Seattle Freeway Lid Idea Moves Forward

A proposal to build a freeway lid over Interstate 5 in central Seattle is gaining political support, with a number of city councilmembers and state representatives backing the idea. In October, a volunteer collaboration released conceptual designs for the Lid I-5 campaign, reports Natalie Bicknell:

Offering sophisticated glimpses into the potential future uses of the freeway lid, the conceptual designs showcase amenities such as open space, affordable housing, increased pedestrian and bicycle connections, public schools, and different scales of commercial development that could all be incorporated into the downtown core with the construction of a freeway lid covering the currently vacant space above the I-5 corridor.

A feasibility study is next on the agenda. The Office of Planning and Community Development received $1.5 million to fund the study, which will identify opportunities from lidding the freeway trench, such as expansion of utilities and development of green infrastructure.

“The City needs to think of bigger and more ambitious solutions for climate change, including increasing urban density and green infrastructure, both of which would facilitated by lidding I-5,” says Bicknell.