Another crash on Sylvan Way, this time at SW Holly (just after we got word that SDOT is out trimming trees on the increasingly busy corridor). Per Seattle Fire radio exchange, four vehicles are involved, no major injuries reported so far.
It’s already becoming very clear that irresponsible car drivers are incapable of being safe on Sylvan Way. It is perhaps time to consider more serious interventions, like narrowing the roadway to a width that makes car drivers so uncomfortable that they drive 5 mph. Another option would be to convert the road into a bike and bus only road. Yet another option would be traffic enforcement cameras to automate punishment for law-breaking, socially-irresponsible drivers. It is time for the city to get serious about the disruptions caused by the bridge closure and begin taking immediate, strong action to curtail driving in and out of West Seattle, but force and law. None of this is going to get any better. It will only get worse.
Ya, this is one of those streets that people like to race up and down. The lane going down hill is very narrow and comes up on you quick. Especially if you are texting. You know who you are.
Couldn’t SDOT put speed humps there like they have on 16th Ave just north of South Seattle College. I have seen them in other cities outside Seattle, and they seem to work great. For some reason Seattle residents seem to have a disliking for them.
Well, sure, they could do that, but it would hurt car drivers’ feelings. Drivers must be forced, through design, to slow down. Look at the radius of the curve on Sylvan in the “wooded area” and the radius of the curve in the High Point Neighborhood. Same radius, but High Point has intentional street design that forces people to slow down. How many speeding-related crashes happen on the the High Point curve? Give people a blank check to speed and they’ll do it.
Oh please-another anti driving rant ( drivers will have their feelings hurt?) from Jort. Like TJ’s message below have driven Sylvan Way for last 30 years – no problems. There IS much more traffic now as it’s a main bridge detour route-was today’s accident speed related? Was it due to quick turn onto Holly? Was there a flagged at bottom of hill due to tree cutting that caused backup? Give people a blank check to do just about anything & they’ll do it!
One only has to search WSB for “Sylvan Way” to see a myriad of crashes over the years. The road isn’t suddenly dangerous, it has been for a long time.
https://westseattleblog.com/2011/10/traffic-alert-crash-closes-eastbound-sylvan-way/https://westseattleblog.com/2014/10/head-on-crash-reported-in-high-point/https://westseattleblog.com/2018/11/extrication-response-for-crash-in-6900-block-sylvan-way/https://westseattleblog.com/2014/11/west-seattle-traffic-alert-crash-closes-eastbound-sylvan/
Not to mention no sidewalks, and, I believe, little or no dirt/grass/gravel shoulder in places that even fully able-bodied pedestrians could safely and easily walk on. —Mike
Great message from jort, There is a sidewalk on the cemetery side
It’s also very difficult to make left turns out onto Sylvan from Holly, HP Drive, and Morgan since it became the official bridge detour. There are no breaks in traffic, the generation is getting taller than the oncoming cars, and it’s treacherous trying to get out of our neighborhood. I appreciate the Highland Park got improvements due to the detour as that’s the route I’ve always used to commute but now it’s downright dangerous in High Point.
Jort, I have driven on Sylvan Way thousands of times in my life and have never experienced a problem on it, nor seen a accident on it, nor has anyone I know of been in one. I know your desire is for cars to go away, so you want to spin anything for that narrative. But the future around here still has most people driving cars, so ranting about converting important roads like this for buses, bikers, walkers, unicycles, pogo-sticks, or whatever is a waste of time
How many more accidents do we need before something concrete will be done…..There have been 3 serious accidents since the bridge closure. 4/16 , 7/5 and 7/8. There have also been a number of minor accidents as well. There is not doubt the increased volume and speed are the cause. I live on Sylvan and I witness the massive volume and excessive speed on a daily basis. I wrote to Rep. Herbold on 4/14 outlining my concerns along with what I thought were reasonable ( cost effective ) ideas to help reduce the speed.
The response was not surprising…”we’ve copied SDOT”. SDOT got back to me with a bunch of vaguely written non-sense with zero commitment to follow up. The only thing has been done so far is the installation of two 25 mph signs. A complete waste of time if there are no plans to enforce. This will only get worse as more people head back to work..
This is the second major accident in 3 days around that curve. I think TWOGW has great, actionable solutions to resolving this issue. Previous to these two accidents, there was another one that took out multiple sections of fencing into someone’s backyard plus a tree higher up the hill. Three days ago, someone drove so fast down that hill that they took down a tree and more fencing. Thank goodness that the homes were higher up on an embankment because that accident could have def hit multiple homes. This is clearly a treacherous turn and the city is responsible to make it safer for not only drivers, but also pedestrians/bicyclists and the homeowners along Sylvan Way. The sidewalk is located only on one side of the street where the bus stop is with no way to get there except to dodge traffic. As this is now one of the few ways to get off our peninsula, the city needs to take immediate action to keep people and homes safe.
The roadway vs: sidewalk areas are poorly executed. Not a safe area to use sidewalks. They need to execute simple solutions quickly. To include: cleaning up the road right of way all the way down to HD. Grader needed to cut a simple ditch and improve drainage. Clear out woods debris that has been allowed to accumulate.
If we keep both eye’s on the road…, there would have a lot less accidents. Even Jort would feel safer riding his three wheeled bicycle.
Roadway is very dangerous heading east bound, problem is the drain ditch at edge of roadway. If one gets a wheel in it your going for a ride, especially if you try turning out. Really surprised there’s not more rollovers. Poor design for the traffic it handles.
SDOT needs to put solid concrete barriers along the trouble spots so that the runaway cars are kept away from pedestrians/bikes/trees/private property.
Sorry, comment time is over.
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