Spotlight: Mt. Baker Blvd Comes into SDOT’s Focus
While most of the improvements at the Rainier Avenue South and Martin Luther King Jr. Way intersection were completed in 2024, there’s still one piece missing: Mount Baker Boulevard.
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June 27, 2025
Agueda Pacheco Flores
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Jonathan Frazier poses at Mt. Baker Boulevard (Photo by Agueda Pacheco Flores)
Earlier this year, the Seattle city council approved and earmarked $1.4 million towards work in the Mt. Baker station area.
Now that the intersection has dedicated bike lanes, widened sidewalks, and additional crosswalks, all that’s left is the cross section of Mt. Baker Boulevard, which hugs Franklin High School’s field.
“This project has been in the works for so long, and we’re really thrilled to have had the support of City Council to complete this transformative aspect,” said Mt. Baker Hub Executive Director Flora Tempel, adding, “the safety improvements have really changed the way the intersection feels, it’s much more comfortable to use as a pedestrian.”
After more than 10 years in the works, these safety aspects of the Accessible Mt. Baker Plan will come full circle.
“ They’re all related,” explained Seattle Department of Transportation Planner Jonathan Frazier, “I just call it a direct descendant.”
The surrounding streets around Mount Baker Station have been marked by fatal collisions over the years. According to collision records, Frazier said the Rainier, MLK intersection averaged 8 collisions per quarter prior to all the safety updates. More recent numbers found the intersection averages a little more than two collisions per quarter.
Tempel, who organizes monthly clean-ups at the Mt. Baker station, expects the project to bring more people to the neighborhood.
“We’re super excited about this project because we anticipate that it will allow us to activate the station area more effectively,” she said. “Like Roberto Maestas Festival street on Beacon Hill and the new Ferdinand Festival street in Columbia City, having this space pedestrianized will allow us to host events and activities in the heart of Mt. Baker Town Center.”
A timeline has not been set for construction, but SDOT foresees an easy and welcoming community participation process given that, previously, this part of Accessible Mount Baker Plan showed a lot of community interest but was not advanced due to a lack of funds.
“Part of what’s exciting about this is we’re going into it without, essentially, a grand vision for it [so] we really want the community to tell us what to put here,” Frazier said. “It could be seating, event space, green space.”
The project’s flexibility also makes room for possible art and mural collaborations, so long as the community expresses interest in that, said Frazier.
“We’re also excited to see how Franklin High students can use the space and to provide better bike accessibility to the new bike lanes on MLK,” Tempel said, adding “We’re advocating with SDOT to use this space to connect the neighborhood greenways to the bike lanes, creating a much easier and safer bike route for folks who will soon be commuting to Judkins Park Station or the Central Area by bike.”
SDOT plans to start engaging with the local community later this summer. They hope to engage with Franklin High School once class is back in session after summer break.
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