Seattle Parks and Recreation (SPR) is excited to deliver improvements to Lake Washington Boulevard that will enhance access to the park amenities along the public lakeshore. In collaboration with the Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT), we will be constructing a new paved connection to the pathway that runs along Lake Washington Boulevard at the intersection of South Ferdinand Street. Work is anticipated to take place as early as the middle of February.
The new walkway is a part of the first phase of improvements for the Lake Washington Boulevard Renovations Project, which aims to:
- Improve access for all modes of travel
- Increase bicycle and pedestrian safety
- Preserve and improve the park experience
The existing crossing will be made more accessible with features compliant with the American Disabilities Act (ADA) including curb ramps and a new concrete walkway that will connect to the Lake Washington Boulevard pathway. Additionally, a new marked crosswalk will be added to the north crossing of the intersection later this year.
Over the course of summer through the fall of 2023, the project team attended and hosted numerous public engagement events. During these events we heard the desire for improvements to be added on the boulevard prior to the construction of the majority of Lake Washington improvements anticipated in summer 2025. Pending crew availability, the Lake Washington Boulevard Renovations project team is working to coordinate a phased approach to implementation.
Please stay tuned for community engagement opportunities for the next phases of improvements. We will be reaching back out this spring with design concepts for the traffic calming and safety enhancement components of the project. We anticipate having preliminary design concepts ready to share with the public to receive feedback on later this spring 2024.
The project is currently in the design development phase. SPR and SDOT are collaborating on synthesizing community feedback and utilizing recently collected traffic data to create design concepts for improvements that will enhance safety, calm traffic, and improve access on Lake Washington Boulevard from Mount Baker Beach to Seward Park.
The project team is working to leverage Seattle Park District funds to maximize the project’s benefit to the community. To accommodate the internal review processes of both departments, the design outreach phase has shifted from the original project timeline to take place starting this spring through the summer of 2024. Future community engagement opportunities will be shared later this winter/early spring. We appreciate your patience and are eager to incorporate additional feedback into the project.
For more information, the latest updates, and for future engagement opportunities, please visit the Engagement Hub for Lake Washington Boulevard or contact Jordan Hoy, Project Planner, at jordan.hoy@seattle.gov, 206-445-5156