Seattle permanently closing 20 miles of streets to cars, freeing them up for residents

Initiative plans to make city safer during and after Covid-19

Seattle mayor Jenny Durkan has announced that the city will permanently close 20 miles of streets to vehicles, to allow more space for residents to walk and cycle.

Ms Durkan announced the policy on Thursday, which followed the temporary closure of the affected areas that started in April.

The temporary closure was part of the Stay Healthy Streets initiative introduced amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Streets were pedestrianised in places where there was not much space to exercise outside, and Ms Durkan said the initiative would ensure that the city is able to stay safe after the pandemic.

“Safe and healthy streets are an important tool for families in our neighbourhoods to get outside, get some exercise and enjoy the nice weather,” she said in a press release.

“Over the long term, these streets will become treasured assets in our neighbourhoods,” the mayor added.

The initiative also includes plans to have traffic signals automatically show a walk sign, so that residents do not need to touch a button in order to cross the road.

Sam Zimbabwe, the Seattle Department of Transportation director, echoed the mayor’s comments in a statement, and said the initiative would make the city safer.

“Just like we must each adapt to a new normal going forward, so, too, must our city and the ways in which we get around. That is why we’re announcing a nimble, creative approach towards rapidly investing in a network of places for people walking and people biking of all ages and abilities,” he said.

“2020 will remain a year of thoughtful, forward progress as we build a safer, more liveable Seattle for all.”

Seattle has seen a 57-per-cent fall in vehicle traffic since the pandemic began, according to the Seattle Department of Transportation.

The body said in a statement that the initiative was intended to help reduce the fall in traffic permanently.

The Seattle Bicycle Advisory Board praised the scheme, and said that it would allow the city to become more environmentally friendly.

“It is the kind of bold actions we need to encourage healthy options for recreating and travelling in our city as we deal with our current crisis, and discourage a return to high levels of traffic and associated pollution and injuries as we move into recovery,” the statement read.

“All these actions together will help Seattle come back as a safer, healthier, and more climate friendly city.”

Washington state has more than 16,231 confirmed coronavirus cases and at least 891​ deaths.

According to a tracking project hosted by Johns Hopkins University, there are now more than 1.2 million people who have tested positive for coronavirus in the US. The death toll has reached at least 79,531.