South Park was redlined in the 1930s and construction of the SR-99 highway in the 1950s compounded the harm done to the neighborhood. With the completion of I-5 in the 1960s, the highway corridor through South Park was no longer the preferred transportation route. Still, its presence has continued to negatively impact residents.
The little-used highway disrupted the local street network, limited opportunities to cross the corridor, and created both air and noise pollution. But Quirindongo says South Park residents have begun exploring options to reclaim their community. “We can’t erase or undo the impacts of SR-99,” Quirindongo says, “but we can determine what happens next.”
To assist in the ongoing planning efforts surrounding the Reconnect South Park initiative, the federal government awarded $1.6 million in RCP funds to Seattle in 2022. Thus far, state funds have been used to explore four possible options to reimagine the SR-99 corridor: mitigation of adverse impacts, building a tunnel over the corridor, converting the corridor to a boulevard, or removing it entirely. Federal dollars will help further refine each possibility, centering the conversation around connectivity, safety, and equity.
