TRAFFIC ALERT: Avoid 4th Avenue S near stadiums; also, crash on SB 35th near Trenton

3:52 PM: With peak pm drive time approaching, you might need to know this: Northbound 4th Avenue S. is closed in the stadium zone because of a crash at Edgar Martinez Way. This is also affecting buses – Route 21, for example, is routed off 4th in the area. The crash involved a motorcyclist who has “significant injuries,” says SPD, after the rider hit a pole; all are advised to avoid 4th TFN.

4:18 PM: Another crash, this one on SB 35th just south of Trenton. A damaged pickup truck is blocking the southbound lane – no emergency vehicles on scene; drivers are using the center turn lane to get around it.

4:31 PM: We’re just back from the 35th crash scene and now hearing via the scanner that police have arrived and are calling for a tow.

6:07 PM: We went through 35th/Trenton about half an hour ago and the scene there was clear.

6:40 PM: SDOT says 4th Avenue South is now open again.

Sarah Geralds September 16, 2015 (4:35 pm)

I just drove past the first incident. It looked like they were photographing a body on the sidewalk…..

WSB September 16, 2015 (4:47 pm)

The Traffic Collision Investigation Squad would be on it since major injuries were involved, and they do a lot of photography, but no word of a fatality so far … Police are also handling an incident with major injuries on the other side of downtown, at 1st and Broad.

squeaks September 16, 2015 (4:58 pm)

4th avenue south bound is not currently affected.

WSB September 16, 2015 (5:03 pm)

Thanks!

Chuck September 16, 2015 (5:24 pm)

Sounds like the new traffic plan is working great!

AA September 16, 2015 (5:24 pm)

The times is reporting the motorcycle accident as a fatality.

WSB September 16, 2015 (6:06 pm)

Thanks for the update, AA, sorry to hear that. None of the involved agencies has mentioned that on Twitter, which is a little odd, but inconsistency in reporting there isn’t unusual.

alki resident September 16, 2015 (5:30 pm)

Prayers for the motorcyclist,how awful.

Smokeycretin9 September 17, 2015 (5:52 am)

Chuck, how does one accident blamed on the new lanes of 35th?

I drove past the accident. It was a 90s, smaller Chevy truck read ended an SUV with pretty good crunch. I would blame distracted driving first in this one.

Casey September 17, 2015 (3:07 pm)

@Chuck @Smokeycretin9
Rear endings and failures to yield the right of way are the majority causes of accidents on 35th. It was primarily these statistics that were used to sell the public on ‘re-channelization’ of 35th. Granted such a dramatic change will undoubtedly cause some confusion, leading to more accidents as people adjust to the sudden change of 35th being one lane, hopefully that will change soon. However a reduction to one lane or an increase to 10 lanes will not change the fact that rear endings and failures to yield will continue to happen for multiple reasons, as you said distractions but i would prefer to hit the nail on the head and state that clearly, people don’t know how to drive. Until we retrain people to drive or make retraining every five years (or 10) mandatory all of our roads will continue to be dangerous regardless of how many lanes they provide.