01.30.23

SODO to Get Safer for Pedestrians and Bicyclists Thanks to $25.6M DOT Grant

Safe Streets for All program, created by Sen. Cantwell, delivers funding for bike lanes, new sidewalk, intersection and highway safety improvements

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA), Chair of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, announced that the City of Seattle will receive a $25,654,000 federal grant to make the streets of SODO safer for pedestrians and bicyclists. 

The grant comes from the Department of Transportation's Safe Streets for All grant program. Sen. Cantwell created the program, steered its authorization of the program through the Commerce Committee, and ensured that the program was among the transportation investments included in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. Safe Streets For All grants help local governments carry out Vision Zero plans and other improvements to reduce crashes and fatalities, including for cyclists and pedestrians.

“Fatalities on our roads are increasing at a historic rate,” said Senator Cantwell. “This Safe Streets for All award for Seattle will help improve 117 intersections where 60 percent of the fatal and serious pedestrian collisions occur, create 1.4 miles of new sidewalks, and four miles of protected bike lanes.”

The city plans to improve the most intersections in southeast SODO where the highest number of serious pedestrian and bicycle accidents occur. The grant will fund the following projects:

  • Four miles of protected bike lanes
  • 1.5 miles of new sidewalks
  • 4.5 miles of arterial calming treatments (such treatments can include speed bumps, horizontal shifts, and roadway narrowing)
  • 117 intersection treatments (such treatments can include new signage, new pavement markings, and removal of clutter)

Bruce Harrell, Mayor of Seattle, said: “President Biden, Secretary Buttigieg, Senator Cantwell, and our federal delegation share our One Seattle commitment to ensuring every person -- no matter how they get around -- deserves to be safe. This ‘Safe Streets’ grant means we will accelerate efforts to improve and innovate our sidewalks and streets, especially in underserved and disproportionately impacted communities. From calming traffic on high-crash streets to helping families safely walk and bike to school, we must do everything we can to reverse the heartbreaking trend of people being injured on our streets. We're grateful for this partnership and the significant resources that will go toward keeping people safe.”

Additionally, King County is among 16 communities statewide that will receive Safe Streets for All grants to fund the creation of comprehensive safety action plans. More information and list of recipients of those grants is available HERE.

Thanks to Sen. Cantwell's leadership, the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law will deliver an estimated $7.6 billion in transportation investments to Washington state. In the first year since the law's signing in November 2021, it funded nearly 500 transportation projects in the State of Washington.