Louisa pedestrian corridor and arborway

In 1994 the Seattle Municipal Code and the Seattle Comprehensive Plan designated Eastlake as one of the City’s residential urban villages. This designation was reaffirmed as a result of the 1998 Eastlake Neighborhood Plan and the 1999 Mayor/City Council Eastlake Neighborhood Plan Approval and Adoption Matrix, both of which also took substantial steps to improve pedestrian safety and convenience in Eastlake.

Excerpted below, these planning documents, and the earlier Eastlake Transportation Plan identified the Louisa Arborway as an important connection. In fact, Eastlake residents and employees have consistently identified the Louisa Arborway as one of the neighborhood’s most beloved features.

The need to improve pedestrian conditions in Eastlake became more urgent in 2019 when the Seattle Municipal Code considerably increased the allowable building heights in urban villages like Eastlake, enabling larger buildings that can interfere with pedestrian facilities but also bring more pedestrians who wish to use them.

Starting construction in late August, 2021 is the Liza, which with 207 apartments, retail space, and a 96-vehicle garage will be one of the largest buildings in Eastlake. The Louisa Arborway will be a substantial amenity and convenience for its residents and customers, but the Liza’s construction activities and the design itself could also degrade safety and enjoyment for all Arborway users.

On August 25, without any prior notice or civic dialogue, the Liza construction began to close the Louisa Arborway for twelve hours each weekday, planned to continue through September 2022. The Louisa Arborway will continuously be open to pedestrians for the other twelve hours of each weekday, and will be fully open on weekends.

What can be done to reduce the periods of closure? One possibility is for them not to be automatic, but to occur only when a certain threshold of truck traffic is expected. As the building layout will place the driveway very close to the Arborway, it is urgent to find a way for vehicles to come and go without inconveniencing or endangering the pedestrians. Please only close the Arborway as a last resort. The building’s owners should recognize the construction process as an opportunity to experiment with technologies and designs that will accommodate pedestrians rather than prohibit them.

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Lighting. The 1998 Eastlake Neighborhood Plan and the 1999 City adoption matrix identified the darkness of the Louisa Arborway as a problem and called for lighting. In the early 2000s SDOT and City Light jointly installed wonderful LED fixtures which remain at a low setting until passersby cause a motion sensor to brighten the light. Unfortunately these lights have been totally out in recent months, seemingly from some uncompleted City light work overhead. They need to be turned back on soon, before the nights get much longer.

Flooding. The skills and equipment available to Compass Construction and the building’s owners might help solve a chronic flooding problem that the Louisa Arborway suffers whenever there is a heavy rain. The lack of adequate drainage above and on the Arborway sidewalk brings a sheet of water down to Yale Avenue E. from as far away as Eastlake Avenue that can quickly soak shoes and socks; and the debris around the too-small grate can be a tripping hazard.

Although the 1999 City adoption matrix stated that drainage improvements were “underway” and “should be completed soon,” in fact only a minor repair was done, and the drainage problem persists. Will the curbs, gutters, and drains that will be a part of the Liza project catch most of this street runoff before it reaches the Louisa Arborway?

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Public art. With the help of Neighborhood Matching Funds from the Seattle Department of Neighborhoods and much community involvement, a master plan for the Louisa Arborway was created in the early 2000s by the distinguished artists Annie Han and Daniel Mihalyo, who are collectively known as Lead Pencil Studio. Their designs include beautiful metal trellises marking each end of the Arborway walkway. If the community, and the building’s owners can raise sufficient funds and with help from Compass Construction, these public art pieces might at last be realized.

To help advocate for the Louisa Arborway and for pedestrian access throughout the Louisa corridor and beyond, please write to info@eastlakeinfo.net.


Page 38 of the Eastlake Transportation Plan (1994)

Eastlake-west pedestrian connections. One of the city’s most charming and heavily used public walkways…is the arborway from Yale Avenue up to Louisa Street. The unusual length (770 feet) of the block between Roanoke and Lynn Streets makes this century-old shortcut a valuable part of the pedestrian network. A high priority should be placed on establishing additional east-west connections.


Page V–29 of the Eastlake Neighborhood Plan (1998)

Recommendation OS–15 on the Louisa Arborway
Policy 0S–15: Improve the existing pedestrian connection along the Louisa Street public right-of-way between Eastlake Avenue and Yale Avenue by enhancing safety and improving drainage.
Guidelines for Use
This beautiful rose arbor is strategically located at the east end of the right-of-way between Eastlake and Yale avenues. Continue to maintain this hidden though well-traveled path in an informal, romantic landscape design.
Implementing Recommendations
0S-15.1 Repair storm drain at Yale Street entry of path.
0S-15.2 Add subtle safety lighting.

Mayor/City Council Eastlake Neighborhood Plan Approval and Adoption Matrix (1999)

Page 33: Louisa St. Arborway
OS-15.1, Repair storm drain at Yale Street entry to path.
Assigned agency: SPU
Status: Already underway. The drainage project should be completed soon and the sidewalk restored.

Page 48: OS- 15.2, Add subtle safety lighting at Louisa Street arborway.