UPDATE: Crash at 35th SW and SW Willow
(Added: WSB photo)
9:15 PM: SPD and SFD are on their way to a reported crash at 35th SW and SW Willow [map], said to involve a car hitting a parked semi-truck, blocking at least part of the road. That intersection is on the north side of Myrtle Reservoir Park, where semi drivers often park their trucks. We’re on our way for a look.
9:38 PM: Photo added; it shows this was a pickup-truck driver hitting a parked box truck. No indication of serious injury – SFD left after only about 15 minutes.
FYI: this is a “box truck” not a semi truck. A semi truck is in two pieces – a tractor and a removable trailer,
Which I added above almost three hours ago after seeing the photo. It was dispatched, at least twice, as a SEMI, but when I got the photo it clearly wasn’t.
This is why pedestrians and bicyclists are crying out to the city for safer streets, with slower speeds and physical barrier protection from motorists. If they can run into a huge yellow box truck, just image what they could do.
How much lower do you want the speed limit to be? Just imagine what could happen if folks drove the actual posted speed limit & didnt drive impaired or distracted-just imagine.
Can you provide the rest of the readers with how fast the truck was traveling – and how that speed resulted in the crash? From the picture, it does not appear that the crumple zone of the pickup experienced damage that would be commesirate with excessive speed. I could (FWIW) envision someone going 10 mph. while looking down at their phone for turn directions on their way to visit a friend and get distracted. Are you proposing physical barriers for all roads – each mile? While your sentiments are admirable (pun intended), believe better examples may buttress your argument and proposal.
Re: how fast the pickup was moving based on apparent damage. It looks like the pickup’s hood took the major impact and folded back; the pickup body’s crumple zones are below the box truck’s rear bumper.
I was driving by that area the other day and wondering why so many trucks were parked there. Any idea?
Truck drivers likely live there and park out front of their home.
No, the truck drivers don’t live there on 35th. Just like down on South Cloverdale Street (near South Park) there is a semi truck parking hot spot. No one lives right there on Cloverdale where the semis are parked.
Because they can. There are no parking restrictions there.
There are parking restrictions for the semi cabs and trailers. No overnight parking but PEOs don’t work those hours. Sort of a loop hole.. it’s illegal but there’s no enforcement resource for the time frame. I verified this with PEO manager Laura Fox several years ago when I wondered why they are allowed to park there.
35th is an arterial. I don’t think the overnight residential street parking restriction applies.
Most box trucks are over7 feet wide and will be excluded by Seattle’s overnight parking rules on large vehicles. The reservoir property is unlikely to have people calling in complaints to be enforced though.
SMC 11.72.070 – Commercial and large size vehicles.
No person shall park a vehicle on any street or alley, except in an Industrial Zone as defined in Title 23, between the hours of midnight and six (6) a.m. if the vehicle is a truck and/or trailer or other conveyance which is over eighty (80) inches wide.
I’ve often wondered, why are there so many huge trucks parked along that stretch of 35th??
Same here. My theory is many of the drivers live nearby??
A lot of the truckers that run out of their allotted time on the road for the day, usually about 12 hours, they usually try to find a somewhat safe and quiet spot to sleep or to wait for their next shipment
Truckers need a safe place to sleep. They sleep overnight in their trucks on a long haul.
I will continue to ask SDOT and the city to add a painted stripe to divide parked cars from moving traffic. Not sure why we don’t have them between SW Holly and the bridge on 35th Ave SW like we have between SW Roxbury and SW Holly.A painted stripe would not have helped this driver but it may help many parked cars on 35th Ave SW that get side swiped. And it may help our planting strips that have parked cars on them frequently. Can anyone help with this request?
What I find so interesting is there is a laws against overnight or long term parking of commercial trucks on public streets (location wise) and this area per rcw’s is not legal. Funny thing right now city is telling me there going to start fining me for my legal travel trailer and boat in our driveway on our property and we have no recourse as city inspectors use their personal arbitrary judgment………
Looks like that “Mansfield Bar” (aka Rear Underrun Protection System (RUPS)) saved the pick up driver’s life. Looks like he never touched the brake pedal.
SDOT has been making an effort to codify tractor trailer parking issues but this is the Port of Seattle dumping their problems onto our city neighborhood streets.https://www.seattle.gov/documents/Departments/SDOT/ProjectsAndPrograms/Home%20Zones/July%202022%20Truck%20Parking%20Meetings%20Summary.pdf