The Seattle Department of Neighborhoods
announced the results of a Your Voice, Your Choice: Parks and Streets
Program on Wednesday. Two of eight District 7 project finalists, each
valued at roughly $100,000, will advance for implementation.
The Your Voice, Your Choice (YVYC)
program put up around $2 million in funding for small street and
parks projects that were nominated by residents in each of Seattle’s
seven districts. Once respective departments vetted the proposals and
decided which were eligible, residents then voted on the projects
they wanted to see funded. Each district was allotted roughly
$200,000, and voting ended in late September.
Both District 7 projects that will be
carried out are crossing improvements: one is at Galer Street and
Taylor Avenue North in Queen Anne, and the other is at West Mercer
Street and Fifth Avenue West in Uptown. The projects received 137 and
164 votes, respectively.
SDOT crafted a $102,000 proposal for improving the Galer and Taylor intersection that includes new curb bulbs, streetlights and stairway pedestrian lighting. The transportation department revised the community proposal, which had been for a rectangular rapid flashing beacon, citing traffic volumes and speed data as reasons for not support it. The curb bulbs will be painted and include posts; not built out with concrete. The project is meant to improve access and lighting for a western stairway up Queen Anne.
SDOT did support a rectangular rapid
flashing beacon at an existing crosswalk at West Mercer Street and
Fifth Avenue West. A proposed marked crosswalk at Fourth and Mercer
was not accepted. The project is valued at $100,000.
SDOT’s support for the flashing
beacon at Fifth and Mercer was based on a volume of 11,000 vehicle
per day at speeds around 30 mph.