Aurora Ave Project

Updated August 27, 2024

Background

Did you know that the Aurora Ave N/State Route 99 corridor is one of the highest traffic volume streets within the Seattle city limits? This north-south corridor offers some of the busiest bus routes within Seattle City limits, is critical for freight movement, and offers connections to dense housing, businesses, social services, and employment opportunities. Aurora Avenue has a history of collisions, gaps in pedestrian facilities, inconsistent streetscape design, and accessibility barriers that make travel especially difficult for people with mobility challenges.

The last comprehensive Route Development Plan for the Aurora Ave N corridor was published in 2003, and while recommendations for near-term improvements were included, few improvements were made. Aurora Ave N has been a longstanding priority for transportation upgrades that improve safety and mobility for all travelers. Among these, there is a strong desire to enhance comfort and access for people walking along the corridor, reduce collisions for all users, and improve the quality of transit service.

In the last few years SDOT pursued funding to study safety and mobility improvements in the corridor. In late 2021, SDOT was awarded funding through a Pedestrian and Bicycle Program grant from the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT).  King County Metro is also contributing funds and partnering with SDOT to develop a new comprehensive design vision for the Aurora Ave N corridor and identify near-term projects that will advance improvements and safety.

As part of this study, we are also collaborating with other programs, departments and agencies who are doing work along this corridor. We are partnering with King County Metro to hear your feedback on improvements to the RapidRide E Line.  This study is a necessary step in identifying transit improvements for addressing safety and security, improving speed and reliability enhancing transit connections, and improving user experience.

We are also collaborating with Seattle Public Utilities to incorporate drainage issues and needs into our right-of-way design plans. SDOT’s Home Zone program is also launching in the Licton Springs neighborhood near Aurora, and we’ll be coordinating with their work as well.

This is one of several projects to improve safety and accessibility to and along Aurora Ave N, including the Green Lake Outer Loop Project, Aurora -Licton Springs Home Zone Project, and Aurora Ave Sidewalk Upgrades and Tree Preservation.

Project Purpose

• Develop a new design vision for the Aurora Ave N corridor that enhances safety, mobility, and accessibility for all travelers. 
• Address the needs of residents, businesses, and corridor stakeholders in a unified vision for the corridor through an equitable and robust engagement process. 
• Consider collision history and safety challenges along the corridor with a focus on addressing the most serious collisions and collisions involving vulnerable road users.  
• Identify potential transit service improvements and connections (e.g., with nearby light rail stations), as well as safety and security improvements (e.g., at transit stops). 
• Develop a strategy to construct corridor improvements as resources become available. 

Draft Community Ideas

We are excited to share conceptual ideas to help envision potential future improvements along Aurora Ave N. These ideas are based on feedback we received from community.

These early sketches would require additional outreach, design, and funding to further develop and implement. We have also drafted our evaluation criteria which will help us to better understand how well the community ideas accomplish our project goals and will show the tradeoffs between different concepts. 

View the draft concepts and evaluation criteria.