Is it enough?

After a car hit and killed Tatsuo Nakata last month at 47th and Admiral, the city promised safety improvements to the crosswalk there. Now comes word of a community meeting a week from Monday, at which city reps will talk about what they plan to do — according to a meeting notice forwarded to us, it’s two “curb bulbs” in the area, plus replacement of some “warning sign(s).” Is that enough? Some had been calling for a stoplight. If you want to have a say, the meeting will be at 6 pm Dec. 18, Hiawatha Community Center.

ML December 7, 2006 (8:10 am)

This crosswalk and the one further west are in unsafe locations in terms of being on horizontal and vertical curves. Terrible sight line problems, and high accelarations when going westbound. I would start there. Curb bulbs shorten the distance the pedestrian has to cross and puts them further out in the traffic sight line. Bulbs are a good feature, but start with: “could these two crosswalks be in a better location where sight lines are maximized?” (Both Metro and SDOT move crosswalks and bus stops all the time.)

Disgruntled Street Crosser December 11, 2006 (11:20 am)

I live just down the street from this crosswalk. Last night I was out for a walk with my dog and was on the north side (the highly visable side) of the crosswalk waiting to cross. I watched a Metro Bus and 7 cars fly down the hill right through the crosswalk before someone finally stopped and was nearly rear-ended.

Curb bulbs are not the answer at this intersection. It really needs a light.

jml December 11, 2006 (10:53 pm)

by washington state law (RCW 46.04.160), every street intersection is considered an implied legal crosswalk unless otherwise noted (i.e. if there is a “do not cross” sign posted). even intersections that are not marked are considered crosswalks. the biggest problem is that 90% of drivers do not know this law. an equally difficult problem is that most drivers do not stop for people in crosswalks even if they DO see pedestrians in time. i use the crosswalk where mr. nakata was killed, and i’ve observed two things over the years. if i stand at the curb and wait for traffic to stop for me, i will be waiting there until there is finally NO traffic before i can cross. if i assert myself and stand IN THE STREET, or even begin to walk slowly through the crosswalk, many drivers will ignore me or even swerve in the center lane to get around me. bottom line is pedestrians do not matter to drivers. drivers will only obey traffic lights for fear of getting a ticket for running a red light.

and regarding relocating crosswalks, yes SDOT can do this, but people will still cross there (and still legally). i would argue that this makes it more dangerous. SDOT removed a crosswalk in front of my office on western avenue on lower queen anne. there was a lot of traffic there and SDOT felt that the crosswalk impeded the flow of traffic. now the crosswalk is gone, but scores of people still cross there every day years later. and now people get hit by cars there quite regularly (i myself have witnessed 3 people get hit there in the past 2 years)

SAFE ADMIRAL December 17, 2006 (12:00 pm)

Hello–

we are in the midst of establishing an Admiral Neighborhood group called SAFE (Safe Admiral For Everyone) in an attempt to bring to light pedestrian and driver safety issues in our neighborhood. On the table currently is the intersection at 47th and Admiral where Tatsuo Nakata was struck and killed on November 14th, 2006.

There will be a community meeting on November 18th (this monday) from 6-8PM at the Hiawatha Community Center, located at 2700 California Ave SW. The Seattle Dept. of Transportation will be in attendance.

This is our chance to speak out about this interesction, share evidence of its dangers to pedestrians and drivers alike, and try to get financial/gov’t support to put in a traffic light.

We well recognize the timing of this meeting; it is not the best, one week before the holidays. However, it is vital that as many of us as possible take a couple hours out of our day to advocate for this change.

Please attend! And email safeadmiral@yahoo.com about this issue, or any other pedestrian/driver safety concerns you feel are facing our community. We will hold more meetings in the New Year to try to make this a safer Admiral neighborhood for all.

SAFE

SAFE ADMIRAL January 6, 2007 (10:35 am)

Hello–

Happy New Year. We have recently learned of a pedestrian group founded by Andrea Okomski called “Pedestrian InRoads.” Her website is up and running. Also, there is an important meeting being held at Harborview 1/16 Tuesday in memory of Tatsuo Nakata to investigate pedestrian safety issues. I have pasted the information here:

Conference at Harborview January 16th
Harborview Injury Prevention and Research Center (HIPRC) presents a conference to honor the memory of Tatsuo Nakata
Immediate Steps Needed to Make Seattle Safer for Pedestrians

Tuesday, January 16th, 9-3:30
Research and Training Building Auditorium
Harborview Medical Center (HMC)

Purpose: To review the scientific evidence on the intervention measures shown to be effective, and those that have not been effective in reducing the risk of death and injuries to pedestrians. It is hoped that at the conclusion of the conference, recommendations will emerge on immediate steps that can be taken to make Seattle safer for pedestrians.

Conference chairman: Abe Bergman,
Welcome: Scott Barnhart, Medical Director HMC
Tribute to Tatsuo Nakata: David Della, Seattle City Council
Overview of pedestrian safety: What does the research tell us? Fred Rivara
Panel discussion: The most dangerous sites in Seattle for pedestrians, and what is being done to improve them? Tony Gomez/Peter Lagerwey/Anne Vernez-Moudon (not confirmed)
Lessons from elsewhere: What works and what does not work: John Moffat, Region 10 NHTSA Administrator.
The families of Victims Speak: Desiree Douglass/Andrea Okomski
Pedestrian safety for the elderly: Tom Koepsell
Benefits of a pedestrian-friendly community: Brian Saelens/Brian Johnston/David Levinger
The South King County Experience: Abe Bergman
Reactor panel: What immediate steps should Seattle take to improve safety for pedestrians.
Lowell Porter, Washington State Traffic Safety Commission. (not confirmed)
Grace Crunican, Seattle DOT (not confirmed)
Gil Kerlikowske, SPD (not confirmed)
David Levinger, Feet First
Desiree Douglas, Headstrong
Andrea Okomski, Pedestrian InRoads
Fred Rivara, HIPRC

Measures continue to be taken to advocate for a full stop light at the intersection at 47th and Admiral. Curb bulbs continue to be the City’s option for this area. However, if you look into curb bulbs on the SDOT website, you will see that they are not necessarily the best option. The city needs to hear your feedback; we need to keep on them about this dangerous intersection.

email SAFEADMIRAL@yahoo.com with your ideas/comments.