Tag Archives: sidewalks

Seattle Department of Transportation 2026 levy projects include E John bus improvements, a First Hill Streetcar safety project, E Union bike lane upgrades, and planning for a transit-only lane on 24th Ave

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E Union’s protect bike lane is getting a levy upgrade in 2026

SDOT’s 2026 levy projects

In 2024, Seattle voters approved the city’s latest transportation levy, a $1.55 billion plan focused on streets, transit, sidewalk, and bike lanes for the next eight years.

This week, officials are unveiling their plan for how the transportation levy funding will be spent in 2026 with sidewalk and repaving work, improved protected bike lanes, new “High-Collision Safety Projects,” a First Hill Streetcar safety project, and a new bus-only lane on 24th Ave among the projects slated for the neighborhoods around Capitol Hill and the Central District.

The Seattle Department of Transportation sums up the 2026 Seattle Transportation Levy Delivery Plan as an outline for how it plans to spend this year’s levy dollars, saying the plan “identifies projects for which the department plans to start building, designing, and planning in 2026.”

“Due to the complex nature of capital project delivery and unforeseen risks, adjustments to the workplan may be necessary to account for changes in project timelines,” SDOT notes.

Here is our report on SDOT’s 2025 levy plan.

While it doesn’t capture all the day to day work SDOT crews will be taking on this year, the levy delivery plan outlines the major planned work you can expect to see on Capitol Hill and Central District sidewalks, streets, bike lanes, and bus lanes this year.

TRANSIT
Some of the most significant projects planned for the Capitol Hill and CD area will be transit related. SDOT says it plans to tackle 160 projects citywide “to improve bus reliability, access, equity, and safety with a focus on performance pinch points affecting multiple routes” with some key investments here including planned “spot” construction to improve transit conditions at the busy area near Capitol Hill Station at E John and 10th. Continue reading →

For drivers, bus riders, bicyclists, and walkers around North Capitol Hill, 2026 begins with pains for long-term transportation gains with RapidRide J, I-5, Roanoke Lid and Portage Bay Bridge projects

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Drivers, bus riders, bicyclists, and walkers were steered away from Eastlake Ave at Roanoke Tuesday morning after road construction workers hit a gas line. The street closure was just part of the traffic twists and turns around Capitol Hill’s north end as 2026 begins with major construction projects on the RapidRide J line, the new 520 Roanoke Lid and Portage Bay Bridge, and the “Revive I-5” work on the Ship Canal Bridge coinciding over the coming weeks, months, and, sometimes, years.

Seattle Fire reported no injuries in the overnight Eastlake response though streets in the area remained closed into the morning commute.

Planned work around the ongoing decade of 520 replacement projects will make for the longest running impact on getting around in the area. Continue reading →

Seattle painting more than 200 new bike and scooter ‘corrals’ in new push to keep city’s sidewalks clear

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(Image: SDOT)

Seattle’s latest effort to corral its electric bike and scooter parking problem is taking shape with brightly-colored rectangles of paint across the city’s core.

The Seattle Department of Transportation says more than 200 bike and scooter “corrals” are being installed around downtown and in areas like Capitol Hill.

“Some will have vibrant art, like these by local artist Roy (Eroyn) Franklin, created in partnership with SDOT Signs & Markings, Seattle Symphony, Benaroya Hall, and the Office of Arts & Culture Seattle,” SDOT said about one of its latest installations downtown. Continue reading →

Seattle’s mysterious Sea Dragonsss artist reveals story behind Capitol Hill’s time-traveling sculptures

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If you have wandered across Capitol Hill, Columbia City, Seward Park, or even Los Angeles, you may have spotted them — colorful, CD-studded dragon faces grinning from telephone poles, their reflective surfaces glinting in the sunlight. Emerging from the imagination of the pseudonymous Sea DragonSSS, these sculptures carry the mystery of their creator with backstories involving time travel that are as deliberately obscure as the artist himself.

The artist — who goes by Eddie after his signature dragon character — shared with CHS the story behind his decade-long journey from obscure noise musician to guerrilla sculptor, his installation mishaps, and his ambitious plans to bring his time traveling dragon universe to life through animation.

FROM FAILED MUSICIAN TO STREET ARTIST: THE UNLIKELY ORIGINS OF SEA DRAGONSSS

Long before dragons adorned Seattle’s streets, Sea DragonSSS was a struggling experimental artist.

“I started as a musician. Was playing music in the 90s, mostly noise, not very popular stuff. Got some grants along the way to put out CDs. I also was a filmmaker too. CDs and DVDs of my work, none of them sold. Well, I shouldn’t say none of them, but not very many of them.”

Faced with boxes of unsold discs, he saw an opportunity. Continue reading →

Seattle City Council: ‘Algorithmic rent fixing’ ban passes, digital kiosks get second ‘yes’ vote

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  • Rent fixing ban: The City Council session Tuesday included a vote approving a Seattle ban on “algorithmic rent fixing” in the city. The final vote by the full council had been delayed a week to give the council time to consider amendments adding language clarifying the new law is not “intended to interfere with standard recordkeeping business practices of individual landlords.” and an amendment requesting that the Department of Construction and Inspections “conduct outreach efforts to educate landlords about the provisions of this bill.” Continue reading →

City says it had to clean up less trash in 2024 thanks to volunteers and enforcement

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Seattle Public Utilities is out with its 2024 “Clean City” report as it says citizens are volunteering more effort than ever to community clean-ups while its totals for debris collected from the public right of way actually dropped during the year.

“I’m proud we’re doing this work. Keeping Seattle neighborhoods cleaner helps residents thrive,” SPU General Manager and CEO Andrew Lee said in the announcement. “We welcome more residents and community organizations to join us in supporting Seattle’s diverse communities.”

SPU says its crews removed 1,765,421 pounds of debris from 1,550 blocks across the city’s right-of-way in 2024, down 7% from 2023 despite continued increased use of the Find It, Fix It “Service Request Mobile App.”

SPU credits “community engagement and education, enforcement efforts, and collaboration with other City of Seattle departments” for the reduction.

The Find It, Fix It app is focused on issues around cleanliness and rubbish but stats from the show that a bulk of the system’s calls are related to homelessness even though the app’s categories don’t show choices like “encampment” or “tents.” Instead, the calls are frequently reported under general inquiries, or “illegal dumping,” the most frequently used category in Find It, Fix It complaints. UPDATE: In a 2022 update, the app began accepting requests for an “Unauthorized Encampment.” Users are asked to use the category to “Report an unauthorized encampment that includes tents or structures assembled for habitation.” Continue reading →

Cal Anderson’s sidewalk is fixed — Now, city looking at public safety around Capitol Hill’s central park

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Seattle’s new transportation plan makes a big deal about making the city’s sidewalks better and adding new ones to the remaining areas without. Cal Anderson Park is out in front on things.

Capitol Hill’s central park is starting spring with its buckled eastern edge lined by a smooth new sidewalk and new solutions to help save the space’s Red Sunset Maples. Meanwhile, city officials are meeting with area business representatives and organizations with hopes to address larger questions around public safety on the park’s west side.

On the east, the Seattle Department of Transportation’s three-block project combined a variety of strategies including moving some areas of sidewalk, installing metal sidewalks that can leave more space for roots, and planting more trees along the park in an effort to replace cracked and buckled sections of sidewalk while preserving the park’s canopy. Continue reading →

Seattle has a new 20-year transportation plan — Now, about that $1.35B levy…

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(Image: @seattledot) “Nearly one hundred years ago, on April 21, 1924, the first traffic light in Seattle was installed at 4th and Jackson…”

The Seattle City Council Tuesday approved a new 20-year transportation plan for transit, street, sidewalk, and bridge projects across Seattle that will serve as the framework for the planned $1.35 billion transportation levy renewal vote this fall.

While still massive in scale and the result of a two-year process of outreach, bureaucracy, and budgeting, Mayor Bruce Harrell and council leadership are emphasizing the plan’s focus on day to day issues like potholes, sidewalks, and costly infrastructure repairs over the ambitious new initiatives and projects it might eventually spawn.

“It’s time for us to prioritize the bold basics of local government. From filling potholes to expanding access to public transit, this 20-year vision for the future of Seattle’s roads does just that,” District 3 Councilmember Joy Hollingsworth, vice chair of the council’s Transportation Committee, said in a statement. “Local government can’t solve every problem on its own, but when we put our mind to it, we can build world-class transportation infrastructure.”

The Harrell administration plan was little changed by the council and some of the few additions underlined what is being positioned as a more neighborhood-focused approach. Continue reading →

Seattle City Council notes: ‘Net-zero’ big building bill, sidewalk repair legislation, small business lease protections

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Under one new bill up for a vote Tuesday, sidewalk repair and installation would be a mandatory part of any major paving project (Image: SDOT)

It is the final week of the legislative calendar for the Seattle City Council in 2023 — and the final days at City Hall for some outgoing incumbents including District 3’s Kshama Sawant who will wrap up her years on the council with a “Ten Years of a Socialist in Office” celebration Thursday night on Capitol Hill. In January, the Central District’s Joy Hollingsworth will be sworn-in for Sawant’s D3 seat after her decisive victory in the November election.

In the meantime, there is some final work to attend to including Tuesday’s final full council meeting for the current members. The winter recess will run from December 18th through January 1st when staff will be working to get the new council offices up and running.

  • Climate change bill: Tuesday’s full council meeting will include a vote on legislation officials say will “dramatically lower the carbon footprint of existing large buildings in Seattle.” The bill aims to achieve net-zero building emissions by 2050 by establishing emissions reduction targets for buildings greater than 20,000 square feet, measuring and verifying greenhouse gas emissions, helping building owners create decarbonization plans, and establishing fees. The proposal impacts around 4,100 existing buildings around the city including a handful of school, health, and residential buildings around Capitol Hill and the Central District. The standards would be phased in over five-year intervals with the city’s largest structures first on the list. Continue reading →

Work set to begin to repair Cal Anderson’s buckled sidewalks and save park’s Red Sunset Maples

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(Image: SDOT)

Amid the the major challenges facing Capitol Hill’s central park, this is a small one. But work could start next week on a plan to save Cal Anderson’s Red Sunset Maples while also making it easier for everybody walking and rolling along the eastern edge of the popular park.

The Seattle Department of Transportation says work is tentatively scheduled to start Monday on a three-block project that will combine a variety of strategies including moving some areas of sidewalk, installing metal sidewalks that can leave more space for roots, and planting more trees along the park in an effort hoped to be wrapped up before the end of the year to replace cracked and buckled sections of sidewalk while preserving the park’s canopy.

“When this project is completed, we’ll have safer, smoother sidewalks for people walking and rolling, especially people with disabilities,” SDOT said in a statement sent to CHS. “At the same time, we’ll have more space for the street trees.” Continue reading →