Followup: 47th/Admiral traffic-signal project goes out for bid

Though the city had said as recently as September that work would start on the 47th/Admiral traffic signal this fall, it won’t be any sooner than winter, since the project is only just now out to bid. The solicitation on the city website and in public notices says bids are due December 10th, which is two weeks from tomorrow. The notice projects the signal will cost up to $350,000. It has long been in the works, with the campaign to improve safety at the intersection tracing back to the death of 26-year-old Tatsuo Nakata, hit and killed by a driver eight years ago this month; in summer of 2013, after then-Mayor McGinn proposed an incremental improvement at the intersection, the City Council found funding for a full signal. Whenever work starts – we have a message out to ask about the new projected timeframe – the city estimates that the signal construction will last about three months.

ADDED: In response to our inquiry, SDOT says that the current plan is to start construction in February.

grus22 November 25, 2014 (2:27 pm)

almost been hit here 3 times in the last week. Yes Drivers!

JayDee November 25, 2014 (4:57 pm)

Again, a solution in search of a problem. Spend the money on I-35 where deaths and accidents do occur as noted in WSB recently. No doubt it is a scary intersection, but with one pedestrian fatality in the last? 18 years (I only recall the one noted fatality since I’ve been here). At the very most, a pedestrian activated signal and crossing is all that is needed.

47th resident November 25, 2014 (5:29 pm)

Agreed, JayDee, but the squeaky wheel gets the grease…

WSB November 25, 2014 (9:35 pm)

Whether you agree the light is needed or not, this isn’t exactly a case of appeasement. Concerned citizens have been “squeaking” for eight years, while other projects around the city with and without “squeaking” have moved along.

Mike November 25, 2014 (9:42 pm)

still does not fix the issue of a crosswalk on a blind curve, most people don’t even know there’s a light there now.

pedestrian November 25, 2014 (10:02 pm)

A street light is needed at this intersection. I was nearly hit by a car there. The car didn’t stop but swerved around me.
That being said, I agree 35th Avenue is a more dangerous road.

Alki Resident November 25, 2014 (11:52 pm)

This will be one nasty intersection filled with rear end collisions created by drivers unable to see the cars below the line of sight stopped. Throw into the equation the summer sun that for 45 days out of the year sits directly in the drivers face virtually blinding them.

A traffic signal that runs 24/7 seems to me to be creating an intersection that will create more problems than it solves. Embedded crosswalk lights in roadway and a pedestrian activated signal make more sense, but what do I know?

KBear November 26, 2014 (10:46 am)

If you can’t see what’s around the corner and stop in time, you are driving too fast. If you can’t avoid hitting the car in front of you that did stop, you are following too closely. Neither of these are the fault of the traffic light or the pedestrian.

47th ave resident November 26, 2014 (5:44 pm)

I agree with you KBear. As someone who is a daily walker crossing this street, I see this all the time when a car does stop for me. It’s really frightening to see the stopped car almost get hit by the car behind them. And then see said car try to swerve around the stopped car. This happens both ways, up and down Admiral.

taj November 27, 2014 (1:36 pm)

All because this crosswalk is in the wrong spot. Get rid of it and move it up the hill a bit. The proposed light is too much!

Alki Resident November 27, 2014 (10:09 pm)

I suggest that KBear take a drive westbound on Admiral Way at the posted speed limit of 30 mph. Upon cresting the top of hill just before 47th imagine 5, 6 or 7 cars backed up from a new signal. No time to stop… then shine a LED flashlight in your eyes and you have the summer sun setting in the west. It’s not a matter of following too close or speeding it’s the traffic that will be backed up the hill from a 24/7 signal. I go back to embedded flashing crosswalk lights and a pedestrian activated signal. Then again, what do I know?

Steve November 29, 2014 (11:11 am)

Not knowing what’s in front of you or around corners is just part of driving. Paying attention is part of what you agree to when you get a drivers lisense.

Alki Residenti November 30, 2014 (12:11 am)

Well said Steve. If only that were true in real life. Place yourself just below the line of sight stopped behind 5 or 6 cars at the red light at 47th. Then look in your rearview mirror and watch what happens. It’s not pretty. If we all paid attention while driving we won’t need a signal on 47th. But what do I know?

William December 1, 2014 (8:42 am)

I enter and exit Admiral from SW Waite St. everyday through this intersection and do not see a signal will be an improvement.

Too bad the city ignored cyclists and made the intersection much worse for them. The city designers have located the sensors in the road on the steepest part of the hill coming from SW Waite street. No cyclist will stop their bicycle there. This means cyclists have to stop, dismount and negotiate a steep narrow sidewalk to get to the push button on the sidewalk – competing for space with pedestrians as they drag their bicycle along.

I think we are getting the signal because of do-gooders that don’t actually use the intersection.

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