Action Needed!

Funding for sidewalks on NE 50th Street is in jeopardy!

Contact Mayor Durkan today and let her know that sidewalks are vital for neighborhood safety!

What’s the problem?

NE 50th Street between 30th and 33nd Avenues (south of Calvary Cemetery) does not have sidewalks. Without sidewalks, this street will remain unsafe for people walking in the neighborhood including to school, to University Village, and to access the Burke-Gilman Trail. The Seattle Department of Transportation studied this stretch of NE 50th Street and determined that almost 2,000 cars use it per day and regularly drive above the speed limit, some in excess of 55 mph!

The Ravenna-Bryant Community Association (RBCA) has been advocating for sidewalks on NE 50th Street for more than 15 years. In 2015, in partnership with RBCA, University Village requested that funds they paid to the City of Seattle to mitigate impacts on the local neighborhood associated with increased development within the mall be used to pay for sidewalks on NE 50th Street. Since the funds were not enough to pay for the entire project, RBCA has continued activities to identify money to make up the difference.

Last year, in partnership with RBCA, University Village again requested that mitigation funds associated with the soon to be built west garage be used to fund sidewalks on NE 50th Street, a vital connector to their businesses for Ravenna-Bryant neighbors. (The request letter appears at the end of this post.) However, RBCA was told last week that the funds will instead be used to put in an electronic traffic advisory sign (Intelligent Transit System or ITS) on 25th Avenue NE, similar to the one installed on NE 45th Street by the south entrance to University Village.

What you can do.

Contact Mayor Jenny Durkan and Nathan Torgelson, Director of Seattle Department of Construction and Inspections, and tell them to maintain support for this public-private partnership for funding for sidewalks on NE 50th Street.

Your message could look something like this:

Dear Mayor Durkan and Director Torgelson,

Please ensure that University Village mitigation funds be used to build sidewalks on NE 50th Street and not for an ITS on 25th Avenue NE. This is what both the Ravenna-Bryant neighborhood and University Village have requested.

Background: NE 50th Street between 30th Avenue NE and 33rd Avenue NE, just east of University Village (U-Village), does not have a sidewalk and suffers from excessive speed and high vehicular traffic. The street is used for school bus stops, a direct pedestrian corridor between Children’s Hospital on the east and University Village to the west, and University of Washington family housing to the east. Nearby University Village is a growing urban center and NE 50th Street is impacted by this growth.

Community advocacy for NE 50th Street sidewalks has been going on for at least 15 years. This work was originally identified in the 2002 University Area Transportation Study and as Action Strategy Project #31 in the 2008 University Area Transportation Action Strategy Report.

Over the years, the Ravenna-Bryant Community Association has pursued two neighborhood grants to fund sidewalks. SDOT has conducted studies on vehicular speed and volume counts and developed plans and action reports. All of these indicate the need for a sidewalk and traffic calming measures on NE 50th Street.

Most recently, the NE 50th Street sidewalk project was included in the Pedestrian Master Plan and installment of sidewalks is included in SDOT’s short-term implementation plan.

Problem: In 2015, the Ravenna-Bryant Community Association partnered with University Village and successfully negotiated mitigation funds from their Master Use Permits (MUPs) to be assigned to NE 50th Street. Though University Village in 2017 asked that the mitigation funds for the upcoming West Garage expansion be earmarked for the NE 50th Street sidewalk project, last week RBCA learned that SDCI plans to use the funds for the installation of a traffic information sign on 25th Avenue NE.

Request: We request that the University Village mitigation funds from the West Garage development be used for the NE 50th Street sidewalk project, not another electronic traffic information sign (ITS). With increased development in the University Village area it is vital that funds be used to mitigate neighborhood safety problems associated with increased traffic.

Sincerely,

NE Seattle Neighbor

Send messages to:

Jenny Durkan, Mayor: Jenny.Durkan@seattle.gov

Nathan Torgelson, Director Seattle DCI: Nathan.Torgelson@seattle.gov

Copy:

D4 Councilmember Rob Johnson – Rob.Johnson@seattle.gov

Deputy Mayor Ranganathan — Shefali.Ranganathan@seattle.gov