Seattle is a city on a mission. A draft of the Seattle Pedestrian Master Plan, issued in May, aims to make “Seattle the most walkable city in the nation.” If the master plan is approved, Seattle’s estimated 2,256 miles of sidewalk will grow a lot longer.
Twenty months in the making, the draft pedestrian master plan is the first city-wide action plan focused on walking. The plan aims to increase Seattle’s walkability by improving pedestrian safety (there were 1,433 reported pedestrian crashes in the period between 2005 and 2007), assuring equity in accessibility and capital investments, developing vibrant communities and promoting health through walking.
The plan is funded by the Bridging the Gap transportation levy, which was passed by voters in 2006. Over the next six years, Bridging the Gap will provide $60 million for pedestrian improvements ($41 million for new improvements and $9 million for maintenance, based on current program allocations). But what will this money actually buy us?
The plan recommends several projects in high priority areas, including: 158 block face equivalents for sidewalks, significant crossing treatments for 18 intersections, smaller crossing treatments for 579 intersections, and maintenance both along and across the roadway. The high priority areas range from Northgate all the way down to Georgetown.
To pinpoint priority pedestrian projects, the plan analyzed several factors, such as the quality of the pedestrian environment, current and anticipated pedestrian activity levels, areas that serve pedestrians with the greatest needs, the most important links in the pedestrian network and the ease of crossing roads. The draft pedestrian master plan implementation actions also suggest a number of potential changes for developers. The department of planning and development is exploring code amendments to:
- Institute parking maximums for new development to discourage residents from driving
- Modify the department of planning and development site analysis process “to require sidewalk maintenance, as needed, with all new projects regardless of whether they trigger a street improvement plan”
- Require that developers “repair the sidewalk past their frontage to the nearest intersection or to contribute a fee in lieu”
Several additional planned changes in the land use code align with Seattle’s initiatives to create walkable, vibrant urban centers complete with small-scale shops, restaurants, grocery stores and other popular destinations.
Two citywide condition assessments used walkable street elements such as marked crosswalks and traffic signals to look at baseline conditions for the plan in 2008. To measure how well the plan achieves its mission, several performance measures were established. These measures include: a decreasing rate of crashes involving pedestrians, driver and pedestrian awareness of pedestrian laws, increased transit ridership and increased streetscape vibrancy.
The plan uses an innovative web-based format, which allows for easy public access to the information. With features such as the “Pedestrian Toolbox” and in-depth explanations of concepts such as “system plan” and “performance measures,” Seattle is attempting to inform and engage the public. (One of the plan’s performance measures is to increase public engagement about pedestrian issues, which will be measured by counting the number of “hits” on the pedestrian program web page.)
However, the site’s clunky navigation—which is, well, pedestrian at best—detracts from the plan’s full potential for public engagement. Layers upon layers of links make it nearly impossible to navigate easily from section to section, most charts are still in slow-loading PDFs and statements such as “if you are looking for a particular tool, use the SEARCH function to quickly locate the tool” are entirely unhelpful.
Though the draft pedestrian master plan is a first for Seattle, it poses several questions. How does the plan fit into the current regional transportation plan, Destination 2030, and its update, Transportation 2040 (neither of which are mentioned in the draft pedestrian master plan)? What—aside from infrastructure—really makes a city walkable? And even if Seattle can claim the dubious title of most walkable city in the nation, will people really get out of their cars to pound the pavement?
The draft plan will be addressed at a city council public hearing on July 21. The Pedestrian Master Plan Advisory Group, the Seattle Pedestrian Advisory Board and community members all collaborated on the plan.
