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Renton lays out prioritized sidewalk and walkway plan, flags utility, slope and funding constraints
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Summary
Transportation planning staff presented a data-driven walkway/sidewalk prioritization identifying 18 highest-priority segments and 63 additional segments for later phases, emphasizing school-area connectivity and tradeoffs with utility relocation, slopes and environmental mitigation; staff cited Transportation Benefit District funds and grant-readiness as implementation drivers.
Ellen Talgo, Transportation Planning Manager in Renton’s Public Works Department, presented an update to the city’s comprehensive walkway program, describing a data-driven method that ranked streets by connectivity to schools, transit and destinations and by crash history.
Talgo said the plan produced a tiered network of priority segments—18 highest-priority segments and 63 additional priority segments—that staff hope to advance through grant-ready design and Transportation Benefit District (TBD) funding. “We used a data-driven process to prioritize how to infill as much of the missing sidewalk network as possible,” she said.
Why it matters: Council members said sidewalk infill is a long-standing local priority tied to safety—particularly for school routes—and equity. Staff gave examples of priority projects that would connect Nelson Middle School and Lindbergh High School, add sidewalks near Cleveland Richardson Park and build segments near Hazen High School.
Implementation challenges: Talgo reviewed common engineering and cost constraints: underground transmission poles that can trigger expensive relocation, steep slopes that require drainage and retaining work, and stream crossings that require environmental mitigation. She said early planning-level tiers will require preliminary engineering to determine whether full curb-and-gutter sidewalks, a protected asphalt walking path, or other lower-cost alternatives are feasible.
Utility and cost tradeoffs: Council members asked about undergrounding utilities. Staff and Director Seitz said the city’s construction standard calls for undergrounding transmission poles where feasible, but the franchise agreements, high cost and schedule impacts make widespread undergrounding uncommon. “We have never really undergrounded any power because it’s just too expensive,” Director Seitz said; staff noted that in some cases the city negotiates relocation with utilities or accepts alternative pedestrian treatments to stretch TBD dollars.
Local priorities and next steps: Council members strongly endorsed several segments near schools and neighborhoods and asked staff to consider adding projects such as Puget Drive to future tranches. Talgo said projects will be advanced through preliminary engineering and that the council may influence the final project list; some segments are already in construction and some are bundled with utility or water-quality work that supports sidewalk completion.
No votes were taken. Staff said they will continue preliminary engineering, coordinate with utilities and prepare projects for grant opportunities and future TIP cycles.
Sources: Presentation by Ellen Talgo (Transportation Planning Manager) to the Committee of the Whole.
