We, the Friends of Woodland Park Avenue North, request the Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) install additional speed bumps on Woodland Park Avenue North to (a) address problems created by the re-design of the road between 42nd and 43rd Streets and (b) further improve safety along this high-volume residential street.

While we appreciate SDOT’s recent efforts to redesign the portion of Woodland Park Avenue North between 42nd and 43rd Streets to help slow traffic, we believe the project has not fully achieved its intended safety goals for the street. We therefore request the addition of speed bumps this summer between 43rd and 46th Streets, along with the other improvements outlined below for the mid- and long-term. 

Our top priority right now is the addition of speed bumps this summer on Woodland Park Avenue North between 43rd and 46th Streets.

See “Project Request Details” below for specifics. 

Rationale: Neighborhood Survey Indicates Need for Additional Traffic Calming

The traffic-calming project completed on Woodland Park Avenue North by SDOT in April 2026 did not fully achieve its objectives, according to local residents surveyed this summer[1].  They noted significant concerns with the project’s outcomes. The 35% response rate from an email list of almost 200 individuals demonstrates strong engagement by neighbors on this issue. 

The Survey’s Good News:

·       74% of respondents agree or strongly agree that “The speed bumps on Woodland Park Avenue are effective at slowing traffic.” This was one of the survey’s strongest findings and suggests additional speed bumps could further slow traffic as it approaches the narrowed portion of the road, where many accidents have occurred.  

·       64% of respondents either agree or strongly agree that speeds appear to have slowed on Woodland Park Avenue between 42nd and 43rd Streets. However, this is tempered by the fact that only 32% of respondents agree or strongly agree that speeds have slowed on other portions of Woodland Park Avenue North between 40th and 46th Streets. 

The Survey’s Bad News:

·       The street overall does not feel safer. Just 36% of respondents agree or strongly agree with the statement, “Overall, the street is safer than it was before,” while 42% disagree or strongly disagree.   

·       72% of respondents disagree (32%) or strongly disagree (40%) with the statement, “The street is safer for cars that are parked along the street.”

• We believe the main issue is that drivers are still entering the narrowed section of Woodland Park Avenue between 42nd and 43rd Streets at high speeds, because they may not recognize that the roadway is about to change from wide to narrow.
• Parked cars along Woodland Park Avenue between 42nd and 43rd Streets have been struck multiple times, resulting in multiple totaled vehicles and damage to side mirrors and rear bumpers[2]. Most reported incidents have been hit and run collisions. One neighbor’s car has been hit three times since April. 

·       By a wide margin, neighbors feel the road redesign does not make it safer to turn onto Woodland Park Avenue from side streets (28% agree it’s safer, versus 51% who disagree), or ride a bike on Woodland Park Avenue (20% agree it’s safer, versus 51% who disagree). 

Why We Are Asking SDOT for Help: This request by Friends of Woodland Park Avenue North was initially submitted in February 2026 to District 4 Councilmember (CM) Maritza Rivera, in response to her invitation to District 4 residents to apply for funding she secured for her district for traffic-calming. Since February, we have not received a response from CM Rivera’s office despite contacting her office on a monthly basis in an effort to connect with her and/or her staff to discuss our request further.    

We are therefore turning to SDOT directly and asking that our request be addressed this summer, hoping both to make use of any available funding this year and to take advantage of the remaining dry-weather construction season.   

 Project Request Details

TOP PRIORITY

1. SPEED BUMPS. We propose adding speed bumps at several locations to slow driver speeds. 

    A. Woodland Park Ave just north of Allen Place

    B. Woodland Park Ave just north of 44th Street

    C. Woodland Park Ave just north of 43rd Street

 
New bumps will extend the traffic-calming effect of the two speed bumps that were recently installed on Woodland Park Avenue around 42nd Street.

MID-PRIORITY

2. ANGLE PARKING instead of parallel parking:

     A. Between 41st and 42nd Streets, on the west side, we propose SDOT consider angled parking. There is only one driveway on this block, making it well-suited for angled parking. Angled parking, in turn, narrows the driveable roadway and thereby can reduce driver speeds. 41st Street is a high-crossing location for elementary school children walking to BF Day Elementary School via the pedestrian bridge at 41st and Aurora, and is currently a safety concern. We know this because the traffic circle at 41st and Woodland Park Avenue - right where the "walking school bus" crosses - is hit and severely damaged on a regular basis, at least monthly and often more frequently. 

    B. Between 44th and 45th Streets, on the west side (there are only two driveways)

    C. Between 45th and 46th Streets on both/either side of the street

Note: The rationale for narrowing the roadway between 44th and 46th is that many drivers who want to bypass Stone or Aurora will choose to turn onto Woodland Park Avenue at 46th, but as they head south on Woodland Park, they currently encounter an exceptionally wide roadway (over 44 feet) that can encourage speeding. If Woodland Park Avenue is narrowed here, it could deter drivers from speeding or from cutting through the neighborhood altogether, and also encourage them to enter the narrowed roadway between 42nd and 43rd Streets at a slower speed, which would improve safety for all.

LONGER-TERM PRIORITY

3. CROSSWALK/CROSSING: We support the request by other neighbors and the greenways advocacy group for a new pedestrian crossing at Bridge Way. It  will help better connect upper and lower East Fremont -- two sections of the neighborhood that are currently divided by busy Bridge Way.

Background -- About Our Historic Street

Woodland Park Avenue is the main north-south thoroughfare along the western edge of a densely populated pocket of Wallingford’s urban village, situated between Hwy 99 and Stone Way.  The street’s unusual width attracts drivers who wish to cut through the neighborhood to bypass Hwy 99 and Stone Way, usually at speeds well in excess of the 20mph limit.  In the past, Woodland Park Avenue was a trolley-car street that carried passengers from the northern edge of Lake Union to Woodland Park. Woodland Park Avenue is a designated future Greenway that enjoys support from state lawmakers and a citizen greenways group for future improvements that would help calm the street and re-connect the East Fremont and West Wallingford neighborhoods. 

 

[1] Friends of Woodland Park Avenue North conducted the survey in early August 2026, four months after the road redesign was finished.     

[2] An informal survey of residents indicates the following damage has occurred to cars parked along the redesigned section of Woodland Park Avenue North in the last 4 month: 2 cars totaled, 1 car with significant body damage due to collision, 1 car with rear end damage and a broken windshield, 1 car with rear-end damage and loss of headlight and backup cameras, 1 car’s struck in the back panel, and 5 mirrors clipped/broken.