By: April Delchamps
The opportunity to shape Judkins Park
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| Aerial view of Judkins Park and the surrounding neighborhood. |
A new light rail station is opening in the Judkins Park neighborhood soon, which is going to change how people get around. More people will walk, bike and roll in the area. To prepare for this shift, we are looking at potential improvements where the I-90 ramps meet Rainier Avenue South.
The I-90 Judkins Park – Reconnecting Communities Study is a chance for the community to help shape how people travel in their neighborhood. The study brings together community voices, transportation experts and creative design to find better ways for people to travel on Rainier Avenue South at I-90.
What we are studying and why
Anyone who has walked, biked or rolled through Judkins Park has dealt with fast-moving vehicles getting on and off I-90 ramps at Rainier Avenue South. A 2018 study done by the Seattle Department of Transportation recommended that we improve these on- and off-ramps. When the new light rail station opens, even more people will use the I-90 interchange. These travelers might be traveling by foot, bike, adaptive device or many other ways. We are considering ways to improve safety at all five I-90 on-ramps and off-ramps at Rainier Avenue South. Our goals are to:
- improve safe travel for all—particularly for pedestrians and cyclists
- strengthen community connectivity
- improve access to the Judkins Park Link light rail station
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| Map of the Judkins Park area with the I-90 ramps endpoints shown as orange dots. |
Advisory Park members represent many voices
No one knows a neighborhood better than the people who work, live and spend time there. The Advisory Group was created to include these voices—people who have lived here a long time and newcomers; business owners and people who commute; homeowners and renters; people who walk, roll and bike; families; and community advocates. The group includes people from local schools, community organizations, small businesses, advocacy groups and transportation agencies (City of Seattle, King County Metro and Sound Transit).
Advisory Group role
We work together with the Advisory Group to talk about changes that can be made to improve safety and efficiency of the I-90 ramps. The Advisory Group meets regularly through mid-2026.
Input from this group, and the community in general, helps us understand the community’s needs and priorities as they access the light rail station and get around the Judkins Park area.
Learning from past feedback
Judkins Park has been part of several transportation studies and community engagement efforts. We collected helpful feedback for this study in 2024 and plan to keep asking the community for input. We want to learn from past studies, while also making sure we have the most up-to-date information from the community for this work.
What the community has said so far
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| People touring the Judkins Park area as part of the Seattle Neighborhood Greenways Walking/Rolling Tour in 2024. |
We talked with many people during Advisory Group meetings, events, surveys and listening sessions. Here is what we have heard:
Key community priorities:
- Getting around: people want to take the bus, walk, roll or bike to safely and efficiently get around Judkins Park and to the light rail station.
- Improvements to sidewalks and crosswalks : People want sidewalks that are not broken, disconnected or missing; crosswalks that are easy to find and use; to stay dry rather than get splashed on sidewalks; and more lighting.
- Traffic issues: People want drivers to slow down, stop at crosswalks and drive more carefully; better visibility for drivers to see people, especially when it is dark or raining.
- Noise and air pollution: People want less noise and cleaner air.
- Getting around for everyone: People want better access for people who walk, roll and bike; better crossing solutions for pedestrians who are visually impaired; solutions that also consider people who need to drive because other options are not accessible to them; noting that people have different, important needs that may require different solutions.
- Plan carefully: People want careful planning to minimize how closing or changing roads may affect people.
We are including this input to guide this study. We are studying ways to:
- make walking, rolling, biking and taking transit more comfortable
- reduce conflicts between traffic and pedestrians and people who bike
- create shorter routes for pedestrians and bikes
- get vehicles to drive slower
SDOT's near-term improvements
SDOT, in coordination with us, has made improvements to help with concerns now, while we work on long term solutions in this study. SDOT finished construction this year, and you can see the improvements in the community.
Where we are in the study
Our study follows a clear process to find the best solutions for reconnecting our community. Here's how it works:
Step 1: What problems are we trying to solve? We listen to the community and Advisory Group to understand what needs to be fixed or improved.
Step 2: How do we decide what's most important? Community and Advisory Group input helps us figure out which benefits and impacts matter most.
Step 3: What are our options? We work with the community and Advisory Group to come up with different ways to make improvements.
Step 4: Which options work best? We review each option with community and Advisory Group feedback to see which ones meet our needs.
Step 5: How can we make these options better? We use more feedback to improve and select the best options.
Step 6: Any final thoughts before we choose? We get final input from the community and Advisory Group to make sure we've got it right. We also create a draft report of our findings.
Step 7: What did we choose and why? We finish our study report and begin designing the improvements we recommend.
The Advisory Group for the I-90 Judkins Park Station study started in late 2024. Throughout this whole process, we are working closely with both our Advisory Group and the community to get their input.
We are currently looking at different options for improvements and will share more details about what we are learning in our next blog post.
Learn more and get involved
Study webpage
Visit the project page for the latest updates and detailed information:
SDOT study webpage
Learn about complementary near-term improvements.
Stay Tuned for More Opportunities to Participate
We are committed to keeping the community involved through this process. Watch for announcements about more opportunities to share your thoughts. Sign up for Seattle area news and study email updates.
Contact Info
Amber Stanley - Community Engagement Lead
Phone: 206-817-8833
Email: amber.stanley@wsdot.wa.gov
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