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Council discusses Pedestrian Safety, Perkins Way trial and citywide safe‑streets planning
Summary
At the retreat council and staff prioritized sidewalks and pedestrian safety after a city survey, discussed a possible test conversion of Perkins Way to one‑way/local‑access, and agreed to develop a citywide safety/priority matrix and refreshed safe‑streets study for grant‑ready projects.
Council members and staff focused on pedestrian and multimodal safety as a top community priority in a March 1 retreat. The city’s survey ranked sidewalks and pedestrian safety as the number‑one community priority, and council and staff used the retreat to map near‑term steps.
Council members proposed a limited test on Perkins Way — converting a segment to one‑way westbound or piloting a local‑access/Healthy Streets closure during a defined trial period — with advance outreach to directly affected residents and follow‑up evaluation. Staff said they would pursue neighborhood engagement, data collection and a before‑and‑after analysis to test effects on traffic patterns, safety and maintenance needs.
Participants also agreed on the need for a formal decision matrix to prioritize projects across road condition, pedestrian access, equity, crash history and grant competitiveness. Several council members noted lower‑cost alternatives such as extruded curbs, speed humps, improved crosswalk lighting and targeted street sweeping to keep new shoulders usable.
Staff said a refreshed safe‑streets study and a consolidated, GIS‑enabled project pipeline would make the city more competitive for regional and federal grants (including traffic‑safety and active‑transportation funding). The council asked staff to bring a proposed project‑prioritization matrix and GIS approach back for review.
