Status: Completed April 2012
Overview & History
The Ashworth Avenue N Priority Sidewalk project constructed new sidewalks on the east side of Ashworth Avenue N from NE 185th to NE 192nd. The project connects to existing sidewalks on Ashworth that serve Echo Lake Elementary and on 192nd that connects to Aurora and the Interurban Trail. The project also provides on-street parking and incorporates several sustainable or low impact drainage techniques including porous concrete and bioretention swales.
Funding for the project is through the Roads Capital fund with final project costs of approximately $500,000.
Project Background:
The purpose of this project is to recognize the benefits of green infrastructure on the human and environmental community and to develop and incorporate these ideas and concepts on an arterial street. This project will enable safe access for pedestrians; provide natural drainage solutions for stormwater management; and enhance the natural habitat and human community through the use of low impact development strategies.
Low impact development (LID) is a stormwater management strategy that emphasizes conservation and use of existing natural site features integrated with distributed, small-scale stormwater controls to more closely mimic natural hydrologic patterns in residential, commercial, and industrial settings (Low Impact Development Technical Guidance Manual For Puget Sound, 1995)
Ashworth Avenue N is designated as a Local Street and further classified as a Neighborhood Collector. Neighborhood Collectors channel traffic from local streets to Collector Arterials. In new and redeveloped areas sidewalks are typically required by the City’s Municipal Code, and traffic calming devices are usually permitted.
Specific: The Ashworth Avenue N Project will construct pedestrian, parking, landscaping and natural drainage improvements within the public right of way on the east side of Ashworth from N 185th to N 192nd St. The general concept is to align the sidewalk as far from the road as possible for safety and use the space in between for natural drainage, parking and landscaping.
Right-Of-Way: The right-of-way on Ashworth Avenue N is 60 feet wide and the yellow centerline on the roadway is roughly the same as the right-of-way centerline.