SEATTLE — As more than 50,000 Seattle Public Schools students head back to class, the Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) says voter-approved transportation levy dollars are helping make school routes safer.
The city is in the process of completing 70 safety projects near public schools as part of the $1.55 billion Seattle Transportation Levy approved by voters in 2024. According to SDOT, more than 30 of those projects have already been completed. One of the improvements students and families may notice is a traffic safety change known as “intersection daylighting,” which restricts parking near intersections to improve visibility for drivers and pedestrians near corners.
“If you can picture here at this intersection, if there weren’t any stop signs, people are navigating looking for other people driving and looking for kids as they are trying to cross, and kids just tend to be less visible,” said Sara Colling, SDOT’s Safe Routes to School Program Manager.
The improvements are part of Seattle’s Safe Routes to School program, which city officials say has now completed safety upgrades at every public school in Seattle.
Bergerson said the projects vary based on the needs of individual neighborhoods and schools.
“Sometimes that’s putting speed humps on busy streets to make sure people are moving slower, or sometimes that means changing all lanes on a street so that people have protection as they are biking to school,” she said.
According to SDOT, completed projects include:
- New sidewalks
- Marked crosswalks at 20 schools
- New all-way stops
- Longer pedestrian crossing times at signals
- Audible push buttons for pedestrians
- Protected bike lane upgrades at four schools
- School street improvements at three middle schools
School street improvements create vehicle-free zones adjacent to schools during key times of the day.
“That is where a block next to a school is closed to cars. It’s just open for buses and for kids to walk and bike to school,” Colling said.
SDOT says about one in three Seattle elementary school students walks or bikes to school, a rate that has doubled since 2005.
As students return to campus, the city is also reminding children and families to avoid distractions, wear helmets while biking, and stay alert around traffic.
“Part of that is knowing the rules of the road. When you’re crossing the street, you need to stop looking around you, you need to listen, and make sure people driving see you before you go,” said Colling.
City leaders say additional school safety improvements are still on the way. The transportation levy will continue funding projects through 2032.
SDOT officials said 30 of the 70 planned school area projects have already been completed.