Aurora Corridor, Shoreline, Washington

Shoreline, a suburb of Seattle, has changed the land use patterns of a 3-mile portion of State Route 99 from a highly congested complicated road which contributed to frequent accidents to a road with landscaped medians, sidewalks on each side of the road, a trail paralleling the road, new lighting, and a public plaza for recreational use and gathering of people. Public transportation has been upgraded. Business access lanes have been added to the road. The city upgraded all of the infrastructure including water, sewer, electricity, and communications. The individuals owning property on either side of the road have been encouraged to upgrade and enhance the properties and properly use unused or poorly used space. A 5-acre plot was set aside for senior housing, affordable housing and a new YMCA building. The transformation of the area has allowed the landowners to increase their rents and to make the locations even more appealing. All of this work has resulted in a sharp reduction in accidents and deaths along the strip of the road as well as an increase in revenues for the city.