Op-Ed: A Bold but Attainable Vision for Seattle’s Third Avenue

The Urbanist’s editorial board speaks out in favor of a bold and actionable plan for Seattle’s Third Avenue, one of the busiest transit corridors in the country but “a place where many a plan goes to die.”

At The Urbanist, we believe the Third Avenue plan must focus on improving transit service and pedestrian safety. Some sections have great opportunities for street art, pocket parks, and sidewalk cafes. If we make the street more walkable and the bus stops pleasant, safe, and busy, then street life will follow.

The board writes that the plan “should also recognize and promote the unique strengths and needs along each of the distinct sections of the street,” and recommends treating each of the street’s four segments separately, using street design to enhance each neighborhood’s existing assets.

The board also calls on the city to invest in ways to help people facing mental health and substance abuse crises, citing the rise of mental health issues and opioid use during the pandemic, which, in addition to harming users, has also led to an increasingly negative public perception of Third Avenue and, more broadly, the city’s public transit.

According to the board, “Policymakers must acknowledge that Third Avenue is going to continue to be a transit workhorse, but it can be walkable and loaded with street activation, too.” Cautioning against more lofty but unattainable plans, the board writes, “But what we need isn’t another big dreamy visioning exercise that goes nowhere or settles on a small incremental change. There are actions and investments that could be made that would produce real results.”