Followup: $ for 47th/Admiral signal, Fauntleroy ‘green boulevard’ design advance in council committee

(WSB photo looking east toward 47th/Admiral, 2011)
City money for a full traffic signal at 47th/Admiral just advanced one step closer to reality, after the City Council’s Government Performance and Finance Committee voted to send a package of midyear budget changes to the full council. We reported Tuesday on the council’s decision to go for the full half-million-dollar signal, which neighborhood advocates have requested for years. No councilmembers voiced opposition.

Immediately after that signal was discussed, another six-digit West Seattle item popped up – another $200,000 for designing “Green Boulevard” changes for Fauntleroy Way through The Triangle.

(One of two “green boulevard” options shown by SDOT last year)
Councilmember Tom Rasmussen, long an advocate of the concept, described it as a “slowly progressing project” and yet one that’s needed as the area continues to develop as a residential/commercial area. The city’s 2012 budget, as reported here in 2011, included $250,000 to start design; if the additional $200,000 is finalized, that will get the design process to 60 percent. The “boulevard,” Rasmussen noted at today’s meeting, involves “primarily pedestrian improvements – sidewalks, curb bulbs, etc.” We’re checking for updated design documents, since it’s been almost a year since the last public discussion (see materials from that July 2012 open house here). Today’s committee meeting, meantime, was not a final vote on these and other spending proposals, so if you have something to say pro/con/otherwise, you can find contact information for councilmembers here.

17 Replies to "Followup: $ for 47th/Admiral signal, Fauntleroy 'green boulevard' design advance in council committee"

  • Person June 19, 2013 (12:36 pm)

    I like the green boulevard idea, but does the city do anything to maintain them? The middle of Admiral looks awful.

  • McBride June 19, 2013 (12:48 pm)

    Really interested to see how the proposed Fauntleroy Green Boulevard project moves forward. Good to hear that our leaders are concerned with street and safety improvements, particularly along roadways that are “continuing to develop as a residential/commercial area”.
    .
    Yep. Looking forward to some good old fashioned egalitarianism.

  • JanS June 19, 2013 (1:02 pm)

    Person…I drive down Admiral every day, and every day I wonder whose job it is to clean up the road dividers…they truly are awful…

    • WSB June 19, 2013 (1:21 pm)

      Call 206-684-ROAD, which is SDOT’s catch-all public number – the road dividers would be public right-of-way …TR

  • wscommuter June 19, 2013 (1:22 pm)

    I’m a dissenter on putting a light at 47th. I understand the reasoning … but not convinced this isn’t overkill. Conversely, traffic on Admiral, especially east-bound, is going to get tedious. My two cents.

  • WSTroll June 19, 2013 (1:48 pm)

    I believe a light at 45th makes more sense. That’s where the children cross to get to school.

  • Al June 19, 2013 (2:40 pm)

    I walk up Fauntleroy from 35th to Alaska several times a week and it really, really needs pedestrian improvements. There’s only three places to cross “safely.” And I don’t think either crossing at Oregon is safe at all due to the free right turns off Fauntleroy to Oregon and no crosswalk markings at all left on the Fauntleroy street crossing.

    And sitting in your motor vehicle while pedestrians/strollers/cyclists/etc. cross the street, outside, in all weather is “tedious?” I have absolutely no words for how that seriously can be “tedious.” Leave for your destination a couple minutes early then. Or 60 seconds earlier.

    I fully support improvements for pedestrians!

  • Gene June 19, 2013 (3:02 pm)

    Isn’t the problem the curve?? If so it makes sense to put something at 47th. Seems like 45th is close enough to the light on California Ave.

  • markinthedark June 19, 2013 (3:13 pm)

    What do they mean by “full traffic light?”

    I”m assuming it’s only a pedestrian initiated signal and not something that is cycling all the time for the entire intersection.

    • WSB June 19, 2013 (3:28 pm)

      No, this is a full traffic signal, with red and green and multiple entry points to the intersection, not just a pedestrian-triggered signal.

  • 2-wheels-a-go-go June 19, 2013 (3:55 pm)

    wscommuter: It’s ironic that you used the word “overkill”, seeing as how 1 pedestrian has already been killed at that intersection. That’s 1 killing too many.
    .
    I live 1 block from 47th and Admiral and use this crosswalk regularly with my son. Drivers and generally pretty good about stopping for pedestrians here, but there are still a significant number of them who blow through the crosswalk because they are either totally oblivious to pedestrians attempting to cross, or they simply don’t want to stop (I often establish full eye contact with drivers while standing *in* the crosswalk, but they still just continue on like I’m not there).
    .
    Also, given the 5-way intersection, a full traffic signal will go a long way, not only for protecting pedestrians attempting to cross Admiral, but also in avoiding the numerous close calls I witness every day with vehicles attempting to make left turns onto Admiral from the side streets, all of which have very poor visibility to the fast on-coming traffic. This is definitely the right design decision for this intersection (although I would have preferred a roundabout if there was room).

  • markinthedark June 19, 2013 (4:49 pm)

    I’m all for a pedestrian triggered stoplight here. A full cycling signal with the 2 major Admiral entry points and 3 other minor residential street entry point is going to have to cycle like the light down by the Chelan Cafe. That seems excessive.

  • Alex June 19, 2013 (5:53 pm)

    Ya, that chelan cafe light heading westbound is idiotic. It’s red like half the time, even though there are practically never pedestrians there, and its a thru lane with no cross traffic. It just stops traffic for no reason. I wonder if its broken? That light should be pedestrian-triggered only, not timed.

  • Mike June 19, 2013 (7:44 pm)

    2-wheels-a-go-go, the event that killed a person at that location is very sad, it’s really really sad and could easily be prevented. However, the stop light at that location will NOT prevent that from occurring again. The signage and / or having a full stop light there is not the issue, it’s the location of the crosswalk. It’s a blind curve, by the time a driver (who would probably not be familiar with the area) see’s the light, it’s too late to make an effective and safe stop many times. I’m constantly scanning as I come over the crest to make sure I see any potential pedestrians. Back when I drove a Land Cruiser, I had multiple times where I was at a full stop for a pedestrian and had cars nearly run into the back of me. If they don’t see a Land Cruiser stopped in front of blinking traffic lights, well, that should tell you what will happen when there’s just a red light and a tiny pedestrian. The other week a delivery truck had to run to the side of my car to avoid destroying me while I was letting a pedestrian cross there. Safety is moving the location of that crosswalk.

  • Rick June 20, 2013 (10:02 am)

    Bad location for a crosswalk. Period.

  • Nicole June 20, 2013 (3:46 pm)

    Regarding the blind curve (west-bound) leading to the 47th Ave crosswalk, a flashing sign a few blocks ahead (to the east) warning drivers that they’re approaching a red light (if the light is installed) may help.

    A pedestrian-triggered light at the Admiral and 49th Avenue cross walk would also be helpful. West-bound Admiral traffic usually stops for me as I cross there, as they can see pedestrians during while descending Admiral. But I’ve experienced many occurrences of east-bound traffic flying up from Alki buzzing right through the cross walk when I’m in it, due to excessive speed in that direction and a semi-blind curve.

    Both of these intersections need safe crossings, especially given that there is a bus stop at each.

  • wetone June 20, 2013 (9:02 pm)

    Going to be a lot of wrecks there if they put a light on a blind down hill corner like that, especially when the road is wet. Try going down around that corner when the road is wet or even dry and slamming your brakes on and see what happens and where you end up. Very bad spot. They need to move it in front of the old rest home that why they have a place for all the new traffic that will be coming and going from the new complex that is going to be built there has a place to enter Admiral, and make the investor of that project pay for the new light.

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