FOLLOWUP: Highland Park crash aftermath

It’s been exactly 24 hours now since the Highland Park crash that ruptured a gas line and forced more than 150 people to evacuate early Friday.

IMG_2124
(Texted photo)

We’ve been following up on three aspects of the incident and here’s what we have found out so far:

THE GAS LINE: Late Friday morning, Puget Sound Energy crews were back at the scene, and you could clearly see the piping in the area where the car had flipped, not only sending gas flowing into the air but also triggering a high-pitched noise until the gas was turned off.

gasclose
(WSB photo)

We asked PSE spokesperson Ray Lane for a little more about what was hit: “The car hit what’s called a ‘district regulator’ – it’s an important piece of equipment which helps set the pressure for natural gas moving through the system and into neighborhoods and customers’ homes. That explains the sound you heard at the scene. We were notified of a problem at 12:19 a, with repairs made at 1:45 a. I believe the crews were checking on the equipment again in the daylight hours. Customer service was not impacted.”

THE INTERSECTION: SW Holden/Highland Park Way is notorious for crashes and traffic backups. The community and city have partnered on exploring possible solutions, such as a roundabout, or traffic signal. And that’s still where things stand, a year-plus later, SDOT‘s Jim Curtin told us when we asked for an update on Friday: “We’re working with nearby residents to develop a Neighborhood Street Fund proposal for this location but we do not have any official projects planned at this time.”

THE DRIVER: We weren’t able to learn anything more Friday about the driver who was taken to the hospital after flipping his car, but we know SPD classified the case as a DUI investigation.

12 Replies to "FOLLOWUP: Highland Park crash aftermath"

  • Matt March 5, 2016 (7:04 am)

    I find funny that in one paragraph it talks about the need for a safer intersection but the next talks about the driver being dui.  Reminds me of lowering speed limits on the roads since most people are on their phones and are usually too distracted to drive the speed limit. 

  • AMD March 5, 2016 (7:51 am)

    The conversation about the intersection started in the first thread (before anyone knew it was a DUI case) because this intersection has a LOT of accidents between perfectly sober drivers.  The fact that someone who was drinking ALSO crashed doesn’t change the fact that there’s a long history at that intersection and a lot of folks think it needs better traffic control devices.  They’re not asking for a stop light to put an end to DUIs.  They’re asking for help preventing of all the other accidents.

  • Craig March 5, 2016 (8:30 am)

    Does anyone have a good link to finding data on the number of accidents at given intersections?  I see accident frequency piece throughout SDOT’s site but am going in circles trying to locate data.  In the past i followed searched to SPD,  emailed my requests but heard nothing back.  Little help?

    And SDOT, please fund 9th/16th and holden intersection improvements. 

    • WSB March 5, 2016 (9:12 am)

      I asked Jim Curtin for this intersection’s stats when I asked about the safety work. He promised to provide that next week. – TR

  • Alan March 5, 2016 (9:29 am)

    “We’re working with nearby residents to develop a Neighborhood Street Fund proposal for this location but we do not have any official projects planned at this time.”

    As happy as I am that SDOT wants the neighborhood input on this, this is not just a neighborhood problem, which I believe his statement indicates. If there were stop signs at 35th & Fauntleroy, I don’t think they would be looking at the possibility of fixing it with a Neighborhood Street Fund. This intersection is the culmination of a path that goes from the Morgan junction, through 35th & Morgan (stop light), Sylvan Way/Orchard to Delridge (stop light), Dumar Way to 16th (separate turn lane with Yield sign),  16th to Holden (stop light that needs a turn lane & signal), then Holden to Highland Park Way (stop sign).

    I have included a photo that I took yesterday around 5 pm of the backup on eastbound Holden, near HP Way. This stretched for more than three blocks, down past 12th. This is what the morning commuter traffic looks like as well. I have also seen the same backup for the westbound traffic, with cars stopped from 16th all the way down onto HP Way. When this happens, it is impossible to see more than a half-block down hill from the stop sign. Turning left under those conditions you just have to hope that nobody is coming up the hill at 50 mph, which they frequently are.




    • pupsarebest March 7, 2016 (8:39 pm)

      Excellent input and documentation,  Alan.

      Additionally, as we’re on the general topic of impoving traffic flow, WHEN will the powers-that-be install a turn arrow for east/west bound traffic at 35th & Morgan intersection???

      An obvious problem , long overdue in addressing.

  • Craig March 5, 2016 (9:45 am)

    Thanks Tracy,

    Given all of the neighborhood pockets that express the desire for more traffic circles and other traffic calming features it seems that it would be empowering for all to have easy access to this data for all intersections.  

    Why not compile accident data and have the numbers trigger action from SDOT rather than waiting for working families to have to jump through hoops for  what seems like a major long runng oversite on the part of SDOT.? 

    • Alan March 5, 2016 (10:06 am)

      Besides accident data, SDOT also has traffic counts. They have had the counters out and know exactly how much traffic comes through this intersection. As I recall, the SDOT person helping on the Neighborhood Street Fund proposal made a statement along the lines of “Most people just think they have a traffic issue. You really do have a problem.”

      What puzzles me is why they think this is our neighborhood problem. This is a regional transportation issue that just happens to occur in our neighborhood. If we were just trying to reduce traffic or slow it down, then it would be our issue. Trying to help the traffic flow more smoothly and avoiding someone getting killed is not our responsibility. I believe we have SDOT for that and I don’t think we should have to beg them to do their job.

  • datamuse March 5, 2016 (9:53 am)

    I live less than a block from this intersection (I seem to have slept through this entire incident, somewhat to my surprise) and, anecdotally, am surprised crashes don’t occur more often. I’ve had any number of near misses in the 16 or so years I’ve lived here. The intersection itself is quite confusing and as Alan mentions, visibility along certain lines is slim to nonexistent. The project at 7717 Highland Park Way (which I’m generally in favor of as the structure that’s there now is in poor condition and something of a vandalism target) could potentially complicate things.

    .

    I hope the proposal being worked on turns into a real project.

  • Former 11th resident March 5, 2016 (6:26 pm)

    I lived that area for three years, and I quickly learned that rather than using that intersection to go down the hill, I go one block or two south on 11th to get to Highland PK way . This way, you can see the cars coming on both ways in clear view, and WAY easier to go down the hill. 

  • Kay K March 5, 2016 (11:05 pm)

    Yes, former 11th you are correct, and hundreds of others like you every commute too. The HPWay/Holden intersection causes tons of spill over traffic into ill equipped neighborhood side streets with unmarked intersections, blind hills, walking people, pets, kids, bikes, etc. I’ve seen a school bus hit by someone “avoiding” HPWay and Holden intersection by turning off Holden and using 12th to Kenyon instead, zipping through an un-signed intersection. 

    It is great that the city is developing the Greenways for bike riders and has installed a complete triggered stop light at 15th and Holden, putting 3 stop lights on the one block (16th & Holden, the stop light for the fire station, AND 15th & Holden) yet  SDOT cannot find funding to fix the fundamental problem at HPWay and Holden, or even address the simple left turn signal requests at the existing light at 16th and Holden.

    Ah sorry for the digression. Next thing I’ll be going on about the thousands of commuters exceeding the 30mph speed limit up and down HPWay all hours of the day and night. Will it never end….. :)

    • Alan March 6, 2016 (12:28 pm)

      Kay, I agree completely. Whenever I am sitting in traffic on Holden, I see car after car slam on their brakes and turn right into the neighborhood to get around the wait. While I agree with former 11th that visibility is better a block up, it doesn’t excuse the traffic speeding down residential streets.

      On the north side of Holden, a similar thing is happening. Traffic gets backed up on southbound 16th, so people are turning left on Myrtle, Orchard, Othello and Webster in order to avoid the backup at the two lights. I have been passed twice now when I was travelling south on 12th, at 25mph, by people looking for a faster way through. It isn’t just the increased traffic in the neighborhoods, but the aggressive driving that is disturbing.

Sorry, comment time is over.