The City of Renton has identified 188 miles of public roadways that are currently missing sidewalks as city staff plan to prioritize certain areas for sidewalk construction.

The city previously released its “Comprehensive Walkway Plan” and has requested community feedback on the municipality’s walkway infrastructure.

“The Comprehensive Walkway Plan is an effort to identify and prioritize the various needs for improvements to sidewalks, crosswalks, and other infrastructure designed to improve the walking environment throughout Renton’s neighborhoods,” the city’s website states about the plan. “Through a series of maps and evaluation processes, the Plan draws on community feedback and value criteria to prioritize an array of future improvements to the street network for walkers and pedestrians.”

The city has also rolled out an informational dashboard and interactive map for community members to be able to see all of the identified missing walkways in town.

With 343 miles of existing sidewalks, the city has identified 188 miles or missing sidewalks — about 994,015 feet of sidewalks still needed.

According to the city, the most sidewalk-needy neighborhood in Renton is the Benson area, with an estimated 247,745 feet of missing sidewalk length. The next most is Renton’s Highlands neighborhood, with 189,401 feet of estimated missing sidewalks.

The city is collecting feedback from the community to help prioritize community walkway and sidewalk improvements. The city is looking for information on how to improve pedestrian safety, reduce pedestrian barriers, how to improve community connectivity and continuity with sidewalks, and how to improve sidewalks and walkways in an equitable manner.

The city’s website claims that the planning and prioritization period for the sidewalk improvements will begin in September and go through December 2023.

“Solutions for improvement will be ranked and prioritized so that staff can assess feasibility and costs appropriately,” according to the city’s website. “A draft plan document will be available.”

For more information on the Comprehensive Walkway Plan and to see the city’s interactive walkway map, visit this link.