King County is planning to create a five-block pedestrian corridor to connect the new Greenbridge housing development to the White Center business district.

The new walking route is planned on Southwest 98th Street between 11th and 16th avenues Southwest. One of the design challenges will be how best to cross the natural wetland between 12th and 14th avenues.

King County planners quizzed members of the North Highline Unincorporated Area Council about what to include in the five-block pedestrian corridor.

Council President Steve Cox is a deputy sheriff in White Center so he urged there be adequate lighting and no hiding places.

Build sidewalks on both sides of 98th Street, Russ Kay suggested. Figure out how to slow down traffic there too, he added.

Don't forget landscaping and perhaps some public art, said Liz Giba.

Someone recommended installing benches. However neighbors previously asked the county to remove some of the old benches because they were being used for nefarious activities, said Ron Johnson.

Planners wondered if mixed-use developments with housing and retail space would be OK in the new corridor. Some people said yes, having more residents as well as shoppers would make the area safer. More affordable housing is needed too, Johnson said.

Cox cautioned there are still many vacant storefronts in the White Center business district. Besides, Westwood Village is nearby and thriving. He wasn't sure more commercial space would find tenants.

"A lot of people who live here spend money outside White Center," Cox said.

Planners from the King County Department of Transportation hope to get some ideas from the public during the White Center neighborhood planning meeting set for 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 14 at the White Center Corps of the Salvation Army.

Designs of the 98th Street pedestrian corridor are scheduled to be done in early January.

Tim St. Clair can be reached at 932-0300 or tstclair@robinsonnews.com.