Safer streets are coming to Maple Leaf and Northgate | LEVY FUNDED

Roosevelt Way NE and Pinehurst Way NE connect homes, schools, parks, businesses, and transit across north Seattle.

But today, this wide street can be uncomfortable to cross. Driving speeds are high, comfortable crossing can be far apart, and too many crashes have injured people walking and biking.

Infographic showing six road safety and infrastructure statistics for this location. Over a 5-year period, there were 93 total collisions. Of these, 39 were injury collisions, including 6 that injured people biking and 8 that injured people walking. The road's pavement condition is rated Poor, with a Pavement Condition Index (PCI) of 47 to 54. The road carries about 10,000 vehicles per day. — *Infographic showing six road safety and infrastructure statistics for this location. Graphic: SDOT*

That matters especially here. More than 650 students attend Hazel Wolf K-8 near Pinehurst Way NE, and more than 350 attend Olympic View Elementary near Roosevelt Way NE. Families travel along and across these streets every school day. These streets also connect people with Maple Leaf Reservoir Park, Pinehurst Playground, the Northgate business district and community hub, local businesses, bus stops, and destinations throughout Maple Leaf, Northgate, and Pinehurst.

Now, a major safety transformation is coming thanks to the 2024 Seattle Transportation Levy and a transformative paving project.

This month, we completed the design for the Roosevelt and Pinehurst Way NE Paving & Safety Project. Along with paving the street, the project will:

Build new and upgraded crossings
Add pedestrian islands so people can cross one direction of traffic at a time
Upgrade sidewalks and accessible curb ramps
Improve bus stops
Redesign key intersections for safety
Add protected bike lanes
Create clearer vehicle and turn lanes to help slow driver speeds and reduce conflicts
Repave Roosevelt Way NE and Pinehurst Way NE, extending the life of the street by decades

A wet road curves uphill on an overcast day, flanked by dense trees with yellow, green and orange leaves that form a canopy overhead. On the right sidewalk, two people walk on the sidewalk. A green-painted bike lane with white bicycle stencils runs along the right side of the road. — *Two people walkalong a sidewalk in Seattle’s Roosevelt neighborhood. Photo: SDOT*

Designing a safer street from one end to the other

The project responds to a history of crashes and injuries along Roosevelt Way NE and Pinehurst Way NE, including crashes involving people walking and biking. Over the last five years there were 93 crashes along this corridor.

Rather than relying on one improvement in one location, the new design addresses safety throughout the corridor.

Two intersections will see significant changes:

A street design map of planned improvements along Pinehurst Way NE in Seattle. The road runs vertically down the center with two travel lanes, a center turn lane and buffered bike lanes on each side, marked with bicycle symbols and arrows. Crosswalks span the road at intersections with 12th Ave and NE 115th St. Upgraded curb ramps (orange dots) appear at the top-right and middle-left intersections; new curb ramps (yellow dots) sit at the bottom-left intersection near Pinehurst Way NE and the middle-right near the green space. Upgraded sidewalks (purple) run along the left side of the road and at the top-right and middle-right corners. A new green space (light green triangle) replaces a former traffic island between NE 115th St and 12th Ave on the right side. One section near 12th Ave is converted to one-way southbound only. A bus stop platform (pink-striped) sits at the top right of the map.

At Pinehurst Way NE and NE 115^TH St and 12^TH Ave NE the project will install new greenspace, new and updated curb ramps, new pedestrian refuge islands, new protected bike lanes, and upgraded sidewalks. new design will shorten or simplify the crossing, make people walking more visible, and make vehicle movements more predictable.

At Pinehurst Way NE and Roosevelt Way NE and Ne 113th St the project will install new greenspace, new and upgraded curb ramps, new protected bike lanes, new crossing on NE 113th St with new rapid flashing beacons, new pedestrian refuge islands, and upgraded sidewalks. These changes will give people a more protected place to cross and reduce potential conflicts at the intersection.

Elsewhere, new and upgraded crosswalks, pedestrian islands, curb ramps, and clearly defined travel and turn lanes will make the street easier to understand and safer to navigate.

Horizontal bar chart showing community survey results for the question, "Q3 What are your top values that should guide the future design of Roosevelt and Pinehurst Way NE?" A total of 126 people responded. They ranked eight options from 1 to 8, where a higher score means a higher priority, on a scale of 0 to 10. From highest to lowest priority, the results are: Improve safety, about 6.3; Add crosswalks, about 5.6; Repair sidewalks, about 5.5; Repair roadway, about 4.1; Upgrade bike lanes, about 4.1; Reduce speeding, about 3.8; Improve bus stops, about 3.5 and Reduce traffic congestion, about 2.9. — *Survey results showing safety was a top priority from community members. Image: SDOT*

Filling a gap in the bike network

Protected bike lanes will also fill an important missing connection in North Seattle. At the south end, the project connects with the Maple Leaf Neighborhood Greenway at NE 103rd St. That network connects toward Maple Leaf Reservoir Park, Roosevelt, Green Lake, and the University District.

Side-by-side diagram comparing two street cross-sections for Roosevelt Way N between 92nd St and 105th St.

The left panel, Proposed Designs, shows from left to right: a 5-foot southbound bike lane, a 3-foot buffer, a 7.5-foot parking lane, two 11-foot drive lanes split by a double yellow line, a 1.5-foot buffer and a 5-foot northbound bike lane.

The right panel, Existing Conditions, shows from left to right: an 8-foot parking lane, a 5-foot southbound bike lane, an 11-foot southbound drive lane, a 12-foot shared sharrow lane for northbound cars and bikes and an 8-foot parking lane.

The proposed design replaces the shared sharrow lane with a dedicated northbound bike lane, adds buffers between bikes and traffic and narrows the parking lane. — An example of proposed changes compared to the existing conditions on Roosevelt Way. The proposed design replaces the shared sharrow lane with a dedicated northbound bike lane, adds buffers between bikes and traffic and narrows the parking lane between N 92nd St and N 105th St. View more side-by-side comparisons on the project page. Graphic: SDOT

At the north end, the project connects with the neighborhood greenways on NE 117th St at Hazel Wolf K-8 school. Those routes lead people to Pinehurst, Victory Heights, Olympic Hills, Lake City.

Protected bike lanes are safe and comfortable and help make sidewalks safer, plus they narrow driving lanes, which results in slower driving speeds.

Safer access to transit

King County Metro Route 348 serves Pinehurst Way NE, connecting Pinehurst with Northgate Link Station and destinations farther north. About 2,000 people ride the route on an average weekday. Metro Route 67 serves Roosevelt Way NE, providing connections to Northgate, Roosevelt, the University of Washington, and University Village.

The project will improve bus stops and the connections between transit, sidewalks, bike lanes, and crossings so people have safer ways to reach the bus and continue their trip.

We know safer street designs work

We have seen the difference this kind of work can make nearby. SDOT redesigned NE 65th St in Roosevelt and Ravenna after years of serious crashes. The project added safer crossings and turns, protected bike lanes, and a street design intended to reduce speeding and crashes.

The results were dramatic. After the redesign:

Crashes fell 67% on the western portion of NE 65th St. Pedestrian crashes there also fell 67%.
There were no fatal or serious-injury crashes after the full redesign was completed
The share of drivers traveling over 30 mph also dropped substantially

A bus with a sign reading “45 Roosevelt Station” pulls up to a bus stop on a bright, sunny day. One person waits under a covered bus shelter while another walks away along the sidewalk. A raised bike lane runs between the sidewalk and the bus. In the background are passing cars, modern apartment buildings, trees, and overhead utility wires against a clear blue sky. — Example of upgraded bike and transit infrastructure we will be installing for this project in Roosevelt. This is an elevated bike lane at a bus stop on NE 65th and 14th Ave NE from the NE 65th St Vision Zero Project. Photo: SDOT

That experience shows why street design matters. A safer street should not depend only on every person making the right decision every time. The street itself can encourage slower speeds, provide safer places to cross, and reduce opportunities for serious crashes.

What’s next

Construction on Roosevelt Way NE and Pinehurst Way NE is scheduled to begin in 2027.

The project is funded by the voter-approved 2024 Seattle Transportation Levy, with additional support from a Federal Highway Administration grant.

This is just one of several projects in the area. Last month, the first arterial roundabout in Seattle opened just a few blocks north while construction continues on the NE 125th and 130th St Mobility and Safety Project.

28 blocks of new sidewalks and walkways are on the way too. They are the first to come from our “walkshop program” and are part of our Seattle Transportation Levy-funded initiative to add 350 blocks of new sidewalks and walkways across the city.

Learn more and see the final designs for this project on the Roosevelt Way NE and Pinehurst Way NE project page.

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