In 2017, city staff met with members of the Newport Heights Elementary community and neighborhood residents to develop short- and long-term actions to increase traffic safety. The Newport Heights Traffic Safety Improvements project is a series of changes designed to address concerns about speeding and safety for people walking and rolling, and particularly the safety of students walking to school.
Neighborhood Traffic Safety Services has constructed several projects in the area to improve traffic safety with more improvements to come.
Construction began in June 2019 to build a 6-foot wide sidewalk on the west side of 119th Avenue SE from SE 56th Street to Newport Heights Elementary School, a pedestrian island at the mid-block crosswalk in front of the school and an entry island on the north leg of the intersection of SE 56th Street/119th Avenue SE. This work was completed in late 2019.
In November 2020, three sets of speed cushions to reduce high vehicle speeds were installed on 119th Avenue SE south of Lake Heights Street SE. In March 2023, three additional sets of speed cushions were installed on 119th Avenue SE between SE 48th Street and SE 54th Place.
In Summer 2024, work began on a new 6-foot wide sidewalk on the north side of SE 54th Place starting at 119th Avenue SE and connecting to the existing sidewalk just east of 118th Avenue SE. The project also built a 6-foot wide sidewalk on the south side of SE 52nd Street between 117th Avenue SE and 119th Avenue SE.
In Summer and Fall 2024, road striping (paint that shows where the lanes are) was added to 116th Avenue SE between SE 46th Street and SE 56th Street. New shared shoulders were added to both sides of the road for most of this section. In some areas where the road is narrower, there is only a shoulder on one side. These new shoulders visually narrow the roadway and have a traffic calming effect
In Summer 2025, three additional speed cushions will be installed on 119th Avenue SE. The existing speed cushions on 119th Avenue SE significantly reduced high-end speeding and decreased the average speed by up to 5 mph. These cushions will be installed around SE 52nd Street, between the existing cushions, to help reduce speeding in this portion of the street.
Funding
Funding comes from the Neighborhood Safety, Connectivity and Congestion levy, the Neighborhood Sidewalks Program and Neighborhood Traffic Safety Program. The improvements in 2019 cost approximately $540,000. The speed cushions built in 2020 and 2023 cost approximately $170,000. The estimated construction cost of the sidewalk being built in 2023 is $565,000.
Documents
- 119th Avenue SE Speed Cushions
- Speed cushion phase three installation project update (October 2024)
- Speed cushion phase two construction alert (March 2023)
- Speed cushion phase two installation project update (August 2022)
- Speed cushion construction alert (October 2020) (funded by the Neighborhood Traffic Safety program)
- SE 54th Place Sidewalk
- 116th Avenue SE construction alert (May 2024)
- Sidewalk construction alert (June 2019)
- December 2018 project update
- March 6, 2018 open house summary
- Design concepts
- Newport Heights and 119th Avenue Southeast community traffic safety survey analysis (2017)
Schedule
- Summer/fall 2024: Anticipated road striping and repaving of 116th Avenue SE
- Summer 2024: Anticipated construction of SE 54th Place and SE 52nd Street sidewalk
- Spring 2023: Design of SE 54th Place and SE 52nd Street sidewalk
- March 2023: Construction of three additional speed cushions along 119th Avenue SE
- June-November 2022: Design of additional speed cushions
- November 2020: Installation of speed cushions (complete)
- June 2019: Construction of Phase II elements (6 foot sidewalk on west side of 119th Avenue SE from SE 56th Street to Newport Heights Elementary School, pedestrian island at the mid-block crosswalk in front of the school and an entry island on the north leg of the intersection of SE 56th Street/119th Avenue SE; complete)
- Summer/fall 2018: Construction of Phase I elements (school zone flashing beacons; complete)
- March 6, 2018: Project open house
- Fall 2017: Project open house