The Licton Springs segment of Aurora is a neighborhood full of potential. The area from N 84th Street to N 110th Street is designated an Urban Village (Aurora-Licton Urban Village) and is already zoned for tall, mixed-use buildings - ideal for transit-oriented development adjacent to the highly-used E-Line. Small businesses and restaurants line the blocks and Oak Tree Village serves as the heart of commercial core.
But the Aurora roadway divides the urban village and makes nearly every experience unpleasant. Crossing the seven lanes of traffic is dangerous, especially when safe and signalized crossings are infrequent. People are, instead, seemingly invited to use unmarked crosswalks and “ADA accessible” pedestrian islands. In fact, an 81-year-old woman was struck and killed while crossing at just one of these pedestrian islands in 2019.
Even if you were to avoid crossing the road, walking along it is neither safe nor pleasant. At the worst, the sidewalks in this area are in disrepair or entirely missing. At their best, traffic poles, utility boxes, and crowded bus stops have narrowed the pedestrian space and made it hazardous for most people with disabilities. Riding a bike or scooter on Aurora is a dangerous undertaking, though technically allowed in the bus lane (which is a bus lane for only 7 hours a day). Finally, the lack of trees and greenery and the noise and pollution from traffic only feet away make it entirely unwelcoming to people not in cars.
Prioritizing People Above Cars
We want to see:
More space for people
Wider sidewalks with more separation from traffic
More and safer crossings that are truly accessible to all
More trees, plantings, and open green spaces
Reduced speed limits from 30mph to 25 mph
Reduced lane widths
Designated school zone on SR-99 near Robert Eagle Staff Middle School
Safe spaces for biking, rolling, and other alternative modes of travel
More parks, a community center and a revitalized Oak Tree Village with permanent, pedestrian plaza
Anti-displacement policies and funding to ensure that small businesses are protected and have affordable rents in the future
Revised zoning citywide so that needed housing is not crammed only into Urban Villages
Street-End Plazas
We don’t need to close an entire street to vehicles in order to improve safety for pedestrians. By limiting access to neighborhoods that are adjacent to Aurora, we can reclaim one side of the residential streets that connect to the busy arterial. This type of road closure became popular in the early days of the pandemic, when select Neighborhood Greenways were closed to through-traffic using a simple barricade positioned at an intersection in the lane of oncoming traffic.
The redesigned Bell Street in Downtown Seattle offers more space to people on foot and bike while still allowing slow moving traffic to safely pass through the area.
Street-End Plazas were actually proposed in a 2009 Land Use and Visioning Study for the small business district on Aurora north of Green Lake, intended as improvements to E-Line bus stops. You can experience a Street-End Plaza on the west side of Aurora at N 84th Street.
A permanent closure of one-half of the right of way creates more space to plant trees, build parks, or place bike and scooter parking corrals. Not only would Street-End Plazas create more open space for people, they also aid in traffic safety by reducing cut-through traffic.
Oak Tree Village
Home to several restaurants, businesses, the AMC movie theatre and an international grocery store, Oak Tree Village is the heart of the Aurora Licton Urban Village. Community events frequently take advantage of the very large parking area that is seldom ever crowded, drawing hundreds of neighbors together several times a year.
What makes Oak Tree Village especially unique is that it was the site of a school for 100 years. Though Oak Lake School was torn down in 1985, the Seattle Public School District still owns the land. This unique space should be repurposed for community-use and a permanent pedestrian-only plaza built in the heart of the neighborhood.
Through our outreach efforts in the community, the Aurora Reimagined Coalition heard that the ALUV neighborhood is lacking truly public spaces - places where people can exist without needing to spend any money. While it sounds simple, in the United States it is difficult to find spaces that are open to all - regardless of income or wealth - beyond parks and sidewalks.
A permanent open-air pedestrian plaza will attract crowds like this year round.
Imagine an open-air pedestrian plaza that serves as the gathering point for the neighborhood. Situated at the nexus of a busy pedestrian/bike corridor and a busier transit corridor, Oak Tree Village is an ideal location for a community center, childcare facility, seasonal farmer’s market, small business investment project, and more.