RBCA adopts mobility safety action plan

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Pedestrians on NE 65th Street. Photo courtesy of Seattle City Council #Fix65th Flickr album.

In 2015, the Ravenna-Bryant Community Association board adopted a vision statement to guide our activities and provide focus for advocacy. The RBCA vision is that in 20 years: Ravenna-Bryant is a welcoming, thriving, safe, diverse, and connected neighborhood. 

For Ravenna-Bryant to be a safe neighborhood, community members must be able to walk, bike, and drive motor vehicles without the fear of injury or death. The City of Seattle has launched several campaigns and road improvement projects over the past few years including Vision Zero, Safe Routes to Schools, an updated Bike Master Plan, and an updated Pedestrian Master Plan. While these activities will benefit Ravenna-Bryant, not all of our neighborhood’s mobility safety problems will be addressed.

The RBCA board receives a great deal of input from community members about mobility safety problems in our neighborhood. Information has been gathered through board meetings; community meetings; talking with neighbors; and city data. To increase outreach to those who board members don’t regularly come into contact with, RBCA conducted an online survey in the spring of 2016 to gain additional input. The input received informally and through the survey helped to define the mobility problems of most concern to our neighbors.

While the RBCA board will work with neighbors to address emerging or critical problems as they arise, RBCA will pro-actively focus on a few mobility-related problems in 2016-17 with the overarching goal of improving pedestrian safety. An action plan was adopted during the September RBCA board meeting and following are RBCA’s priorities for 2016-17.

Priority 1: Advocate for safety improvements along NE 65th Street between 15th Avenue NE and 40th Avenue NE. Rationale: NE 65th Street has been identified as one of the most dangerous streets in the city. Over the last three years, 68 people have been hospitalized after crashes on NE 65th Street between 5th and 35th Avenues. One person died. Injuries were sustained by motorists, bikers, and pedestrians.

Priority 2: Advocate for the enforcement of speeding laws and road improvements to reduce speeding motor vehicles on NE 55th Street, NE 65th Street, and NE 75th Street. Rationale: Drivers speeding in their motor vehicles was the most common complaint among community members who took the RBCA mobility survey.

Priority 3: Educate community members about laws regarding yielding to pedestrians. Rationale: In addition to drivers speeding on neighborhood streets, community members commonly complain about drivers not yielding to pedestrians crossing arterial roads. Many children walk to school and must cross at least one arterial road.

Priority 4: Continue to advocate and search for funding for sidewalks on NE 50th Street between 30th and 35th Avenues NE. Rationale: This is an ongoing RBCA project.  University Village has given mitigation funds to SDOT with a recommendation that the money be spent to build sidewalks on NE 50th Street. The funds could pay for about half of the project. As one of the few neighborhood streets that lead to the U-Village area, sidewalks on NE 50th Street are needed to increase pedestrian safety and access to this major retail area.

Community Involvement: Ravenna-Bryant community members are encouraged to become part of the solution. If you are interested in working on any of the priorities, please leave a message on our Contact Us page or attend a RBCA board meeting (first Tuesday of the month, 6:30 p.m. at Ravenna-Eckstein Community Center.) The more people who advocate for safety improvements the more likely we will be successful!

Resources: Here are a few resources that inform RBCA’s work on mobility safety issues: