One problem with our neighborhood is that it's surrounded by major streets that make walking less desirable. To the north, between us and the lake is Mercer St, which is four lanes of heavy and fast-moving traffic. Plus Valley St, which also has several lanes of heavy traffic. To the south, between us and downtown, is Denny Way, which is always busy with traffic and which requires us pressing a button to cross.
To the west is Aurora / Hwy 99, which is only crossable along Denny and Mercer. To the east is I-5 which we cross by walking along Denny Way (up a big hill). None of these obstacles are that bad, but they're all slight disincentives to walking.

Fortunately, there's a proposed project which would make Mercer a little more friendly by widening the sidewalks and adding trees. The project is a little pricey ($200 million), so I don't know if it would be worth it. They're also asking for federal funds and if I lived in any other city in the nation, I wouldn't want my taxes to pay for it. And it might not even matter to me by the time it gets funded and constructed. But, I think it's a great idea. While this project might slightly decrease travel time for the many cars that travel on it each day, I think a councilman said it well:

Councilman Richard Conlin said he's not particularly concerned about criticisms that the Mercer plan will leave drivers stuck in traffic. South Lake Union is evolving into part of downtown, so Mercer should function as a downtown street, not an I-5 ramp, he said.

"Free flow of vehicles is sort of an oxymoron there," he said. "We're making a commitment to make this a neighborhood. Neighborhoods don't have freeways running through them."

And that's exactly the right way to think about it. Refusing to focus on car commute times will encourage people to consider moving closer to work or taking public transportation and take more cars off the road. It may inconvenience the people that are passing through on their way back home in the suburbs, but the city as a whole gains from more walkable streets and it makes the city a more enjoyable place to be.