multi-Use Trails. Graphic: SDOT.

Over the next few weeks, we plan to visit all existing Healthy Street locations to check on the condition of signs and repair or replace them as needed. We’ll also remove signs on Healthy Streets that will become neighborhood greenways like they were before the pandemic. Over time, we’ll begin installing the updated signs for permanent Healthy Streets locations.

A kid wearing a Lucha Libre mask draws with markers at a recent community event on a Healthy Street in Lake City. Numerous attendees are visible in the background, with SDOT outreach materials in the foreground, on a sunny day.
A kid wearing a Lucha Libre mask draws with markers at a recent community event on a Healthy Street in Lake City. Photo: SDOT.

You helped us learn what works, and what doesn’t. Thank you!

We talked to people and distributed surveys to understand how Healthy Streets are working today, and what people would prefer for Healthy Streets in their neighborhood moving forward.

We observed and reviewed each Healthy Street with this input top of mind to help inform our decision-making.

People liked Healthy Streets for reasons including:

  • Improved safety
  • A more enjoyable neighborhood
  • More open space
  • Encouraging sustainable transportation
  • Promoting healthy habits

But some people shared concerns and challenges, including:

  • Difficulty getting around
  • Ineffective signs
  • Safety-related issues
  • Feeling excluded

How to stay informed:

A person bikes along the Keep Moving Street at Alki Point in West Seattle on a sunny day in 2021. A large "Street Closed" sign and traffic barrier are in the foreground, with view of the water in the background.
A person bikes along the Keep Moving Street at Alki Point in West Seattle on a sunny day in 2021. Photo: SDOT.

Thank you for your interest in Healthy Streets.

Filed Under: Accessibility, Biking, Community Involvement, Pedestrians, Safety, SDOT Tagged With: , , , , ,