International PARK(ing) Day Plus+, where small sections of streets are turned into temporary parks for a day or two, is happening this Friday and Saturday, with three sites in Greenwood.
Sustainable Greenwood-Phinney will put up a site at 8100 Greenwood Ave. N. on Saturday, and Green Bean Coffeehouse at 8525 Greenwood Ave. N., plans to “paint the neighborhood green” on Saturday.
Greenwood-Phinney Greenways and Coyle’s Bakeshop have teamed up for an installation at Greenwood Avenue North and North 83rd Street, with a pop-up park in front of the bakery, temporary curb bulbs at the intersection and other amenities across 83rd at Luso Food and Wine. The project is funded partly by a Neighborhood Matching Fund award from the Seattle Department of Neighborhoods.
In addition to providing a fun public space to hang out in our thriving local business district, our installation seeks to temporarily improve the safety of the unmarked crosswalk on Greenwood Ave at 83rd, particularly for pedestrians. N 83rd Street is a proposed future greenway in Seattle’s Bicycle Master Plan and connects to other key routes as well as to two nearby elementary schools. Making the crossing safer and more visible will enhance our community by improving mobility options for those not driving (especially children and their families walking and biking to schools), and will support the growing business district by improving access to the businesses.
One way to make it safer for pedestrians to cross a busy street is to shorten the crossing distance and make them more visible to people driving. This can be achieved by creating curb bulbs, which we’ll be doing as a temporary demonstration project. The curb bulbs will bring the edges of the crosswalk out to the near edge of the bike lane, where cyclists and drivers are better able to see people waiting to cross the street. As it is currently designed, people waiting to cross are obscured by cars parked close to the crosswalk, creating a hazard.
