TRAFFIC/TRANSIT TODAY: Tuesday watch; 16th/Holden crash

(SDOT MAP with travel times/ Is the ‘low bridge’ closed? LOOK HERE/ West Seattle-relevant traffic cams HERE)

6:59 AM: Good morning! No incidents or transit alerts in our area so far.

LIGHT TROUBLE: Michele reports that – at least as of about half an hour ago – the 16th-Holden signal is malfunctioning. Remember, a broken signal means all-ways stop!

7:29 AM: As noted in comments, there was subsequently a crash report at the same intersection. SFD has already closed out the call but we’re on our way to check on that as well as the signal status.

7:47 AM: Three cars involved in the 16th/Holden collision, but no major injuries – firefighters at Station 11 (which is right by the crash scene) tell us no one had to be taken to the hospital.

The signal is still out and police tell us they’ve called it in. Traffic is getting by but we’d advise avoiding the area for a while.

8:02 AM: Our crew, returning from the crash, warns that side-street diversion – already a regular problem in Highland Park – is rampant.

8:20 AM: Per scanner, 16th/Holden trouble continues, and we heard a report of a problem at 16th/Graham, further north.

8:29 AM: Trouble on NB I-5 if you’re headed north from the West Seattle Bridge – SFD responding to a crah reported near the I-90 exit.

9:20 AM: Reported in comments – “Just shy of 9 am there was a disabled vehicle in the right turn lane from Highland Park to Holden uphill.”

20 Replies to "TRAFFIC/TRANSIT TODAY: Tuesday watch; 16th/Holden crash"

  • Ej March 12, 2019 (7:25 am)

     16th and Holden is a really bad car crash. I hope everyone is OK. 

    • WSB March 12, 2019 (7:29 am)

      Unless the crash went unreported for more than half an hour, the signal problem predated it – Michele’s note was timestamped 6:21 and the SFD callout was at 6:56 – it has since closed but we are on our way to check the intersection anyway.

      • Ej March 12, 2019 (7:41 am)

        My guess is that the signal outage caused it because it looked pretty recent…

        • carole March 12, 2019 (1:53 pm)

          The signal outage didn’t cause the crash.  The drivers who failed to treat it as a 4 way stop were the cause.  In the last two days, driving between WS and Southcenter, also passing through Burien and White Center, drivers were running red lights at virtually every intersection. Too many drivers had phones up to their ears or were speeding or tailgating.  Plus, people, slow down in mall/store parking lots. They are not freeways; people are walking to and from cars, and cars are trying to back out.

  • newnative March 12, 2019 (8:58 am)

    That’s heavy damage for what should have been a four-way stop at the time. 

    • sam-c March 12, 2019 (9:02 am)

      That’s exactly what I was thinking.

  • Trickycoolj March 12, 2019 (9:11 am)

    Just shy of 9am there was a disabled vehicle in the right turn lane from Highland Park to Holden uphill. Uphill traffic couldn’t see the car so it’s a little hazardous in the already difficult intersection. 

  • Nolan March 12, 2019 (9:25 am)

    This is a little thing, but I really appreciate you using “crash” instead of “accident”. The vast majority of crashes are the fault of one or more drivers due to negligence, and it’s really important that the verbiage reflects that they’re entirely within our control to fix. See also: https://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/23/science/its-no-accident-advocates-want-to-speak-of-car-crashes-instead.html

    • WSB March 12, 2019 (9:54 am)

      Been writing that way since long before we started WSB and I trained the writers who worked for me in TV news to do the same. “Accident” is subjective. The SFD real-time log, I probably noted at the time, has evolved too … crashes used to be listed as MVA – Motor Vehicle Accident, but have changed to MVI – Motor Vehicle Incident. – TR

  • David Hoover March 12, 2019 (10:58 am)

    It would have been real nice if the police would have started directing traffic instead of standing around I  live across from 7 11 and heard the boom the fire fighters were out in less tha a min.great gob thanks I know drivers are responsible to treat traffic lights as 4 way stops when there out  But a little help from our public servants aka the Seattle police would be nice just saying I hope the crash victims are ok 

  • Linda Turner March 12, 2019 (11:27 am)

    Signal was out this morning at 5:40 a.m. when I went through, just didn’t have an opportunity to report it to the blog when I arrived as work.   And people were already flying through the intersection at that time instead of treating it as a four way stop.  

  • Lisa March 12, 2019 (12:32 pm)

    I respect where you’re coming from but I’ve always found the use of “crash” odd since these rarely happen on purpose. They are accidents, to me.

    • Q March 12, 2019 (2:26 pm)

      When a crash is the result of negligent and unsafe actions, it is no accident. It’s no secret that people are injured and die as the result of dangerous behavior by motor vehicle operators, 40,000+ of our fellow American citizens are killed each year and it is no accident.

  • Buttercup March 12, 2019 (2:42 pm)

    Going north on 16th at Holden can be a little complex when that light is out. The one 200  feet past the intersection can be working . A green light that close to the not working light is misleading if you can’t see the light that is not lit up. I use that intersection every morning. It to register with a green so close.Why did it take so long to be attended there. Police through that intersection frequently on their way back to police station a few blocks away.

  • Sarah March 12, 2019 (3:24 pm)

    It is objectively a crash. Your comment is akin to saying you find it odd to call a dog a “dog” and would prefer we call it a “snuggly furball.”

  • James March 12, 2019 (5:23 pm)

    The term “accident” isn’t widely used anymore as an “accident” implies NO ONE is to blame, when in reality at the very least (unless otherwise dictated/proven) one or more persons are directly at fault for the crash. 

  • Scrappy March 12, 2019 (7:46 pm)

    Just for the record. SPD calls “crashes” or “accidents” COLLISIONS now. It allows officers to evaluate the situation and find fault accordingly.

    • WSB March 12, 2019 (8:24 pm)

      That (like SFD using MVI instead of MVA) has been long the case (how long, I’d have to search to see) – you can see that on Tweets by Beat (aggregated on our Crime Watch page) any day. Example:
      https://twitter.com/SeattlePDW1/status/1105661590446043136

      But if for example someone is arrested for suspected DUI you will generally see DRIVING UNDER THE INFLUENCE as the incident classification.

  • Scrappy March 12, 2019 (8:37 pm)

    The term “collision” was protocol approximately 6 months to one year ago. Fact.

  • Scrappy March 12, 2019 (8:54 pm)

    I see now, that you recognize the correct verbage. My apologizes. Please use correct terminology in the future, thust no confusion from blog-spotters.

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