As The Ave prepares to close one block this summer, Capitol Hill organizers set sights on Barbara Bailey Way

E Barbara Bailey is already closed to traffic every Sunday for the farmers market

By Anna Hull, UW News Lab

As the U District experiments with closing one block of The Ave to cars, Capitol Hill organizers say their neighborhood could be next if the city can balance business concerns, programming costs and climate goals.

It might feel like a blast from the past.

More than a decade ago, organizers closed a stretch of E Pike to vehicles for three Saturday nights in 2015. The Seattle Department of Transportation’s Pilot Report listed four goals in the experiment: traffic management, safety, economic vitality and activating the public space.

While many community members celebrated the pilot and other small tests of the concept in those years, some business owners voiced concerns about vehicle-carried consumers losing access to retail and restaurants. And according to SDOT’s Pilot Report, 2015’s closures only saw a 9% increase in pedestrian activity.

“I thought it was successful, but it felt like it wasn’t ready for prime time,” Brie Gyncild, the co-chair of Central Seattle Streets for All, said. “When you do a pilot like that, and I’m really curious to see what happens with The Ave, because one of the things that I think happens when you open a street to people is that it needs to be something that becomes part of daily life.”

Central Seattle Streets for All, formerly Central Seattle Greenways, is an all-volunteer group working to make streets safer for people “walking, biking, and being,” according to Gyncild. The organization’s perimeter stretches from 1-90 to SR 520, and from I-5 to Lake Washington.

Gyncild explained that Capitol Hill, like much of Seattle, is already rich in pedestrian infrastructure, including established sidewalks and a culture of walking. The neighborhood is also incredibly densely populated. Drivers enter to access destinations, but a lack of parking and heavy traffic bring frustration and distraction, making the area dangerous to pedestrians at times.

“My impression of Seattle as a whole, and certainly the downtown and central neighborhoods, is that we hit peak car maybe 15 years ago, and at that point, drivers just became very frustrated,” Gyncild said.

Central Seattle Streets for All has identified a candidate for increased pedestrianization in Capitol Hill: E Barbara Bailey Way. A short stretch of road between Broadway and 11th Ave E next to Capitol Hill Station, Barbara Bailey Way hosts the Capitol Hill Farmers Market every Sunday.

Gyncild said that community members once hoped the street would be a festival street, with so few cars someone could cross without looking. But in reality, Barbara Bailey Way is traffic-packed and curbless, making it feel uncomfortable and unsafe.

A scene from a 2016 test of closing E Pike to cars

Central Seattle Streets for All has entered early conversations with the city about a pedestrian pilot program to improve Barbara Bailey Way this fall, Gyncild said.

Community members say that the street is an excellent candidate for the people-first approach, given its standing weekly closure, and that a test run would identify any issues in closing the area –– or prove Barbara Bailey Way is ready.

SDOT selected Capitol Hill as one of three pilot “Low-Pollution Neighborhoods” in March, creating a testing ground for city-led climate reduction strategies, including pedestrian infrastructure.

“Pedestrianization and these types of streets are an ingredient to making a whole neighborhood that encourages use of transit, walking, cycling, and other modes,” SDOT climate officer Radcliffe Dacanay said. “It isn’t that a pedestrianized street reduces all emissions all at once, it’s part of a broader collective of efforts that are combined to make that impact on reduction.”

According to SDOT spokesperson Mariam Ali, city representatives joined the Seattle Streets Alliance for a walk-through of Barbara Bailey Way during the farmers market last month.

Community organizers shared their vision as SDOT representatives observed market operations and the weekly closure. Ali says the city will factor this into project options.

The re-kindling of a “people street” on Capitol Hill is hoped to not follow the path of the 2015 pilot or other short-lived pushes at pedestrianization around Pike/Pine and Broadway core.

One, the city under the Wilson administration is ready to change how Seattle uses it streets and embracing new statewide “shared streets” laws that will allow the creation of more stretches of roadway that put pedestrians and bikes first.

Two, there are the larger goals and resources of the LPN “Low-Pollution Neighborhoods” pilot. Three, there is greater appetite in the mayor’s office with Katie Wilson’s support during her campaign for exploring ideas around a “Capitol Hill Superblock” concept. Four, businesses near the street part of the development above Capitol Hill Station like Glo’s and Seasmith are already attuned to many of their customers arriving by transit and foot. Five, E Barbara Bailey Way presents a unique opportunity with an achievable end goal: full pedestrianization and the elimination of car traffic on the street.

Six? There is The Ave to show the way as it goes carless.

In the U District, one block of The Ave will be filled with games, live music, seating options and a people-first approach for two Saturdays on May 30th and June 6th. The closure will extend from NE 42nd to NE 43rd.

For U District Advocates, the advocacy organization spearheading the pilot program, a successful trial run will prove The Ave should adopt a people-centered approach permanently. The U District Advocates envision a neighborhood akin to Pike Place Market, where passersby can stay for one hour, or for an entire afternoon.

The same business concerns voiced in Capitol Hill in 2015 have factored into the U District’s pilot program, according to the executive director of the U District Partnership, Don Blakeney.

UDP leads economic development in the area. While not responsible for the summer closure, UDP represents business stakeholders on The Ave. As the neighborhood prepares for the new pedestrian landscape, Blakeney described discussions with local businesses, 170 of which are restaurants.

“When people have invested their life savings into a business and then the city is considering some pretty big changes to how that works, that creates a little bit of anxiety naturally,” Blakeney said.

UDP is also responsible for the yearly U District Street Fair, a 15-block street closure and arts festival spanning two days with more than 30 vendors. May 16 and May 17 will mark UDP’s 55th annual fair.

The fair requires a budget of over $300,000, according to Blakeney, who also explained that its success relies on a large staff and heavy communication with stakeholders. Any street closure introduces a sudden increase in available space –– without sufficient programming, the street may appear empty.

As part of the Pike closure in 2015, a drag queen performed on stage in the street in front of The Wildrose. Blakeney recollected approaching this performance, describing the moment as “the activation for the entire street.”

“It’s really hard, even with a budget, to bring life to a large piece of real estate,” Blakeney said. “It’s incredibly hard to have a visual impact on a scale that large. And so, when we do our events, we really think about, ‘how do we fill this space?’”

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