By LEAH WEATHERSBY

For some Seattle neighborhoods, getting the the City to install basic infrastructure like sidewalks would be a dream come true. Unfortunately, traditional, concrete sidewalks with improved drainage systems can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars per block.

Now the Seattle Transportation department (also known as SEATRAN), with the help of the Greenwood Community Council and the Northwest District Council, may launched a viable alternative.

On Tuesday, Nov. 14,SEATRAN and its contractors put the finishing touches on a new type of asphalt walkway which is stamped and colored to resemble aged brick, located on N 87th St. between Dayton and Phinney avenues.

The total cost of the project was approximately $25,000. Funding was obtained through the Neighborhood Street Fund process. Neighborhood representatives seem pleased with the end result.

North 87th Street "has really dangerous cut-through traffic," said Michael McGinn, president of the Greenwood Community Council. The asphalt walkway is a "first step towards making it safe for kids to go to the Boys & Girls Club and the new Greenwood park," he said.

Similar pilot projects are planned on NE 105th St. near the Meadowbrook Playfield, on Cloverdale between Martin Luther King Jr. Way and Beacon Ave in South Seattle and on 21st Ave. next to Cooper Elementary in West Seattle.

For more information about the asphalt walkway projects, contact Shauna Walgren at SEATRAN at 684-8681.