Feedback requested for pedestrian and safety improvement concepts on Aurora Avenue N

Meghan Walker Ballard

The Seattle Department of Transportation has sketched out several potential designs to improve Aurora Ave N, and they’re asking for public feedback.

SDOT’s conceptual drawings are online now, with the public survey open until April 5. SDOT will also host three open houses this month to discuss the concepts, which SDOT says would require additional research, design, and funding to further develop and implement.

The illustrations came from a series of community design workshops and conversations SDOT had with people who live, work, and travel on Aurora. SDOT says the illustrations reflect what the participants voiced during the workshops, including wider sidewalks, bike lanes, center bus lanes, or maintaining current vehicle capacity.

SDOT plans to use the public survey responses and input from the open houses to identify a preferred alternative for the future of Aurora.

Aurora Ave Project Map

  • Segment 1 – Harrison St to N 38th Street
  • Segment 2 – N 38th St. to Winona Ave N
  • Segment 3 – Winona Ave N to N 85th St. 
  • Segment 4 – N 85th St to N 115th St
  • Segment 5 – N 115th St to N 145th St

SDOT says the below drawings are meant to illustrate the general features of each idea for comparison purposes only. They say they need further analysis to understand whether each idea is feasible.

Segment 2 Drawings (N 38th St to Winona Ave N)

Below are the drawings that identify what participants voiced they wanted to see between the Aurora Bridge and Green Lake. The drawings are split into three categories: Walkable Boulevard, Bike Connection, and Center-Running Bus Lane.

Note that The Woodland Park/Zoo segment isn’t included in the Segment 2 drawings because SDOT says it has “unique constraints and challenges that are beyond the scope of the initial evaluation.”

SDOT plans to assess solutions for the Woodland Park Zoo area in a future planning phase.

Walkable Boulevard

Here are SDOT’s ideas for the Walkable Boulevard drawing:

  1. Install or improve pedestrian crossings at all bus stop locations and additional intersections (exact locations to be determined).
  2. Vehicle access to and from Aurora from side streets would be restricted to stop controlled right in/right out.
  3. Provides at least one 11-foot general purpose lane to accommodate trucks.
  4. Upgrade street and pedestrian lighting to improve visibility and safety for everyone using Aurora Ave N.
  5. Potential to provide a wider shared-use path (12-15 feet) by reducing the width of other street elements (e.g. median, landscaping) to support local access for people walking, rolling, and biking to destinations along Aurora Ave.
  6. Potential to accommodate curbside needs (e.g. loading, parking, etc.) in limited locations where left-turn lane and/or planted median is not present.
  7. Bus lanes in both directions with right-turns at intersecting streets and driveways allowed.
  8. Potential to preserve and/or plant new street trees in landscaping zone and median.

Bike Connection

Here are SDOT’s ideas for the Bike Connection concept:

  1. At bus stops, people biking may share the sidewalk with pedestrians and transit riders.
  2. Install or improve pedestrian and bike crossings at all bus stop locations and additional intersections (exact locations to be determined).
  3. Vehicle access to and from Aurora from side streets would be restricted to stop controlled right in/right out.
  4. Provides at least one 11-foot general purpose lane to accommodate trucks.
  5. Upgrade street and pedestrian lighting to improve visibility and safety for everyone using Aurora Ave N.
  6. Potential to preserve and/or plant new street trees in bike lane buffers and landscape

Center-Running Bus Lane

Here are SDOT’s ideas for the bus lane concept:

  1. Install or improve pedestrian crossings at all bus stop locations and additional intersections (exact locations to be determined).
  2. Vehicle access to and from Aurora from side streets would be restricted to stop controlled right in/right out.
  3. Provides at least one 11-foot general purpose lane to accommodate trucks.
  4. Upgrade street and pedestrian lighting to improve visibility and safety for everyone using Aurora Ave N.
  5. Potential to preserve and/or plant new street trees in landscaping zone and median.

To review the concept drawings for each segment of Aurora, visit the SDOT Community Ideas Hub for the project.

Featured photo and designs: SDOT