Vision Zero Arterial Traffic Calming Project

Project Overview

The Arterial Traffic Calming program is part of Vision Zero at the Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT). We work on projects that help people drive at safer speeds. Street design interventions to help us reach safe speeds is one of the core elements of our Vision Zero Safe System Approach. 

The safety projects vary from location to location. They may include: 

• Speed humps with wheel cut-outs for transit and emergency response vehicles
• “No turn on red” signs
• Marked crosswalks
• Intersection daylighting: This means adding parking restrictions to improve visibility at intersections.
• Radar Speed Signs
• Street striping changes to narrow the field of vision
• Islands that give you a safe place to pause while crossing the street
• Leading Pedestrian Intervals

We identify arterial corridors for priority traffic calming using: 

• Our High Injury Network, the city streets with a history of serious injury and fatal crashes
• The City’s Race and Social Equity Composite Index, a tool based on census data that helps us know where underserved communities live
• Data about high rates of speeding around the city

A 2024 project in NW Seattle shows many traffic calming improvements at an intersection. This also shows an example of daylighting, which restricts parking near the crosswalk for better visibility. 

Project Locations

Installed, upcoming, and planned Arterial Traffic Calming locations: 

Installed in 2024

• Dayton Ave N between N 105th St and N 125th St   
• Meridian Ave N between N 103rd St and N 122nd St 
• Renton Ave S between S Ryan St and S Fountain St
• 1st Ave NE between NE 92nd St and NE 103rd St 
• 5th Ave NE between NE 125th St and NE 92nd St 
• Roosevelt Way NE between NE 125th St and NE 113th St 
• NE 65th St between 8th Ave NE and 20th Ave NE 
• 8th Ave S between S Concord St and S Cambridge St 
• S Orcas St between Beacon Ave S and Rainier Ave S 
• S Othello St between Martin Luther King Jr Way S and Rainier Ave S  

Upcoming - expected installation in 2025

• SW Trenton St between 35th Ave SW and Delridge Way SW
• 26th Ave SW between SW Barton St and SW Roxbury St
• 16th Ave SW between SW Brandon St and SW Roxbury St
• S Roxbury St between Renton Ave S and Waters Ave S
• Greenwood Ave N between Holman Rd N and Phinney Ave N
• Sand Point Way NE between NE 110th St and NE 125th St
• Fuhrman Ave E between Eastlake Ave E and E Shelby St
• MLK Jr Way S between S Henderson St and S Ryan Way
• Airport Way S between S Atlantic St and S Massachusetts St
• 62nd Ave S/64th Ave S between Waters Ave S and S Prentice St

Planned - expected installation in 2026

• 24th Ave NW between NW 65th St and NW 90th St
• 8th Ave NW between Leary Way NW and NW 70th St
• Linden Ave N/Winona Ave N between NW 65th St and Aurora Ave N
• N Pacific St between Meridian Ave N and NE 40th St
• MLK Jr Way between E Union St and S Judkins St
• S Graham St between Beacon Ave S and MLK Jr Way S
• Swift Ave S/S Myrtle St between 15th Ave S and Beacon Ave S
• 51st Ave S between Rainier Ave S and S Leo St
• Corson Ave S between Airport Way S and E Marginal Way S
• Harbor Ave SW between California Way SW and SW Spokane St