Highland Park Way SW Connection Project

Updated March 6, 2026 

What's Happening Now?

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After hearing from the community and evaluating all design options, our early design includes a downhill protected bike lane and improvements to the existing multi-use path.  

The proposed enhancements include these items:  

  • Widening the path and repairing the surface to make it easier and safer to use
  • Adding new lighting to improve visibility and safety
  • Reducing northbound general traffic lanes from two lanes to one to make room for path improvements and help slow vehicle speeds
  • Adding bike safety enhancements with a semi-permanent concrete barrier to give people walking and biking more space and separation from traffic

What we heard  

  • Support for traffic calming and safer bike and walking path  
  • Concerns about congestion at the bottom of the hill near W Marginal Way SW  

What’s changing in early project design  

  • We are no longer shifting the curb along the full downhill section as the earlier concepts proposed  
  • The updated design uses semi-permanent concrete bike barriers instead  
  • New lane channelization options to maintain traffic flow, improve bike and pedestrian connection, and address congestion trade-offs at W Marginal Way SW  

What’s not changing in early project design  

  • One downhill driving lane removed beginning at SW Holden St 

Early Design Details: Downhill Protected Bike Lane   

A graphic showing a street cross-section with three travel lanes, a downhill protected bike lane separated by jersey barriers with an opening for buses, and an existing multi-use path for walking, rolling, and biking.

View looking north

Map of the project area on Highland Park Way SW with a detailed view of the intersection with West Marginal Way SW.

Feature Option 1 Option 2
General Purpose Lanes 5 lanes (Maintains existing capacity)  4 lanes (Requires lane reconfiguration) 
Biking Infrastructure Protected bike lane with landscape buffer; includes mixing with vehicles (sharrows) at the intersection  Enhanced safety with concrete bike barriers 
Key Trade-Off Maintains existing traffic and creates mixing zone for bikes Reduces traffic capacity to increase bike separation

Early Design Details: Highland Park Way and Pioneer Industries Driveway  

Early design detail of Highland Park Way and Pioneer Industries Driveway

Early Design Details: Highland Park Way SW Mid-hill

Early Design Details: Highland Park Way SW Mid-hill

Early Design Details: Highland Park Way SW Mid-hill

Early Design Details: Highland Park Way SW uphill - SW Othello St to SW Holden St 

Early Design Details: Highland Park Way SW uphill - SW Othello St to SW Holden St 


To stay informed about the project, please  sign up for email updates. You can also reach us at HighlandHolden@Seattle.gov or (206) 900-8741. 

Project Overview

The Highland Park Way SW Connection project is intended to provide an improved path for people to walk, roll, and bike between Highland Park and the Duwamish River Trail, while improving safety and calming traffic along Highland Park Way SW. 

Our 2024 Seattle Transportation Plan (pages B-43 and B-45) recognizes the need for better walking, biking, and rolling facilities along this corridor connecting a high equity priority neighborhood to the regional Duwamish River Trail network. This project is also important from a safety perspective as it is part of our High Injury Network identified in our latest Vision Zero Action Plan (page 55), and we have a history of motorists driving 40+ MPH relative to a posted speed limit of 25 MPH.

Project Goals

  • Make the street safer and calm traffic to reduce speeding and crashes  
  • Modernize the street design to create separate spaces for people driving, walking, biking, and taking transit   
  • Better connect neighborhoods to the Duwamish River Trail 

Current Conditions

There is an existing path on the east side of Highland Park Way SW. It runs from SW Holden St to West Marginal Way SW, with a section of grass serving as a landscape buffer between the path and the street. The path varies in width from 3.5 to 7 feet, and the landscape buffer varies in width from 2.5 to 9.5 feet.   

The path needs repairs and is very close to the street in some places, making it less comfortable for people walking, rolling, and biking – particularly when people drive over the speed limit, which happens quite often in this area. Seattle Police collision reports and recent traffic data also indicate that people have driven off the street, crossed the centerline into oncoming traffic near and at the curve, sideswiped other vehicles, and even crashed into a person biking. 

A person walking on the existing path along Highland Park Way SW. To the left of the path are two with two northbound driving lanes and two southbound driving lanes. There are cars driving in both directions.

Highland Park community member walking on the existing path along Highland Park Way SW. This section of the path, just north of SW Holden St, where the path is about 6 feet wide, and the landscape buffer is about 2.5 feet wide.  

Illustration and Map of Current Conditions 

Street level diagram showing Highland Park Way Southwest. From left to right there is a route 131 bus stop, two southbound driving lanes, two northbound driving lanes, another route number 131 bus stop, and finally a landscape buffer with the existing pathway.

A map of Highland Park Way Southwest from Southwest Holden Street to West Marginal Way Southwest with an additional graphic below showing the zoomed in part of the project area at the intersection of Highland Park Way Southwest and West Marginal Way Southwest. In the map and the graphic, the existing path with a landscape buffer is shown, along with the location of the Duwamish River Trail and the location of the West Duwamish Greenbelt trailhead. The existing landscape buffer and path extend along Highland Park Way Southwest from Southwest Holden Street to West Marginal Way Southwest.

Community Engagement

In 2023, we met with community groups in the area, including the Highland Park Action Coalition and West Seattle Bike Connections. We also received input through the Seattle Transportation Plan (pages B-43 and B-45), which recognizes the need for better walking, biking, and rolling facilities along this corridor.

In the spring of 2024, we gathered input on some early project concepts through different outreach activities, including a survey and attending community events. We heard from more than 2,000 people during the outreach period. The concepts that were shared and the feedback we received is summarized in our Outreach Report.

Woman standing behind a table with project materials on it. She is smiling and talking to a person who is writing a comment about the project. They are standing under a tent decorated with rainbow flags. There are poster boards on easels illustrating the different project design options.
Team member Colleen Woods talking to community members at the White Center Pride Street Festival. Thank you to the Highland Park Action Coalition and the Highland Park Improvement Club members who shared their booth with us! Photo: SDOT 

Based on this input, the project team refined the design to balance safety improvements with traffic operations:

  • What we heard: Many community members supported traffic calming and safer biking infrastructure but expressed concern about congestion, particularly near the bottom of the hill approaching W Marginal Way SW.
  • What we changed: Earlier concepts proposed shifting the curb line along the entire downhill section. Based on public feedback and traffic analysis, the design was revised to use semi-permanent concrete bike barriers instead of moving the full curb line.
  • What remains: The updated concept continues to remove one downhill driving lane beginning at SW Holden St to support traffic calming, reduce speeds, and improve safety on this High Injury Network corridor, consistent with the Vision Zero Action Plan (page 55). Analysis indicates this change is not expected to create significant additional delays south of the Pioneer Industries driveway.

With early design outreach nearing completion, we are asking for input about the design options for the intersection at W Marginal Way SW to advance the project into its next design stage while continuing to keep the community informed. If you have comments or questions, you are always welcome to connect with us at highlandholden@seattle.gov. To stay informed about the project, please sign up for our email updates.

Timeline

The project is funded by the Seattle Transportation Levy and is in the early design phase. Design is scheduled for 2025-26, and construction is scheduled to start in winter 2026-27.  

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Transportation

Angela Brady, Acting Director
Address: 700 5th Ave, Suite 3800, Seattle, WA, 98104
Mailing Address: PO Box 34996, Seattle, WA, 98124-4996
Phone: (206) 684-7623
684-Road@seattle.gov

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