It’s the first week of school for Seattle Public Schools, which means you’ll see a lot more kids out walking and biking.
Seattle Public Schools started the school year on schedule Wednesday after the district and the Seattle Education Association reached a tentative contract agreement late Tuesday, averting a potential strike. Union members had voted to authorize a strike if an agreement wasn’t reached; Seattle’s last teacher strike delayed the start of school by five days in 2022. Details of the new agreement are still subject to approval by union members and the Seattle School Board.
The Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) says that about 1 in 3 elementary students walk or bike to school, and that more than half of kids get there in ways other than by car. As a reminder, the speed limit in school zones is 20 miles per hour whenever children are present and when yellow flashing lights are on. New school-zone safety cameras were installed on 3rd Ave NW near Greenwood Elementary and another on Fremont Ave N near BF Day Elementary.
SDOT has created several “School Streets” in Seattle, which are streets near schools that are closed to through-traffic. School Streets are open for school buses and people walking and biking, but are not open to drop-offs and pick-ups.
There are 21 School Streets in Seattle, three of which are in Ballard:
- Whittier Elementary School: Two blocks (on 13th Ave NW and on 14th Ave NW between NW 75th St and NW 77th St
- Salmon Bay K-8: 19th Ave NW between NW 65th St and NW 67th St
- St. Alphonsus School: NW 58th St between 14th Ave NW and 15th Ave NW
SDOT also has several safety projects near schools, one of which is at Ingraham High School, where they’ve added new protected bike lanes to N 130th St. Another upcoming project in the Haller Lake area is the 1st Ave NE shared use path for safer, easier connections to James Baldwin Elementary School, Northacres Park, the Pinehurst Station, and other mobility and transit improvements around NE 130th St.
Photo: SDOT