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What's next for Lake Washington Blvd?
The Keep Moving Street was initially made possible through Covid emergency funds, so we've lacked funding to explore the right balance of closures and possible permanent operational changes to promote increased pedestrian and bicycle use of Lake Washington Blvd.
Councilmember Tammy Morales proposed funding community engagement, which is currently in the Initial Balancing Package (page 234 of the packet). The Council Budget Action would add $200,000 of Transportation Fund to develop design concepts for potential changes to Lake Washington Boulevard and solicit community feedback through an equitable outreach and engagement campaign. If funding remains in the approved 2022 budget, we would launch the next phase of community engagement in 2022.
Walking, biking, and driving data
Last summer, we collected data on people walking and biking on Lake Washington Blvd and counts of people driving on nearby streets. We have the biking and driving data compiled. Here's a link to the full report.
At a high level, we found a substantial number of people biking on Lake Washington Blvd during the closures this summer. For example, during the weekend of July 10-11, there were a total of 3,911 people counted biking on the Keep Moving Street.
We also found that vehicle traffic on side streets was not higher during the weekend closures than during weekday non-closures, except Hunter Blvd S/S 38th St.
On Hunter Blvd S/S 38th St, vehicle counts were higher during the Keep Moving Street closures than during weekday non-closures (4,360 compared to 4,160 – a difference of 200 vehicles or 5% increase). Speeds on that stretch averaged below the speed limit, which is 25 MPH. Read the full report and learn more about measures we have in place or in progress to contribute to traffic calming.
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