UPDATES: 1 hurt in 2-car crash at 42nd and Findlay; 3-car crash at 35th and Thistle; collision at Delridge and Henderson

(UPDATING to add third West Seattle collision reported in less than an hour)

FIRST CRASH, 1:52 PM: Big Seattle Fire response on the way to 42nd and Findlay for an “automobile rescue” call.

1:55 PM: The response is being scaled back because, according to emergency-radio traffic, everyone’s made it out of their vehicles.

2:06 PM: Adding a photo. One person’s going to the hospital via private ambulance; injuries are not serious. The reason this originally was called out as a “rescue,” police tell us, is that the airbags deployed on one car and they were concerned about possible major injuries and getting the person out quickly and safely. This is the second crash at the intersection in three days; the previous one happened Thursday morning and was mentioned at the time in our morning-traffic coverage.

SECOND CRASH, 2:17 PM: Another crash – this time reported to involve 3 vehicles, at 35th SW and SW Thistle. SFD is arriving and SPD is on the way; we’d suggest avoiding the neighborhood for a while.

2:23 PM: Our crew reports this is actually south of Thistle on 35th, between Thistle and Cloverdale, and the northbound side is blocked by not just the vehicles but also the emergency response.

THIRD CRASH, 2:41 PM: Delridge and Henderson, just reported, partly blocking the intersection, injuries reported. On the way to check.

3:01 PM UPDATE: No major injuries here, either. Delridge traffic is getting through, albeit slowly; if you’re headed east on Henderson, you’ll have to divert for now.

3:29 PM: Let us know if you see any of these still blocking – we were able to check Thistle/Cloverdale/35th on the way back from Delridge/Henderson, and it was all off to the side.

Alki resident October 24, 2015 (3:04 pm)

Those single lanes each way are working out well.

a October 24, 2015 (3:56 pm)

Looks like that road diet isn’t working out so well on 35th. I travel 35th multiple times a day and do not feel any safer due to the sudden stop and go traffic and having to worry about being rear ended. 35th is just as dangerous except with horrible traffic now. More and more people are moving to West Seattle so the bright idea is to take away driving lanes. Quality of life is going down the drain in this city. We’re turning into San Francisco :(

clulessinws October 24, 2015 (4:03 pm)

Wasn’t there an accident at 42nd/Findlay just the other day?

Matt October 24, 2015 (5:24 pm)

I noticed a lot of careless drivers earlier when I was out and about. It’d be nice to see tickets given for the basics, lack of blinker namely.

Bonnie October 24, 2015 (5:29 pm)

I travel 35th daily also and have not really had much problem with the ‘road diet’. I like it.

~Hockeywitch~ October 24, 2015 (5:33 pm)

Was waiting to see how “accident” reducing the new one lane in each direction was going to work out….am still against it. 35th is too busy for this traffic formation. Cars passing in the turn lane because of slower cars in front of them. People are still darting out into traffic because of lack of cross walks… Give us back out lanes and JUST SLOW DOWN!! There is NO REASON to do 45+ on a 35 MPH street.

D October 24, 2015 (5:51 pm)

I hope someone keeps track of the accidents on the newly revised 35th Ave so we can actually see if this poorly thought out “safety improvement” is doing anything other than annoying West Seattle commuters and causing more confusion.

Buck October 24, 2015 (5:59 pm)

For some reason our city council wants Seattle to be just like San Francisco. I agree there seems to be more and worse accidents on 35th Ave SW since the road starvation was implemented. I also notice more accidents on side streets at uncontrolled intersections. When will people learn to treat uncontrolled intersections as yield and or stops? Driving is a fairly simple exercise but more and more people prove to be incapable.

Seattlite October 24, 2015 (7:15 pm)

Careless, inattentive, distracted, impatient drivers are the cause of accidents. Driving defensively is the only way to stay out of harm’s way — think of every driver as an idiot ready to do something stupid behind the wheel. The mayor, city council and Kubly (SDOT) have ruined Seattle’s roadway infrastructure.

Funrunner October 24, 2015 (7:29 pm)

I live on 35th. Love the new road configuration. Tired of people complaining about lost lanes and speed. Seems like most commenters are either old or live in their cars. In fact, because the new reality cost them 5 minutes as they barrel to work, I’m sure they’d be happy having houses torn down on 35th and make it four lanes each way. Also getting tired of the whining about SF. This sounds like that tired old ranting by that old coot Watson. Move elsewhere already. And take you cars.

CarDriver October 24, 2015 (7:56 pm)

What? An accident occurred on 35th after the road diet. Inexplicable. And here I am a young mom just wishing there were two lanes on a sunday so I could get to Target without waiting 15 minutes at Holden. Thank God for 34th. Oh wait. WSDOT said people weren’t doing that.

West Seattle Hipster October 24, 2015 (8:21 pm)

Looks like the majority of West Seattleites are opposed to the negative impact of the road starvation on 35th.

35th resident October 24, 2015 (8:28 pm)

I agree with Bonnie and Funrunner – I love the new lanes. I drive 35th during the peak morning and evening commute times, and really haven’t noticed a significant increase in my commute. No matter how quickly you can speed through our neighborhood you’ll still end up bumper to bumper on the bridge/ 99/ I-5/ I-90…

Accidents aren’t caused by slower roads, they’re caused by aggressive or inattentive drivers. While I was driving south on 35th with my kids today (going the speed limit), the older lady in the car behind me was tailgating and flipping me off the entire trip… I get it, you’re super important and can’t be bothered to drive less than 40… this was at 3:30, so after the accident on 35th. Slow down!

dsa October 24, 2015 (8:33 pm)

But will they tally these crashes or make excuses on how well the diet is working? I can’t tell how good it is, my wife drove it *once* since then has avoided since then. I’ve used “alternative” routes.
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Hmmm…traffic engineers would have counter strips on the pavement right now to see how many trips are being diverted to other routes.

seattletimebandit October 24, 2015 (8:38 pm)

@Funrunner:you’re gonna be old someday too.

WS Resident October 24, 2015 (8:58 pm)

I like the changes on 35th. I hated being so close to oncoming traffic in the inside lanes, especially with people going 45mph.

chemist October 24, 2015 (9:20 pm)

“What was your origin and destination and how did you end up on this road ?”
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That would be an interesting addition to traffic accident reports, particularly ones that are within a mile of a road diet/rechannelization project.

If people are diverting/filtering to less-regulated side routes (listening to KUOW the week in review, ECB was saying all the side-streets drivers want bikes on had all the stop signs so idaho stop made sense… but I kept thinking “not the West Seattle side streets”).

AHNeighbor October 24, 2015 (9:30 pm)

Right on Funrunner, et al. I love the new lane configuration. I drive 35th and Roxbury every day and have experienced no confusion and no extra delay. As for people passing in the turn lane, there will always be crazy drivers no matter what the lane configuration. But before it was people changing lanes like crazy and tailgating aggressively. I feel generally safer on these roads now and I’m sure the people who live and park on 35th do too.

chemist October 24, 2015 (9:40 pm)

patching up my thought process/writing from the later half of my comment.
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If people are diverting/filtering to less-regulated side routes, that would be good to know if it was leading to accidents.

After listening to KUOW the week in review, ECB was saying all the side-streets, that “drivers say they want bikes on instead of arterials”, had all the stop signs so idaho stops by bikes made sense but I kept thinking “that’s not how the West Seattle side streets are”).

WSB October 24, 2015 (9:52 pm)

Since I know you like to crunch numbers, information on crashes to which SFD has responded is all available. Unlike SPD, there are no exceptions for what SFD includes on its log. If one engine or 10 is/are called out, it’s there – it’s automated. We follow it “live” via http://www2.cityofseattle.net/fire/realTime911/getRecsForDatePub.asp?action=Today&incDate=&rad1=des – it’s also available in the Socrata data sets via https://data.seattle.gov/Public-Safety/Seattle-Real-Time-Fire-911-Calls/kzjm-xkqj – Now, the challenge is to sort for what is definitely a car crash callout. If the injuries are not serious, they are labeled MOTOR VEHICLE INCIDENT. But that’s relatively new – until earlier this year – so if you were comparing, for example, to this time last year, you would have to look for MOTOR VEHICLE ACCIDENT. On occasion, if for example it’s vehicle vs. pedestrian, or motorcycle-involved, it might come up as a medic call, not an MVI, and that’s why we don’t catch everything unless people helpfully text to say “crash blocking (XX).” Also, there are the “automobile rescue” and “heavy rescue” categories. And for the bridge, there’s MVI-Freeway. Crunching these numbers won’t tell you for sure whether there have been more injuries – people often say “oh, that looked like a horrible accident” and in reality it wasn’t, at least in terms of injuries – but it might provide raw numbers. Tweets By Beat from SPD, meantime, does track some motor vehicle incidents now BUT did not used to – this has just started along with the “incident management” initiative as of mid-summer. So it’s not going to give you a comparison. One more caveat: Sometimes an incident is dispatched but not found. So, you might see an MVI call that actually didn’t pan out, no way to tell, it stays on the log (just like those fire calls you see here periodically, “big callout … oh wait … it was food on the stove, everyone’s been dismissed” but it’s still on the log as a “fire in single-family residence”). — TR

niner October 24, 2015 (10:01 pm)

I like the new configuration too. Turning left is much safer, both onto and off of 35th.

clulessinws October 24, 2015 (10:24 pm)

There is even a yield sign at 42nd and Findlay.

koni October 25, 2015 (4:20 am)

Funrunner, 10 minutes extra traveling the new road diet routes out of West Seattle (my experience so far) twice a day (I have to work, 3 buses to get there or my car…which would you choose?)…adds up to 20 minutes per day, multiplied conservatively by 5x per week… adds an hour and 40 minutes in my car… fun. Sat through three lights trying to turn on Trenton to Westwood village the other day. Fun. Watch people daily run lights more frequently than ever. Fun. I have started leaving 5 minutes earlier each day to try to find the “sweet spot” for commuting…everyone else seems to have the same idea. 35th is a thoroughfare..it should be treated as such.

Rick October 25, 2015 (7:48 am)

A comparable house on 35th (arterial) would be cheaper than a house on ,say, 40th. There’s a reason for that. I would buy a cheap house by the airport and then complain about the noise and demand improvements be made to improve it’s value but that’s already been done. $queaky wheel (vocal minority) get$ the grea$e in this town. To hell with the majority, comrade.

h October 25, 2015 (9:34 am)

I prefer the new configuration.

Sunuva October 25, 2015 (9:55 am)

I don’t like the road diet because I feel it is less safe to drive on 35th now. There is too high a volume of traffic for this configuration. The traffic is stop-and-go at unexpected places which will lead to more rear-end accidents. I drove by the aftermath of a rear-end accident just last week and I expect to see more. Meanwhile, all of these pro-road-diet folks keep claiming that those of us against it just want to speed and are upset that we can’t get to places faster. While the new configuration has slowed things down, I think most of us are more concerned that this road diet has made the road less safe for drivers. That is what I’m upset about! The project that was supposedly done in the name of safety has made the road less safe for drivers!

M October 25, 2015 (10:06 am)

If one thinks that 35th is better off now after the road diet then I suspect he or she is also the same person that drives below the speed limit in the left hand lane on I5.

Law5793 October 25, 2015 (10:37 am)

I live of 30th now the route is always backed up and with no turning arrows at the lights is more dangerous.in seattle the basic traffic laws are neglected for example you cannot block driveways or intersections even those of an alley. When I try and turn left I can’t cause it is blocked or so many cars backed up I have no save window.I could do like most Seattle drivers and pull recklessly in front of oncoming traffic expecting them to yield the right of way and be attentive and not on a cell phone. This plan was a poor option they needed to just add crossing walks and speed enforcement. Perfect example of issues is Webster to Holden 3 lights in a very short distance and no timing.This is because of the misalignment of Holden. So years of poor road designs at play.

Actually Live on 35th October 25, 2015 (1:55 pm)

@Rick, careful your elitism is showing. So we DESERVE to listen to people riding their crotch rockets at all hours, we WISH to make the suicide dash across 35th with our children just to get to the bus, we are ASKING for people to speed in excess of 40 mph in front of our homes?

And for @alki resident–please continue your backseat driving from your lofty living up north, really appreciate it.

a October 25, 2015 (4:03 pm)

If you guys think 35th is bad now, wait until you see what our mayor has in store for us next. Instead of being a real man and admitting his mistake and returning 35th to the way it should be he’s going to come up with some b.s. numbers and try to say 35th is running smoother now and there are no traffic issues and he is going to continue the road diet/war on cars and 35th will become 2 lanes all the way to avalon.

TheKing October 25, 2015 (4:19 pm)

House values on 35th have to be tanking, sure they can at least park in front of their houses but with all the fumes from the miles of cars idling out there all day it must be horrible.

35th resident October 25, 2015 (8:38 pm)

My house is on 35th, and again I’ve never seen these miles of cars idling, or experienced an extra 10 minutes to reach the bridge. And the squeakiest wheels in West Seattle seem to be on cars owned by people who want to drive 50 through the neighborhood (at least on this forum)… I definitely prefer the new lanes and 30 mph speed limit, but I wasn’t out petitioning the city council or collecting signatures to get anything pushed through.

All the hyperbole around the new lanes feels very “death panel”y to me. Just suck it up and leave 5 minutes early (if there is actually a significant difference in travel times – again, something I haven’t seen).

MOVE! Seattle PLEASE! October 25, 2015 (9:14 pm)

What I don’t like about the 35th road diet is that when you are driving single file, 20 to 30 miles an hour, driver’s leave distance according to speed. Consequently, driving single file, and at low speeds, you can’t see very far ahead so you have to totally rely on the person in front of you to drive safely, meaning they are leaving enough distance and are paying attention. If the person in front isn’t doing the 2 things just mentioned, they may end up doing an abrupt slow down or even stop….which effects those behind and down the line…this doesn’t make me fell safer. I have experienced the abrupt slow downs and stops – without warning to me because I can’t see what is happening in front. At least with 2 lanes, cars moving lanes, and having the option to switch lanes myself, I felt safer because I could see farther ahead to prepare my own driving decisions. SDOT gets a thumbs down from me. Single file at low speed is not safer. Especially when folks have gotten impatient, and use the middle turn lane too early as that can startle us doing the single file crawl.

Wshomegrown October 25, 2015 (9:19 pm)

We all know the statistics about diets, they don’t work! I love the ones who are against the changes are the ones who are selfish or told to find somewhere else to live….how about if you want to drive like we are out for a Sunday drive everywhere you go live in the country? This is the city we live in. Three of the four reasons for the accidents on 35th according to SDOT were distracted driving, impairment, and right of way, none of which are going to improve with these changes. Everyone from drivers to cyclists to pedestrians have to be responsible when they put themselves out there. I have yet to see any improvements to crosswalks or traffic lights as promised?? And no I am not old and I don’t enjoy being or as you say “living” in my car which is why it is frustrating to have to be in it any longer than I should when part of that is my local neighborhood where I never had to factor it in to my commute time. And leave earlier?? Me and everyone else? Add 5-10 here and then 10-15 to the bridge?? How about SDOT just come up with real solutions? Bicycling is not an option for everyone nor is Metro which we all know has become so unreliable you are better off driving!

Cainipoo October 25, 2015 (9:46 pm)

@Actually live on 35th, Elitism? I’m not sure how that ties in. As a resident of California Ave, it is quite loud and has gotten increasingly noisier the past few years as the population has increased in WS. I knew that when I chose to live on an arterial and reap the benefits of modest rent. If you think people don’t speed on CA because it’s one lane, you’re wrong. If you had concerns with drivers speeding why didn’t you go to the city/SPD and pressure them to add more patrols or enforcement to that area? The road didn’t need to be completely reconfigured and made less efficient essentially pushing more cars onto “neighborhood streets”.

Jw October 25, 2015 (10:35 pm)

@MOVE!…Why worry about what’s ahead of the person in front of you? I was always taught to imagine that if the car in front of me came to an imidiate stop would I be able to stop in time without swerving? People around here seem to leave the same gap at 20 as they do at 60. That means your relying a lot on other drivers. I personally think the new 35th is much better.

35th resident October 26, 2015 (12:00 pm)

I agree with some of the above: I do not believe it has made travel safer. I also cannot for the life of me understand the mentality that reducing lanes of travel and safety are automatically on in the same! Also, dedicated bus lanes…..rapid ride is supposed to run every 8 minutes. Ever wonder how many multi or even single occupant cars can pass through a given point in 8 minutes? The capacity of a high capacity articulated bus is roughly 120. My guess is way more people will be moved in cars in 8 minutes assuming a packed bus (never seen one). I’m all for GOOD bus service and logical bike transportation and in my opinion we have neither.

Paul October 26, 2015 (12:47 pm)

I am on 35th pretty much every day, usualy during tbe busiest times. I think it is working out well. I like driving this configuration much better than the old one.

And no, I do not drive below the speed limit on I-5 unless there is a traffic jam.

Chris S October 26, 2015 (1:30 pm)

I don’t understand the people who say that driving slower makes people more likely to rear-end the person in front of them. Tailgating makes you more likely to rear-end someone. Leave adequate space between you and the car in front of you and you should be safe at any speed.

Sunuva October 26, 2015 (1:58 pm)

It is not that driving slower increases the chance of rear-ending someone. It is that the stopped traffic at unexpected places makes it more likely. Also, as one person mentioned the visibility when in single-file line is less than when you can spread traffic across multiple lanes. I’ve personally started staying at least 5 car lengths back on 35th now so I can avoid rear-ending someone. However, if I do have to stop suddenly in an unexpected place, I’m worried about the person behind me not being ready for it.
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To the others who keep insisting those of us who are against this road diet are speeders who want to go 50 mph down your street, please stop. I haven’t seen anyone mention that the reason they are against this is that they want to break the law and speed down your street. The concern is that it did not improve safety, they haven’t made any improvements to the crosswalks or added any crosswalks, and yes it has made the rush hour commute a slow crawl in places which will only get worse when the finish the road diet all the way up to Alaska.

Chris S October 26, 2015 (3:05 pm)

Again, I have to ask, what’s different about the new 35th situation? If you don’t tailgate, you have room to respond and stop. “Stopped traffic at unexpected places” is, well, unexpected on any road, which is why drivers should always keep a safe distance back from the car in front of them, taking account of required stopping distances at any speed. If drivers only had to stop for “expected” things, they could zone out the rest of the time but they can’t do that and should remain vigilant always.

Wes C. Addle October 26, 2015 (3:33 pm)

Whomever said they have never seen a full bus must not actually live in West Seattle. I bus to and from work everyday and every bus I take is jam packed and standing room only half way through the route.

Sunuva October 26, 2015 (3:44 pm)

Again, I’m more worried about being rear-ended than I am about rear-ending someone myself. I don’t tailgate. I follow at a very safe distance but have expanded that even further now on 35th. The traffic is stop-and-go in places where it used to flow just fine. This is dangerous, for example, when coming over the hill to Holden and traffic is at a dead stop a few blocks back from the traffic light. Things are definitely different now since I never noticed that problem before. I drive on 35th multiple times a day, not just the evening and morning commute, so I do believe I see a new pattern.
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Telling me that if I don’t tailgate there won’t a problem is just ignoring that there may be a problem. You are assuming something about my driving and ignoring that no matter how good I drive, others may not do the same. Sure, it would be great if everybody drove safe and attentive and kept a safe following distance, but we all know that is not the case. So, why should we make the road more dangerous knowing that not everyone is a perfect driver? This has also caused other dangerous behaviors many have noted like more people running red lights and darting in between cars because it’s more difficult to turn or pull out now. Bottom line, this road diet has not made the road more safe, from my perception.
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Lastly, an open question; if this was all about pedestrian safety, why did they not do anything else to improve the crosswalks? Wasn’t that supposed to be a focus? Add more lighting, add more crosswalks, paint them better, add more walk signals, warning lights, etc. Are they planning that in the future or just decided that there isn’t a need because the road diet fixes everything?

35th resident October 26, 2015 (4:09 pm)

I totally agree that there is still lots of work to be done! There has always been a need for some left turn signals on 35th, the bottle neck after Morgan is a mess (as drivers race to edge out other cars where the extra lane disappears), and additional crosswalks would be nice. I’m hoping there is more work in the pipeline, but I have no idea about the plan here.

I guess I bought a house on a street with too few left turn signals, so it’s my own fault (right, @Rick?) – but it’d be nice to see a few more improvements.

35th resident October 26, 2015 (8:51 pm)

I said I’ve never seen a full bus. Maybe things gave changed since last time I bussed it and I will concede that point. When I did it sucked. I don’t take the bus because I am a worker, person, father and husband therefore I can’t afford an extra hour or two per day bussing it. I’m super pro transportation solutions. Imo the crux of the problem is poor planning going back decades. Not planning appropriately for growth, topography, etc. I’m just saying in the words of um…Taylor swift…? “Bandaids don’t fix bullet holes”.
I think we and our leadership should ask tough questions and look at expensive real solutions for the long term. Real, efficient mass transit etc. I understand its a tough dilemma but what do we do? Create new infastructure or continue to try and invent the wheel that’s been here for years? We might just keep spinning our wheels….or not…

35th resident October 26, 2015 (9:29 pm)

I just noticed there’s two people using the same handle (35th Resident). One (me) who is pro “diet,” and one who thinks the seattle public transit system is broken.

That’s confusing.

Though the second poster may be my evil twin (my Brad Pitt from Fight Club). I’m also a “worker, person, father, husband.”

When did we stop having to log in to post comments?

WSB October 26, 2015 (9:45 pm)

35thR, we’ve run WSB for almost a decade (first comment was in early 2006) and comments have never required log-ins – only in our forum. Once in a while, yes, that does lead to two people using the same handle in comments. Haven’t seen it happen much. – TR

Sorry, comment time is over.