Seattle transportation officials want to drop a network of on-street bike and scooter corrals into Pioneer Square. What they got instead is a classic downtown showdown between safety-focused planners and preservation hawks fiercely protective of the neighborhood’s old-brick charm.
The quick-build corrals are pitched as a way to clear cluttered sidewalks and open up sightlines at busy corners before the city is flooded with visitors for the 2026 event season. Preservation advocates counter that the standard-issue plastic posts and bright signage would stick out like a sore thumb in Seattle’s oldest neighborhood and risk chipping away at its historic character.
At a recent public briefing, SDOT rolled out a plan for corrals at 21 intersections, largely clustered along First Avenue S and Occidental Avenue S, to “daylight” corners and give bike and scooter riders designated on-street parking. The Pioneer Square Preservation Board and the Alliance for Pioneer Square argued that SDOT’s off-the-shelf plastic posts and signs would be visually jarring, warned they could block the project if design concerns are not addressed, and flagged the potential for a costly redesign. Several bike advocates spoke in favor of the corrals as a straightforward, safety-first way to use curb space, while business owners filed written objections that focused on specific locations and materials, according to The Urbanist.
SDOT’s safety pitch
City staff frame the corrals as a workhorse safety tool, part of a broader effort to “daylight” intersections so drivers, cyclists and people walking can actually see each other. By carving out no-parking zones near corners and filling them with bike and scooter parking, SDOT says it can reduce risky turning movements and keep micromobility devices off Pioneer Square’s tight sidewalks…