(59th/Admiral, December 2017)
Some changes made … some promised … some requested. There’s been a lot of back-and-forth about the intersection of 59th Avenue SW and Admiral Way SW in recent months. So what’s next? An SDOT representative is on the agenda for the Alki Community Council‘s meeting tomorrow night (7 pm Thursday, Alki UCC, 6115 SW Hinds), so if you’re interested, you might want to be there. The scheduling is a followup to discussion at last month’s ACC meeting.
Living just a block away since 1985 I’ve NEVER seen an accident here. Any money spent here(other than repaving) is a waste. I’ll preemptively ask: provide PROOF: i/e dates and type’s of accidents before claiming this is a bad intersection.
I agree with you completely. I have lived 1/2 block from the intersection since 1966. There has been one fatality; death of a driver that skipped the curb and ran into the apartment house on the NW corner of the intersection. No pedestrian deaths that I am aware of.
“I just had a yummy big meal; my belly is full. I’m not hungry at all. Provide proof that there are starving people in Africa!” Maybe you work during the day, maybe you work during the night. Maybe you stared out the window all day long for the past 33 yrs, waiting for an accident to happen…. Fortunately SDOT is not there to satisfy your request “proof”. I’ve been here 5 years, and have seen enough issues with my kids crossing the street, to supersede your need for PROOF. Maybe you’ll get lucky one day, and see a child smeared across the road, and you’ll change your mind. Will that be PROOF enough for you?
Can’t believe the waste of money on painting the streets. Fix the street’s so our cars are not destroyed driving around town. Oh, and one more thing, saw the crew painting the blue and white designs on a sunday. Can’t imagine the overtime being paid out there. This city is turning into a joke.
Paint costs vastly less than paving, so it’s not like the latter could be done instead of the former. Also, SDOT says crews working at odd hours are not on OT (we asked about other work done in the same area) … some are scheduled for what you might consider off-hours. But if you have questions/concerns, come ask them in person. That’s why we publish advance word of events/meetings like this.
For all the time and money spent – raised curbing could have been installed in lieu of the paint
Hey— Teaminfantry72–have you seen a child or anyone smeared across the road? Calm the heck down.
The drama and angst over this intersection has just been wildly overplayed. There was nothing that needed fixing. I’ve lived near this intersection for for almost 20 years and safely negotiating the intersection requires nothing more than common sense and appropriate vigilance.
Count me as one of the dinosaurs who appreciated Admiral Way as a graceful, sloping boulevard from California down to 63rd. I hate all the lane diets/turn lanes and bike lanes and now painted garlandia that tries to solve “problems” that don’t warrant these solutions. We’ve just made a street ugly for very little substantive change. My two cents.
If these bright paint islands cause drivers to slow down a bit and pay a little more attention to what the heck they are doing, it is well worth the money. You can ask SDOT at the meeting if there is evidence that this kind of road treatment has been proven in studies to improve driver behavior. If you live directly ON “graceful, sloping boulevard” Admiral Way, or try to walk across it regularly, you can provide plenty of anecdotal reports of bad driver behavior, especially evenings and weekends when the sun shines. See you at the meeting.
Admiral Way has not been a “graceful, sloping boulevard” in the 20 years I’ve lived here, with all the speeding, impatient drivers, oblivious to pedestrians and cyclists. This change was long overdue.
I appreciate the changes. I find that traffic is more predictable, within the lines, so actually I can drive faster unless a bus gets in the way. Ironic, actually. I’m typically able to go 40+mph.
First of all, I cannot make the meeting.
My question – does anyone know what’s going on with the painted lines at the Admiral & Lander 3-way intersection? If someone could ask at the meeting and report back, then that would be most appreciated.
The painted lines do not leave enough room for two directions of cars to easily maneuver that corner. Especially considering that when going westbound on Admiral and turning right onto Lander, then drivers cannot see what is coming from the other direction because of the hill. The city needs to leave more space, otherwise there will be head on close calls (if not collisions) between cars turning onto Lander and cars coming up from Lander.
Alki_2008 — there was a lot of conversation about that intersection last night and SDOT has acknowledged that there are issues with it and they are reassessing how to make changes to increase safety because what was done isn’t working. I don’t recall all the details, but apparently there will be changes in the near future. ALSO, reminder to everyone to use the FindItFixIt app. SDOT is required to respond.
Thanks so much for following up. I hope that SDOT’s acknowledgment of the issue means that they know the temporary lines they’ve painted are not reasonable.
I think one of the reasons that Admiral, and even Alki/Harbor, can be dangerous for people crossing the street is because of the curves in the road. People need to realize that drivers cannot see around corners, and so it’s safer to cross in a straightaway section. I’ve seen that problem on Alki/Harbor, where people dart across the street (not within a crosswalk) at the point where the road curves around. With Admiral, there are milder curves, but also hills, which also affect drivers’ visibility. I think the combination of the hill and curve is what made the Admiral/47th intersection so dangerous.
If anyone really believes these swimming pool bottoms were necessary, they just have not thought about it. It is nuts! The sticks would have been enough to confuse drivers. But possibly keep them off what ever it is the drivers are suppose to avoid. But what’s with all that blue stuff? And it already needs cleaning after what, 2 weeks? So much waste and stupidity!
Admiral is a dangerous street that will continue to get more so as the population density increases in WSea and, always, during the summer. We cannot stop the increase in density, but things can be done to make it safer before there is a casualty. As it is, there’s no safe place for pedestrians to cross Admiral from 47 to 59. The improvements at 47 were needed, but only came because of a death. Safety improvements are needed all along for crossing and turning, including at 59 and we shouldn’t wait for another death to be the precipitator of change. Sadly, at 59 it’s more likely to be a child –heading to school, the play field or the beach. We can all see the future, so let’s work together as the people who know and understand our community to get the changes we need. If we all work together rather than fight over what may have existed in the past or the inconveniences, or or or, then we can get ahead of things and make this a real useable, walkable, and safe street and community.
Sorry, comment time is over.
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