Greenwood Stay Healthy Street
Creating space for people to walk, bike, and play
Updated: January 2, 2023
What's happening now?
New Gateway Treatments!
PHASE 2 CONSTRUCTION HAPPENING!
We are installing new concrete blocks between NW 79th and NW 100th to hold the Healthy Street signs instead of the orange barrels.
You can visit Phase 1 of this project, between NW 73rd St and NW 79Th, to see what has already been installed
Greenwood Healthy Street Planter Signs
Traffic Calming
New traffic calming features along NW 73rd (Between Palatine Ave N and 3rd Ave NW) have been installed. Please be aware of the new all way stop and painted curb bulbs located at the southern terminus of the Greenwood Healthy Street.
New painted curb bulbs on NW 73rd and Sycamore
New all way stop on NW 73rd and 1st Ave NW
Thank You Neighbors!
Thank you to all the neighbors who are actively working to build community and provide amenities on the Greenwood Heatlhy Street! If you walked along the Greenwood Healthy Street recently you might have seen a dog poop collection bin that a thoughtful neighbor put out to help dispose of dog poop for those taking their pets out for a walk.
Project Map
Community Feedback
We received interest from a community group, G-PARE (Greenwood-Phinney Anti-Racism Efforts), to bring artwork to the community to celebrate BIPOC artists, create place through subtle wayfinding, and/or educate community members about anti-racism. We will partner with G-PARE to help us collect feedback and determine what should placed in the curb bulbs and how best to incorporate art along the Healthy Street using the available budget. To provide feedback on the 3 options or to volunteer with G-PARE to select public art, please email GreenwoodStayHealthyStreet@Seattle.gov.
What we've heard from the community
We continue to collect feedback from community members through a variety of means including monitoring the project email inbox, holding virtual open houses, conducting online surveys, and participating in site visits.
Online Open House - September 16
We hosted an online open house on Thursday, September 16 to share project updates and design plans. If you missed it, you can view the recorded video here.
Online Open House - April 29
On Thursday, April 29 we held a virtual open house to share project proposals and collect feedback from residents. If you missed it, you can view the videos below.
Here were some of the themes:
"We think it's important to look beyond our specific individual concerns and see the benefit stay healthy streets can have toward building community and protecting the climate." - Greenwood Stay Healthy Street Resident
People would like to see:
- Litter pick-ups, trash cans, basketball hoops, natural drainage, intersection murals, hopscotch/shapewalk, and artwork throughout featuring BIPOC artists
- White posts are not well maintained, please consider alternatives that are more durable (painted ecology blocks)
- Painted eyeballs in the roadway where there are driveways to remind users to look out.
- Plan for circulation considerations with drop-off/pick-up at the schools along the SHS
- (North of 87th) Lawn signs asking drivers to not park within five feet of mailboxes are removed; please instead paint the curb where people are not permitted to park and add signage (note from SDOT: the amount of signage needed presents an issue, but will request curb painting).
Concerns Raised with the Stay Healthy Street
- Some residents want SHS users to be educated by posting rules (quiet hours or hours of operation, dogs on leashes at all time, e-bike speed limits, etc) at intersections instead of having residents opt into posting a yard sign (difficult to mow around).
- Emergency vehicle access (Note from SDOT: this will not be impeded with any changes and is at the forefront of the design and approval process).
- The SHS is unsafe because parents are not taking responsibility for their kids.
- The SHS is unsafe because runners are using headphones.
- People treat the SHS like a park; it's not a park, it should be for people moving. Do not add seating or basketball amenities to make people think it's okay to use it as a park and be stationary.
- Some residents are concerned that illegal parking spaces will be not available for use any longer.
- A longtime resident was concerned that with the very large increase in their home's value that they would need additional liability insurance to cover the cost of an incident with a SHS user, if it were to occur.
- Resident not able to enjoy their cherry tree through their window because of street signage and people using in the roadway.
- During the public meeting, we also heard directly from some in attendance that SDOT has not provided them with any opportunities to share their feedback and that they were "disenfranchised."
Community members are always welcome to participate in surveys, submit comments to the project email, and attend open houses. We encourage residents to reach out to their neighbors lacking internet or computer literacy to collect feedback as the pandemic has limited in-person outreach.
Meeting Videos
Main Meeting Room
Breakout Room
Survey Responses
In early 2021, we conducted an online survey. We received 733 total responses for the Greenwood Stay Healthy Street. Of those, over 90% lived on or close to the Greenwood Stay Healthy Street. Here is some of what we learned:
- 78% of respondents felt that the Greenwood Stay Healthy Street was valuable during the COVID-19 pandemic, and would be afterwards as well.
- The majority of survey respondents want the Greenwood Stay Healthy Street to be made permanent (587 in favor, 125 opposed, 21 did not indicate a preference).
- Respondents had many reasons why they would like to see the Stay Healthy Street become permanent. In the word cloud below, the larger the word below, the more often it was mentioned.
- 91% of respondents indicated they feel safe when using the Greenwood Stay Healthy Street. Of the 9% that said they do not, they provided the following reasons why:
"Other" issues raised included: general confusion about how to navigate them as a driver, drivers not following traffic laws such as stopping at stop signs, drivers feeling treated unfairly, residents worried about hurting people when backing out of their driveway, unleashed dogs, ADA access, and general roadway conditions.
- Respondents had many ideas for how the Stay Healthy Street could improve their community:
"Other" ideas included: expanding opportunities for small businesses, walking routes to schools, additional trees, and live music.
Online Open House - March 4
On March 4, 2021, we held an online open house to share information with the public about the Greenwood Stay Healthy Street, answer questions, and identify improvements related to safety, mobility, and place-keeping. We had a good turnout and received valuable feedback from community members. Thank you to those who were able to attend or provide feedback via email!
This is a summary of the feedback received, which was echoed in the online survey:
- Improving infrastructure to reduce vehicle speeds and number of vehicles on the Stay Healthy Street and improve compliance of vehicles crossing the Stay Healthy Street who fail to stop at stop signs. Also, signage that tells Stay Healthy Street users that it is ending and they should adjust their behavior accordingly.
- Enhancing the entryway treatments with more decorative pavement designs, improved signage, and something more tactile on the street would make it fun and raise awareness that this street is different from other residential streets.
- Develop educational materials for users regarding respect for private property, not littering (including dog waste), abiding by public health guidelines, and limiting noise.
- Work with the Seattle Parks and Recreation to locate trash bins near 1st Ave NW at Sandel Park.
- Improve access during pick-up/drop-off at the schools and all hours for the shopping center just north of 85th.
- Increase the crossing time for the pedestrian signal at 85th Street N and restrict right turns on red for westbound traffic.
Background
April 4, 2020, SDOT responded to the COVID-19 pandemic by upgrading 26 miles of Neighborhood Greenways to Stay Healthy Streets throughout the city as a pilot program to allow for socially distanced transportation, recreation, and socialization.
- Neighborhood Greenways are designated walking, rolling, and biking routes along residential streets with enhanced safety features (such as speed humps, stop signs, and crossing improvements at major intersections) to limit the number and speed of through vehicle. While these are intended for those walking, in wheelchairs, riding bikes and similar, local access, deliveries, waste pickup and emergency vehicles are always allowed. Neighborhood Greenways throughout Seattle were identified through past community engagement processes.
- Stay Healthy Streets build on the investments in the Neighborhood Greenway network by enhancing signage which closes the street to enable those on foot and bike to be the primary users of the street to allow for social distancing. As with Neighborhood Greenways, local access, deliveries, waste pickup and emergency vehicles are always allowed but drivers must yield to other users.
The Greenwood Neighborhood Greenway opened summer 2017 and was originally part of Greenwood Elementary School Safe Routes to School and the North Seattle Neighborhood Greenway. It is 1.4 miles long and runs on 1st Ave NW from NW 73rd St to NW 100th St.
From Temporary to Permanent - Stay Healthy Streets Process
SDOT has a five-step process for identifying potential new temporary or permanent Stay Healthy Streets. In summer 2020, SDOT completed step 4, Evaluate. The evaluation concluded that the Greenwood Stay Healthy Street was the most promising route for a permanent Stay Healthy Street in Northwest Seattle because of its high use by people walking and biking and the positive response received in the Stay Healthy Streets survey.
Evaluation Quick Facts:
- Over 9,000 people took the survey
- The Greenwood Stay Healthy Street was (and continues to be) heavily used, in particular by those on foot
- Neighbors along the route are mostly supportive of the Stay Healthy Street
- Ballard and Greenwood were the preferred Stay Healthy Streets to be made permanent in Northwest Seattle
- The Greenwood Stay Healthy Street neighborhood is more diverse than the Ballard Stay Healthy Street neighborhood
- Drivers are traveling slowly or avoiding these streets altogether
We are currently in the design phase to transition from a temporary to a permanent Stay Healthy Street. This involves learning from the community what community concerns are in the neighborhood, if the route should be modified, and identify local enhancements.
Schedule
Winter 2021
- Sent a postcard to nearby addresses providing an update and include an invitation to participate in an online survey
- Collected input from community members via online survey on improvements
- Hosted an online open house to provide an update, understand concerns, learn about preferences, and answer questions
- Attended the Greenwood Community Council meeting to provide an update, learn about preferences, and answer questions
- Reached out to impacted properties
- Analyzed results from the online survey and other feedback received
- Based on best practices and community input, identified materials for installation
Spring 2021
- Provided an update to community members on next steps
- Upgraded arterial crossings with larger barricades
Summer/Fall 2021
- Install enhancements (such as traffic calming)
- Collect feedback on additional enhancements (such as art)