Seattle mulls next steps for Healthy Streets program
The City of Seattle is considering reopening some residential streets that were closed to car traffic in the early months of the pandemic.
The Healthy Streets program was a way for people to get out of the house during lockdown for outdoor activities while social distancing.
Summer Jawson, program manager with the Seattle Transportation Department, says the city will make many of those closures permanent.
Some neighborhoods like Beacon Hill have used the street closure for different kinds of outdoor activities.
“They’ve been hosting a Halloween parade there as kind of a new way to do Halloween that started during Covid,” Jawson said. The Halloween event, she added, has continued on to this day.
Others, like those in West Seattle, will need more time before the city decides what to do next, Jawson said.
“We’re getting a lot more traffic data now that the West Seattle Bridge is reopened," she said. "And we’re seeing traffic patterns return to normal there.”
Jawson notes that at the height of the pandemic there were up to 28 miles of closed streets.
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Ruby de Luna
Reporter
Ruby de Luna is a reporter with a focus on food and how it intersects with health, communities, and culture. She has also reported on health care, and immigrant communities.
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