Access Seattle: Working for South Lake Union Mobility

If you've visited Seattle's unique South Lake Union neighborhood lately, you've likely seen not only the many attractions in this booming community but also the significant construction. In fact, South Lake Union is one of the neighborhoods identified by SDOT as a construction hub, or area experiencing multiple, simultaneous construction projects in close proximity and with considerable cumulative impacts. Those impacts often hamper mobility. That's one of the reasons the Access Seattle Initiative came to be, to better serve the city through its growth and development surge. Access Seattle is an initiative launched in 2013 to keep Seattle moving during unprecedented pressure on our transportation system: from increasing population density; new employment centers; and, a significant construction surge. In the South Lake Union area, all three of these factors come into play, creating daily travel challenges for residents and businesses.

A major Access Seattle goal is to proactively plan and manage the city's transportation system to move people and goods more effectively. The South Lake Union community has a similar goal, of sorts, as part of the South Lake Union/Uptown Triangle Mobility Plan. That plan lays out the community's vision for all travel modes, to accommodate growth that, "…demands a paradigm shift in how people travel…" The integrated and interconnected neighborhood vision calls for partnerships; the Access Seattle team is working to be one of those partners.

To learn more about Seattle Department of Transportation initiatives read the SDOT Blog.