A person with a stroller waits to cross the street at 8th Ave NW and NW 58th St in Ballard. Photo: SDOT Blog stats: 300 words | 2-minute read
Good news for Ballard. Residents and travelers along 8th Ave NW have asked for safety improvements, and we’re taking action. Intersection daylighting is coming soon, and next year we’ll add new crossings and other traffic calming measures to enhance the street for everyone.
In the coming weeks, we plan to install “daylighting” treatments at three intersections on 8th Ave NW:
- NW 70th St (as well as a paint-and-post median in the center turn lane on north end)
- NW 53rd St
- NW 51st St
What is daylighting, you might ask? Great question. Check out our recent blog post that provides everything you need to know, including a few graphics and a quick video.
In short, daylighting is when we use things like signs, paint, and other materials to make it clear to people driving that parking is not allowed close to intersections and crosswalks. This helps everyone see each other, which helps reduce crashes. Daylighting does not remove existing legal parking spaces. It just prevents parking in areas where it is already illegal to park by State and City law.
These projects will have some minor construction impacts to neighbors and people traveling in the area. You will see temporary “No Parking” signs go up and temporary pavement markings added in advance of installation work, which will be completed over approximately one to three days.
Then, in 2026, we’ll add marked crosswalks and other pedestrian improvements and traffic calming treatments to this area.
Funding for this work was made possible by the voter-approved 2024 Seattle Transportation Levy and directly supports our Vision Zero goal to end traffic deaths and serious injuries on city streets by 2030.