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(29 posts)

Hey cops. Wanna hit your quota?

Started 1 year ago by velo_nut
Latest reply from DP

velo_nut
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Just hangout out on 35th. ANYWHERE on 35th.

PEOPLE. SLOW DOWN. IT'S NOT A DAMN HIGHWAY.

Posted 1 year ago #
Bonnie
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I know. They do go fast. Funny that I so rarely see a cop there too.

Posted 1 year ago #
Vanessa
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Glad it wasn't just me today, but I thought, GEEEEZE, people SLOW DOWN..between Mt. St. Vincent's and the U-Haul, they had to be going 50 and 60 this afternoon.......Scary to hang a left...

Posted 1 year ago #
guidosmom
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I agree - Today I almost got hit by a guy in a green ford Explorer. He was behind me on Morgan tailgating me the entire time. I was turning right onto 35th but stopped at the green light to let the pedestrians walk (they had the walk sign). He was hoking the entire time. Not sure what he wanted me to do, run over the pedestrians? As I turned onto 35th he came into my lane almost hitting me, then sped off very fast swerving in and out of traffic. I was really hoping there would be a cop on 35th.

Posted 1 year ago #
pigeonmom
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SERIOUSLY!!! I drive 35-36 mph and people blow by me going 47+ every time I drive 35th which is nearly every day.

Posted 1 year ago #
JoB
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i have decided to avoid using 35th..
too dangerous:(

Posted 1 year ago #
WSB
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We have had several reports of the speed van set up along 35th in the past couple days. It's been assigned there for a few months but these are just independent reports of "saw a sign saying camera enforced speed, is there a new camera?" So while you may not be seeing police, there may be some tickets in the mail.

Posted 1 year ago #
west seattle steve
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There was a motorcycle cop sitting in a driveway right by Camp Long Friday morning. Looked like he was doing speed enforcement.

Posted 1 year ago #
anonyme
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South of Roxbury, the speed limit on 35th decreases to 30 mph. Not only does traffic not slow down, it speeds up. The only enforcement I've ever seen is an occasional school zone trap. I'd say the average speed is at least 40 mph, but 50 and above is not at all uncommon. I'm amazed how many cyclists still risk their lives down this corridor. It seems as if anyone who dares travel at or near the speed limit risks being the target of road rage. The assumption these days is that the speed limit is a starting point...

Posted 1 year ago #
Al
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anonyme - it's not the cyclsts who are risking their lives, it's the speeding drivers who are the problem...the sppeding drivers are creating a hazard for all road users; other vehicles, cyclists, pedestrians, etc. Please don't critizice cyclists for using a roadway that is a good link to other areas. Arterials are often faster and more safe to cycle than neighborhods that require lower speeds, many more hazards (parked cars, kids, animals, worse roadway beds) and contain numerous uncontrolled intersections (don't get me started on speeding cars through those areas). If you are concerned for cyclists, start contact SDOT's Ped/Bike group, walkandbike@seattle.gov and give contstructive criticism.

Posted 1 year ago #
ToddinWestwood
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also, if you did do 35mph on 35th, you will pass some folks like they are standing still. Some people must think it's 25mph.

Just a reminder, the city is not cutting anyone a break. If you get caught speeding, you will not get a warning ( unless you are a cute woman who bats her eyelashes) the city is broke, so they will write you up for the max fine as possible.

Last thursday night I received a ticket for doing 54mph in a 40 zone coming north out of the Battery Street Tunnel on my motorcycle. I have never had a ticket in my life. If I was doing 40 mph thru there, I would have been run over. I feel I was going with the flow of traffic, and being safe and prudent. oh well, I didnt need that $154.00 as much as the city does.

Posted 1 year ago #
DP
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What!? Cops hitting their quota!!!

Oh, sorry. I thought you meant something different . . .

Posted 1 year ago #
Jiggers
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It appears that drivers heading to downtown on 35th love the idea of that infamous double-dip hill (by the Totem Pole) they will speed up and treat like some sort of downhill skii ramp and going uphill pound their car even harder. Cops should wait at the entrance to the golf course because drivers don't know how to monitor their speeds going downhill.

Posted 1 year ago #
odroku
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Maybe they're all too busy taking reports for other crimes on which they'll never follow up.

Posted 1 year ago #
hammy
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Out of curiousity, do cops really have to meet ticketing quotas? I have joked about it for years but would like to know if there is some truth to that rumor. Does anyone have any factual information? In reality, I would guess that traffic cops are given assignments based on a number of factors including citizen complaints, accidents, etc. (ie. they don't just randomly chose a location). I think it would be an unpleasant job, can't imagine folks getting pulled over would be that friendly.

Posted 1 year ago #
anonyme
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Al, you completely misunderstood my post. I think that, due to a separate thread, you think I hate cyclists. Nothing could be further from the truth! My post above was meant to be sympathetic toward cyclists who have to share the road (35th, in this case)with insane, speeding drivers who have no regard for cyclists, pedestrians, or residents along the corridor. I never suggested that cyclists were creating a hazard; quite the reverse. AGREED?

Todd may have hit on one reason for this mounting problem. Speeding has increased, and you can actually be ticketed for not "going with the flow" of traffic - which means you have to catch up with the speeders or risk a ticket. This is a lose/lose situation. No one should ever have to risk being ticketed for obeying the law. I have witnessed numerous examples of road rage on 35th when a driver dared obey the speed limit, and some jackass got behind them honking, screaming, weaving crazily back & forth across the lanes. Crazy, and stupid.

Posted 1 year ago #
velo_nut
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Sure hope the F350 flying through the (red!) light at 35th and Thistle this morning gets a ticket in the mail. That was EASILY 85 mph. AND there was a guy in the crosswalk!

Posted 1 year ago #
maude
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I spend as little time on 35th as I can possibly get away with. And if I do have to drive it, I stay in the lane closest to the curb so all the Nascar drivers can pass me on the left. That light at Thistle flashes when nobody is moving and doesn't flash when others are running the red light.

Posted 1 year ago #
TDe
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And why the speed limit is 35 on 35th (neighborhoods, crosswalks, stoplights, bus stops with children, narrow 4 lanes) and 30 on the Admiral hill, makes no sense at all. Just sayin...

Posted 1 year ago #
lucky chick
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I had the audacity to stop for a pedestrian trying to cross yesterday and not only did no one else stop, but the drivers behind me who perceived me as holding them up laid on the horns! Sadly, it's not safe to stop for peds because some butthead in one of the other lanes is sure to come speeding through.

Posted 1 year ago #
Cait
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TDe - and Delridge too for that matter!

Posted 1 year ago #
datamuse
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Cait: I wouldn't go faster on Delridge anyway...too many potholes.

Hmm, there's a thought. ADD potholes to 35th, that'll slow people down!

Posted 1 year ago #
Ken
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The potholes are on their way. The cracked pavement with the slight dips will become potholes in a couple of months. If you are going the speed limit you can see them every 10 feet or so between Camp long and Morgan. They are a little further apart in many other places.

Posted 1 year ago #
redblack
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while we're waiting for the potholes to gestate, maybe someone can conveniently lose some random debris along 35th. like 4" x 4" posts or buckets of grease. :)

Posted 1 year ago #
JoB
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sounds like it's still a good idea to avoid 35th :)

Posted 1 year ago #
maude
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I dread making a left turn from southbound on 35th at Myrtle. I've nearly been rear-ended there more times than I can count. Something about cresting that hill inserts some heads into backsides. And I still see plenty of those racers talking on their cell phones too. I decided a while back to just shoot across 35th at Morgan and go up and around the park to get home.

Posted 1 year ago #
JoB
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part of me feels guilty for not doing my bit to honor pedestrian traffic on 35th by traveling that route and stopping for them...

the more practical part of me thinks being rear-ended is too large a price to pay...

and that by stopping for pedestrians i could be putting them at greater risk from the idiots who would swing impatiently around me :(

side streets are safer :(

Posted 1 year ago #
Ken
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I no longer stop for pedestrians on 35th except at marked crosswalks. It is just to dangerous to the pedestrian.

If I saw even one previous pedestrian look both ways after I had stopped, I might be more willing but people here are too addled to look out for themselves it seems.

The city seems to recognize this since all the marked crosswalks in the 4 lane sections have lights and push to cross buttons.

Posted 1 year ago #
DP
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Regardless of the street, if it's not at a crosswalk I won't stop for someone who's just waiting on the side of the road, looking furtively for a chance to cross. I'm like Ken: I don't want to be responsible for any carnage that might occur.

However, I will generally still stop for someone who's already started across the road or is stranded at a median — even if it's not on a crosswalk. Of course I don't want to get rear-ended either, but I'd take that over hitting a pedestrian.

For those who don't stop for pedestrians outside of a crosswalk . . . I understand your logic. FWIW, I don't think you're ever going to get ticketed because of that. However, technically you could get ticketed, because the pedestrian always has the right of way. Also, if you injured a pedestrian, you might be at a disadvantage in court for failing to yield, even if there was no crosswalk in sight.

It's a tough call.

Posted 1 year ago #