SDOT leadership, project stakeholders, and community members gather at a groundbreaking event for the Georgetown to Downtown Safety Project on October 30, 2024. Photo: SDOT Blog stats: 1,700 words | 8-minute read
At-a-glance:
- Construction is now underway on the Georgetown to Downtown Safety Project to connect a 3-mile seamless, safer route for people biking and riding scooters in an area with a history of crashes and injuries.
- Today we held a groundbreaking event in Georgetown alongside many project partners and community stakeholders to mark the milestone.
- This project will improve safety for people traveling, working, and living in Georgetown, SODO, Downtown, and nearby neighborhoods.
- This is a busy area for industrial and commercial businesses, residents, and people traveling by freight trucks, buses, cars, bikes, and scooters. The project will help separate bikes and scooters from vehicles while supporting sustainable goods deliveries like e-cargo bikes.
- It will also complete a vital link in a system of north-south trails between central Seattle and the South End, and expand access to light rail and other transit routes for commuters.
- We encourage you to visit our website and sign up for email updates to stay informed during construction.
- This project is one in a series of bike and safety projects in South Seattle funded by the Levy to Move Seattle.
Construction has officially begun on the Georgetown to Downtown Safety Project. This project is expected to bring safer streets and trails for all travelers and better connect existing trails in South Seattle. We’re excited to get to work and keep you informed as construction ramps up on this 3-mile route through areas where we’ve seen concerning patterns of crashes and injuries.
Georgetown and SODO are unique Seattle neighborhoods – a blend of commercial and industrial businesses, retail, dining, breweries, and other small businesses, as well as residential communities.
The Georgetown to Downtown project will help keep everyone safe by adding protected bike and scooter lanes on busy arterial streets to keep people biking and scooting separated from cars and trucks, and installing a wide range of safety features such as all-way stops, raised bus stops, and signal upgrades.
The project will extend the separated route for people biking and scooting on the north and south ends of the existing SODO trail on 5th Ave S in SODO. Specifically, the project will add protected bike lanes at the north end from the existing Center City Bike Network and S Dearborn St lanes in the Chinatown-International District directly to the trail. At the south end, the project will add a new connection from the trail to 6th Ave S, where we’ll build protected bike lanes all the way to S Lucile St and Georgetown. It will also help people connect to existing light rail stations SODO and Downtown Seattle and catch their bus more easily.
The design was developed in partnership with community members, businesses, and local organizations. We’ve worked to ensure the project design improves safety for people biking, scooting, walking, and rolling, while maintaining freight and business access. When complete, companies in this area can use the new protected bike and scooter lanes for things like e-cargo bike deliveries to help keep our economy thriving.
Project map
Key features
- Two-way protected bike lane on the west side of the street from Airport Way S and S Lucille St to S Nevada St and 6th Ave S
- One-way protected bike lanes on 6th Ave S from S Nevada St to S Forest St
- Two-way, center turn lane on 6th Ave S from south of S Forest St to S Spokane St, making it safer and easier for vehicles to enter and exit driveways
- S Spokane St and 6th Ave S: New traffic signal, signalized bike crossing, and bike ramp
- S Lucile St and Airport Way S: New signalized bike crossing, ADA curb ramps, and refreshed crosswalk markings
- All-way stop on 6th Ave S at both the intersections with S Alaska St and S Nevada St
- Raised bus stop on the west side of Airport Way S at S Edmonds St
- Parking removal is necessary on the west side of 6th from Alaska to Industrial to allow for two-way freight movement
We encourage the public to sign up for email updates to stay informed about upcoming construction activities.
How to stay informed
- Visit our website
- Sign up for email updates
- Email us: GeorgetownToDowntownSafety@seattle.gov
- Call us: (206) 900-8734
A network of bike and safety projects in South Seattle
In addition to the Georgetown to Downtown Project, here’s a brief update on other high-priority projects funded by the Levy to Move Seattle. Together, these projects will make biking, scooting, walking, and rolling safer and more comfortable in South Seattle.
- MLK Jr Way Safety Project: Construction began in fall 2023 and was completed in July 2024. The project provides many benefits including new protected bike lanes, wider sidewalks, accessible curb ramps, calmer traffic, and better visibility and predictability for all travelers. To learn more, visit our website or read this blog post.
- Beacon Ave S & 15th Ave S Safety Project: Construction began in July 2024 and is currently underway. The project will make it safer and easier to walk, bike, and roll to the many businesses, community destinations, and transit stations in the growing Beacon Hill neighborhood. To learn more, visit our website.
- Georgetown to South Park Connection Project: Construction is around thecorner, expected to start later this year. The project will build a path connecting the two neighborhoods and create safety improvements for people walking, biking, and rolling. To learn more, visit our website. You can also learn more about the nearby Georgetown “Flume” off-leash area project in partnership with Seattle Parks & Recreation on this web page.
- East Marginal Way Corridor Improvement Project: Construction began in April 2024 and work continues to move forward. This project will upgrade streets to support the weight of heavy freight loads and include protected biking facilities, better serving our industrial businesses and enhancing safety for all travelers. To learn more, visit our website or read this blog post.
- West Marginal Way SW Project: This project extends a protected bike lane along West Marginal Way SW, south of the West Seattle Bridge, alongside other key safety and mobility upgrades on an important freight and travel route. The protected bike lane extension was installed in spring 2023. In addition, we’re making improvements to enhance the pedestrian space near the Duwamish Longhouse. To learn more, visit our website or read this blog post.
The Levy to Move Seattle
This project is made possible by the 9-year Levy to Move Seattle, passed by Seattle voters in 2015. Thank you, Seattle.
These projects support Seattle’s Vision Zero plan
Our work on safety and the projects detailed in this blog post are guided by the USDOT’s Safe System Approach. Our Vision Zero goals and comprehensive safety framework focus on responsive safety, proactive safety, and capital project partnerships. We look forward to building more infrastructure upgrades to help keep everyone safe when traveling throughout Seattle, both today and in the future.
Thank you for your interest as we work to deliver more projects to maintain and modernize Seattle’s streets.
What people are saying
“The Georgetown to Downtown Safety Project is an important part of our commitment to ensure safe and reliable transportation options in every neighborhood in Seattle. This groundbreaking represents an important step forward for people walking, rolling, and biking, transit riders, and local businesses. By making it easier and safer to navigate industrial and commercial centers around SODO, Georgetown, and Downtown Seattle this project delivers on our Levy to Move promise to invest in infrastructure in historically underserved neighborhoods.” – Mayor Bruce Harrell
“Georgetown to Downtown is the fifth of six bike safety projects in South Seattle to enter construction over the past two years. Funded by the Levy to Move Seattle and federal and regional partners, the project plays an important role in fulfilling our commitment to building safer biking and rolling infrastructure in the South End.” – Greg Spotts, SDOT Director
“We are excited to participate in the kick-off for the Georgetown to Downtown Safety Project. This project not only enhances safety for all users but also exemplifies how projects can be designed so that freight and bikes can coexist safely. Thank you to our partners at SDOT and the Cascade Bicycle Club for their collaboration in addressing key community concerns to ensure the final project meets the needs of all users. Together, we are paving the way for a safer, more connected future in SODO and the Duwamish industrial area.” – Erin Goodman, Executive Director, SODO Business Improvement Area
“The new SODO bike lane marks a vital step toward safer connections between South Seattle neighborhoods like Georgetown and South Park and downtown. This route is essential for residents, workers, and visitors who rely on biking to commute, access jobs, and reach city services. In partnership with SODO BIA, Cascade Bicycle Club collaborated with SDOT to ensure this project addresses the real needs of the community. While not a complete solution, the Georgetown-to-Downtown bike lane takes a meaningful step towards investing in and building a more equitable and connected bicycle network in Seattle.” – Lee Lambert, Executive Director, Cascade Bike Club
“Duwamish Valley Safe Streets is thrilled to see the long-awaited Georgetown to Downtown Trail construction begin.
The Duwamish Valley and its surrounding neighbors in West Seattle and Beacon Hill have lacked an alternative means of reaching thousands of jobs in SODO as well as cultural and economic opportunities in our city center for decades.
This year we are seeing two critical projects come online within our valley, with the Georgetown to Downtown Trail and the improvement to East Marginal Way.
These two projects demonstrate that our freight and bicycle and pedestrian advocacy communities can work together in achieving safer, equitable and healthier conditions for all users.
We want to thank Cascade Bicycle Club, Seattle Greenways, SODO BIA along with SDOT for your support and leadership in this effort, we would not be here without all of your efforts.
We have a long way to go in creating a fully safe network that are safe for biking and walking across the Duwamish Valley but today we celebrate an important step in that direction. We look forward to supporting this and additional efforts, such as the Georgetown to South Park Trail into the future.” – Erica Bush, Duwamish Valley Safe Streets