Editor’s Note: This is a blog post from the Waterfront Seattle Program. The Waterfront Seattle Program is led by the City of Seattle’s Office of the Waterfront and Civic Projects, working closely with other City departments, external partners, civic leaders, stakeholders, and the broader Seattle public to create a “Waterfront for All.”
As early as Saturday, March 9, Waterfront Seattle will permanently remove eastbound vehicle access on Pine St, between Melrose and 8th avenues to make Pine St a one-way, westbound street. This is the next step in transitioning Pike and Pine streets to one-way roads from 1st to Bellevue/Melrose avenues. The traffic revision to Pike St was completed in November 2023.
Reconfiguring Pike and Pine streets into one-way streets creates more space for people walking and rolling to support a safe, welcoming and pleasant experience for all travelers downtown. When completed later this year, the protected bike lanes will follow the same one-way circulation pattern using Melrose to go north and south to access each street.
Improvements on the bridges over I-5 include expanded sidewalks, protected bike lanes, landscaping, and integrated art elements such as new railings with incorporated lighting, bike buffer texturing, and planter boxes designed by artists Derek Bruno and Gage Hamilton.
People driving north and south on 8th, 9th, Boren, Minor and Melrose avenues will continue straight or turn onto Pine St headed westbound.
Over the next few months, we will be constructing the following improvements on Pine St between Melrose and 8th avenues:
- Paving, signals and signage for permanent reconfiguration to a one-way westbound street
- Wider sidewalks to buffer pedestrians from freeway traffic and noise
- Higher railings with integrated lighting on the bridge over I-5
- Additional landscaping and improved protected bike lanes with concrete bike lane buffers
Progress made since the Pike St one-way configuration change
The one-way configuration of Pike St completed in November 2023 permanently removed westbound vehicle access between Bellevue Ave and Terry Ave / Hubbell Pl. This made space for construction of a new eastbound protected bike lane with concrete buffers and a wider sidewalk.
Since November of last year, other key elements have been added to Pike and Pine streets between 8th and Bellevue avenues, including wider sidewalks, accessible curb ramps and bike leaning rails.
Improvements on Pike and Pine streets kicked off in February 2023 and the project is expected to be completed in late-summer 2024. This project is part of the City’s downtown activation plan initiative to support a healthy, vibrant and greener downtown with improved multimodal access. As construction continues through the spring and summer, look for these changes as you are traveling through this busy area. The best way to stay informed about construction impacts is to subscribe to the weekly Pike Pine construction email.
To learn more:
- Sign up for Waterfront Seattle construction email updates: https://waterfrontseattle.org/construction-updates-mailing-list
- Contact the Waterfront Seattle team at: info@waterfrontseattle.org or (206) 499-8040.
- Find more information about the Pike Pine Streetscape and Bicycle Improvements project: https://waterfrontseattle.org/waterfront-projects/pike-pine-renaissance