To increase safety for pedestrians and to help create a sense of identity for their community, groups in Crown HIll are working on getting a median installed to help slow speeding traffic on 15th Avenue Northwest and Holman Road.

Groups Envision 15th Avenue Northwest and Walkable Crown Hill teamed up with the Crown Hill Business Association to develop plans for a median that could be both accident prevention and an economic development strategy.

“Since we’ve come out with this idea, other groups have identified that getting a median put in as one of the priorities for different reasons,” Ryan McFarland, board member of the Crown Hill Neighborhood Association said.

Most recently, the Crown Hill Business Association did a Greening Crown Hill study while Walkable Crown Hill used a Small and Simple Grant from the Department of Neighborhoods to come up with its own study, the Pedestrian Improvement Plan.

The Greening Crown Hill study describes a strategic approach, criteria, design concepts and art and landscape opportunities throughout the Crown Hill neighborhood that could improve the neighborhood’s identity and to make businesses more prominent.

According to the study, “The two-lane truck route that follows 15th Avenue Northwest and Holman road bisects the heart of Crown Hill, making the neighborhood appear as a pass-through space, rather than a destination. In an effort to mitigate this reputation, local businesses and neighborhood groups are interested in creating art and landscape works that establish greater sense of place and make the area more inviting.”

As for the Pedestrian Improvement Plan, it collected feedback from residents about what priorities there are for projects to make things safer to walk in the neighborhood. Installing a median was one priority that was identified, said McFarland.

McFarland said the association’s main goal is to improve the pedestrian environment in their neighborhood.

“Right now it’s not a pedestrian friendly neighborhood,” he said. “There are no sidewalks, a lot of the roads don’t have shoulders, and the biggest obstacle is on Holman Road; it splits Crown Hill in half and cars come in at all different speeds and places.”

By putting a median there, McFarland said it allows walkers or bikers a place of refuge when trying to cross the busy street.

The plan was presented to the city's transportation department, but the group was told that further outreach and research was still necessary for the median, McFarland said.

“It wasn’t a firm no, so we’re planning on applying for a second Small and Simple Grant to move forward with the median,” he said.

They hope to use the grant to hire a consultant to develop a design for a planted median along 15th Avenue Northwest and Holman Road from roughly Northwest 83rd Street on 15th to 6th Avenue Northwest on Holman.

The design will include improved pedestrian crossings and incorporate ample turn lanes to service businesses. A top priority for the project will be to ensure that the design does not constrict freight and passenger traffic along the corridor.

Medians were listed as a goal in the first Crown Hill/Ballard Neighborhood Plan but it didn't have the same priority as the Ballard Commons or the Crown Hill Park, said McFarland.

“We expect this to be more formal when the new neighborhood plans come out,” he said. “The previous plan is being redone and there’s a very good chance we’re going to see a median on 15th Avenue and Holman Road as part of that plan.”

McFarland said one challenge is that the city is facing budget cuts, including within the transportation department.

“We’ll try and find some way to work with (the city) on perhaps doing maybe some version of a design,” McFarland said. “But we do think it’s important to have an overall vision and then implement it piece by piece.”