In this issue: 

Spotlight on:    The Sustainable City

Options:           Seattle Monorail Celebrates 50 Years of Service

Tools:               New Real-Time Bus Arrival Signs on Third Avenue

Spotlight of the Month:  The Sustainable City

  The Sustainable City. Seattle's streets are more than a transportation system. They are the canvas on which we build a great place to live. Streets provide mobility and access to homes, jobs, education and services. They also reflect our values, allowing us to support our neighborhoods, address global warming and build healthy communities.

Seattle is building a sustainable transportation system that supports a variety of goals--providing safe, affordable and efficient means of travel; improving the transit connections between our neighborhoods; offering healthy choices like walking and biking; reducing our environmental impact; and supporting economic development and sustainable growth. Successful stewardship of the system requires thoughtful, deliberate and strategic action. Read the 2012 Transportation Action Agenda to learn more about policies, actions and measures being implemented in the next two years to accomplish this.

Options to Get Around

Making Streets Safer for All Travelers. New crosswalks, an uphill bike lane and two new crosswalks on Nickerson Street have made it safer to walk and bicycle. Since August 2010, when SDOT re-channeled the street, collisions along Nickerson Street have fallen by 23 percent. Walking and biking along the street or catching bus routes 13, 17 and 31 have never been easier.

Pedestrian improvements completed by early April on NW 90th Street between 13th and 14th Avenues NW will include wider sidewalks, curbs and planter strips, providing safer access to local schools, services and bus rapid transit. Click here to see details and a map.

The Seattle Monorail celebrates 50 years of service.  Ride free on March 24 from 8:30 AM to 9 PM if you bring an old Monorail ticket dated between 1962 and 2010 or a picture of yourself as a child riding the Seattle Monorail.  There are a ton of fun activities going on that day, so get on board.  The monorail is a great way to travel between Downtown and Uptown.  Trains depart every ten minutes.

Tools to Help You Walk, Bike and Ride

Get Real--Real-time Bus Arrivals. Passengers wondering when their Metro bus will pick them up have a new tool at northbound Third and James (King County Courthouse) and southbound Third and Pine (Columbia Sportswear) bus stops.  SDOT and its partners installed these real-time bus arrival signs that face directly onto the bustling Third Avenue transit corridor and provide up-to-the-minute estimates of incoming bus arrivals for the 900 people boarding buses at the Courthouse and 3,600 at Columbia Sportswear each weekday. 

Plan a Trip Around the Sound without using a car. Explore Puget Sound by bus or rail. Sound Transit makes it easy with their new regional trip planner. Enter in the address you are starting from and going to, or click on the nifty map to choose a route. 

Walking is not only a great way to make your trips; walking just 30 minutes a day will help you live longer and healthier. Get started by joining the American Heart Association for National Walking Day on Wednesday, April 4.  Lace up your sneakers and walk with us from Union Bank at 1200 Fifth Avenue at noon. Visit Puget Sound Heartwalk for more information and to find other community walking locations.  

Tips and Inspiration to Help You Walk, Bike and Ride

  Take a Hike!  Ever wonder if you really could take a hike trip without using a car for part of the trip? It's not a problem if you know about "transit hike." Here's a day trip you could do to Point Roberts in British Columbia in three easy steps.

Upcoming

Seattle Center Events in April

April 13-15 Cherry Blossom & Japanese Cultural Festival

April 22 Celebrate Earth Day and launch the Seattle Center's Next Fifty by celebrating local efforts to reduce, reuse, conserve, and work together for a better global future. Evening activities include a dynamic showcase and interactive discussion of work by local luminaries who will explore the future of sustainability in the next 50 years. Make sure to check out the mobility exhibit while you are there!  Location:  Next 50 Plaza and Playhouse (formerly Intiman Theater).

 April 27-29 World Rhythm Festival

Walk, bike or ride to these free events: Take the monorail from Westlake Center, ride your bike, or bike and ride on Metro routes 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 16, 18, 24, and 33. 

Subscribe, Share Feedback and View Past Newsletters