Where is Bell Street Park in Seattle?

Bell Street Park runs along Bell Street from 1st Avenue to 5th Avenue in Belltown, part of Seattle's Downtown district. The address is Bell St between 1st and 5th Ave, Seattle, WA 98121.

A woonerf is a shared street without curbs where pedestrians and vehicles use the same space. Bell Street Park was built this way in 2014, and such streets are rare in Washington State.

Can cars drive through Bell Street Park?

Yes. Bell Street Park is designed as a mixed pedestrian and vehicle space, so cars still pass through, and both drivers and walkers should stay alert.

How big is Bell Street Park?

Bell Street Park covers 1.33 acres along four blocks of Bell Street.

When did Bell Street Park open?

Bell Street Park was created in 2014, and it won a design award from the Seattle Design Commission that same year.

Bell Street Park: Belltown's Curbless Shared Street

Picture a Belltown street with no curbs at all, where the pavement runs unbroken from one side to the other and people on foot share the same surface with passing cars. This is Bell Street Park, a 1.33-acre linear park stretching along Bell Street from 1st Avenue to 5th Avenue, just north of downtown Seattle. Opened in 2014, it is a woonerf, a curbless shared street, and since few places in Washington State work this way, it pays to understand it before you stroll it.

From City Street to Park

Bell Street Park started life as an ordinary city street. The city transferred the property from its transportation department to Seattle Parks and Recreation, then rebuilt it as a park that still lets vehicles roll through.

Part of the aim was to reduce crime. This stretch of Belltown had a reputation for drug dealing, petty crime and disorder, so the redesign set out to fill the block with more everyday activity.

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The effort was recognized quickly, too. In 2014, the Seattle Design Commission honored Bell Street Park with a design award.

How the Woonerf Works

Woonerf is a term from Dutch planning for a street where walking, lingering and driving all share one surface. Along Bell Street, no curbs divide sidewalk from roadway, so the usual cues about who belongs where are deliberately softened.

The thinking is simple: drivers slow down when they cannot tell exactly where the car lane ends. That gives you more room on foot, and the street feels more like a public gathering space than a traffic route.

Tips for Your Walk

Watch for cars. Vehicles still use the street, so stay alert even without curbs to mark the edge.
Drive slowly and carefully. Some drivers have complained that the traffic rules here were too easy to break and get ticketed for, so pay close attention to the signs.
Check official details. For current rules, hours and any park updates, head to the Seattle Parks and Recreation page for Bell Street Park.

The Shared Street Debate

Bell Street Park is often called the city's first woonerf, and local press described it as downtown's first park boulevard. Not everyone accepts that title, though. Some writers note that the Pike Place and Post Alley area at Pike Place Market already works as a shared street, and Occidental Park in Pioneer Square has been described the same way.

The design has drawn its share of critics as well. Some local writers found the mix of features cluttered and the shared arrangement awkward, while others argued the concept stopped short and that cars should have been removed entirely.

Influence Beyond Belltown

Bell Street Park soon became a model for other projects. In 2015, Vulcan Inc. proposed turning a section of 8th Avenue in South Lake Union into a similar shared street, and that same year Kirkland completed a curbless redesign of Park Lane that looked to Bell Street Park during planning.

Closer to home, 12th Avenue Square Park on East James Court in Capitol Hill opened in February 2016 as another park and woonerf. Seattle University also built a shared street at its Douglas Building.

Nearby Landmarks and Parks

The blocks around Bell Street Park hold a cluster of designated landmarks, all within about a tenth of a mile. Walk the park and you can easily take in several of them:

RKO Distributing Co. Building
Franklin Apartments
Fire Station #2
William Tell Hotel
MGM Building
Castle Apartments

Regrade Park sits less than a tenth of a mile away and includes a dog park, making it a handy stop if you have a dog along for the walk.

To plan more time nearby, browse our guide to the Belltown neighborhood. For more green spaces around the city, explore our full list of Seattle parks.