Safety concerns along a busy stretch of 8th Avenue in Seattle’s Ballard neighborhood are prompting renewed calls for transparency and a clearer timeline for pla
Safety concerns along a busy stretch of 8th Avenue in Seattle’s Ballard neighborhood are prompting renewed calls for transparency and a clearer timeline for planned street changes, as the Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) moves toward installing traffic-calming and pedestrian upgrades this year.
Rebecca Rouleua, owner of Take 5 Urban Market, said a regular part of her workday is making sure customers can safely cross 8th Avenue outside her store.
"We have lots of kids that come in and out every day. We have schools all around us and so they’re always crossing the streets," Rouleau stated. "Every day I hear the screeching of wheels."
A community group, Fix8th.com, has bought orange flags for pedestrians to hold while crossing 8th Avenue at Northwest 70th Street to help drivers see them more clearly. Organizer Eric Johnson said the group would like to see more help from the city to get drivers to slow down.
"Speed cushions are a great solution because they just kind of force folks to slow down at a reasonable pace," Johnson explained, adding that he sees people speed well above the 25 mph limit along the 8th Avenue corridor.
SDOT has already added paint and signs prohibiting parking near Northwest 70th, Northwest 51st and Northwest 53rd streets to improve driver visibility when turning onto 8th Avenue from surrounding neighborhoods.
In an October blog post, SDOT said that in 2026 it would create marked crosswalks and other pedestrian improvements and traffic-calming treatments.
But pedestrian safety advocates said they want more specific updates and a firm timeline for what will be done and when.
“We’ve been asking for transparency on this. We haven’t seen any plans published,” Johnson said. "We basically just want answers. We want transparency. We want people involved in the process."
SDOT told KOMO News that a project on 8th Avenue between Northwest 48th and Northwest 70th streets will install speed cushions, crosswalks with concrete islands, radar speed signs, a traffic diverter, and a walk/bike signal with flashing beacons.
SDOT said design work is being finalized and that it will share more design details with the community once it gets closer to installation in 2026.
"I have been working bring improvements to 8th Avenue NW for the past few years. I ensured the funding for improvements was included in the Transportation Levy Delivery Plan and sponsored a budget amendment that put an additional $1 million toward safety improvements this year," City Councilmember Dan Strauss wrote in an emailed statement. "Working with Fix 8th Ave, my focus this year has been on creating safe crossings at NW 49th, 51st, 53rd, and 70th streets and ensuring there are safe bike lanes all the way from Market Street to NW 65th Street.”
