How We're Making An Impact

So far in 2026, we've achieved a breakthrough to accelerate street safety improvements, made progress toward a better bike network, and built momentum for people-first streets in every neighborhood.

This year also marks our 15th year of transforming Seattle’s streets — from the city’s first neighborhood greenways to a growing movement to make it safer and easier to walk, bike, and roll in every neighborhood. In early 2026, we proudly stepped into a new chapter as Seattle Streets Alliance, with a name to better reflect who we are and build a future with even more impact.

Thanks to the collective support of our donors, volunteers, partners and allies, we're creating safer, more welcoming places to walk, bike, roll, and gather across the city.

Check out the stories below for a closer look at how we're making an impact, together.

Accelerating Vision Zero and Safety Improvements

We won the most important traffic safety announcement since Seattle adopted Vision Zero as a strategy and goal in 2015. Now we are working to ensure these safety commitments turn into real changes on our streets.

Seattle has spent more than a decade working toward Vision Zero — the goal to eliminate traffic deaths and serious injuries — but progress has fallen far short. Seattle Streets Alliance has been working hold the city accountable to Vision Zero for years.

This summer, in response to increased pressure from Seattle Streets Alliance, coalition partners, and voices of thousands of community members, the Mayor launched a major new push to accelerate Seattle’s Vision Zero work and get proven safety improvements onto our streets faster. We joined the announcement (pictured above) of the executive order, which is intended to bring greater urgency, coordination, and accountability to the work. This will include:

• Safer intersections: Improvements at high-collision locations, more pedestrian head-start signals, and better visibility at intersections (see graphic below).
• Safer speeds: Expanded automated traffic enforcement and other tools to reduce dangerous driving speeds.
• Safer trucks: New attention to large-vehicle safety, including side guards.
• Faster safety projects: A renewed focus on getting improvements built on some of Seattle’s most dangerous streets, including Aurora Ave N and Rainier Ave S.
• More accountability: An updated Vision Zero Action Plan and better public tracking of Seattle’s progress.

Seattle Streets Alliance will continue to be a champion for Vision Zero — pushing for the City to follow through, supporting neighborhood advocates fighting for safer streets, and keeping attention on the changes we know can save lives.

Read the full story.

Connecting Seattle’s Bike Network

We made significant strides advancing our vision for a connected and accessible bike network throughout Seattle.

Nearly half (48%) of all trips in Seattle are 3 miles or less, the ideal distance for biking. Yet most people don’t feel comfortable biking with vehicle traffic. To fix this, we’ve been making significant strides advancing our vision for a connected and accessible bike network throughout Seattle..

So far in 2026, we've celebrated major milestones including completion of the Yesler Way gap (before and after, pictured above) connecting the waterfront and Pioneer Square, completion of the 4th Ave protected bike lane extension to Seattle Center, the announcement of concrete bike lane barriers for 8th Ave connecting the downtown core to the Westlake Trail. This summer, we also celebrated the new protected waterfront route around Elliott Bay from Interbay to Alki and the years of an community advocacy that made it possible.

Still, major gaps remain. In May, we launched a new phase of our UnGapTheMap campaign to encourage SDOT to build out priority pieces of the citywide bike network, and they have begun work on 12th Ave S connecting Little Saigon and Capitol Hill.

We continue to push to complete key bike connections along the spine of Beacon Hill and in South Park, and closing gaps connecting the University and Fremont bridges.

Read the full story.

Piloting People Streets

Pushing for a People-First Pike Place

In early 2026, we won an extension of the one-year Pike Place pedestrian pilot through Labor Day. During the pilot, visitation has increased by 130,000 people, commercial sales grew by $12.4 million, and 98% of respondents to a recent SDOT survey supported vehicle barriers — including 96% of Market businesses and staff surveyed.

Despite that support, the City is scaling back the pilot this winter to allow general-purpose car traffic back onto Pike Place Monday to Thursday from October through March. Seattle must aim higher. We'll continue fighting for a Pike Place that works for the Market and keeps people at the heart of the street in every season.

Read more in our Urbanist op-ed.

Bringing a Pedestrian Street to Every Neighborhood

Our vision is that community members will be empowered to create a “People Street” in the heart of every neighborhood — vibrant places to gather, play, build community, support small businesses, and enhance the quality of our lives.

This year, we ramped up support for eight locally-led campaigns across the city by providing neighborhood organizers with policy and organizing expertise, citywide coalition building, and communications and media support. In the U District, the Ave for All held their first pilot pedestrian days this fall.

We also successfully pushed for the City Council adoption of the new Washington State shared streets law and supported SDOT’s People Streets program launch to help eliminate barriers to neighborhood projects.

Watch the short Ave for All video on YouTube.

Creating a Lake Washington Boulevard for Everyone

Lake Washington Boulevard is not just a street — it's one of Seattle’s greatest parks. Seattle families enjoy walking, biking, rolling, swimming, pleasure drives, and more along the 3-mile public shoreline between Mount Baker Beach and Seward Park.

This year, our Lake Washington Boulevard advocacy led the Mayor to expand Bicycle Weekends to every summer weekend through Labor Day, for the first time since 2019. We also partnered with Rainier Valley Safe Streets for a Lake Washington Boulevard Bash on August 15.

We continue to push to make the Boulevard safer and more welcoming for everyone, and ensure a strong, consistent Bicycle Weekends schedule in 2027 and beyond.