Home › Forums › Open Discussion › Admiral Way Hill: Why Speed Limit Only 30 MPH?!
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September 25, 2009 at 5:36 pm #677722
beachdrivegirlParticipantDuring rush hour the flow of traffic down the hill to the bridge is roughly 40 MPH. Just a side note.
September 25, 2009 at 5:36 pm #677723
beachdrivegirlParticipantDuring rush hour the flow of traffic down the hill to the bridge is roughly 40 MPH. Just a side note.
September 25, 2009 at 5:37 pm #677724
beachdrivegirlParticipantsorry not sure how that posted twice….
September 25, 2009 at 6:04 pm #677725
maplesyrupParticipantReally? I usually leave late because I find traffic is at a crawl from around 7:30-8:30.
September 25, 2009 at 8:44 pm #677726
beachdrivegirlParticipantYes. I leave around 7 to 715ish.
September 25, 2009 at 9:12 pm #677727
maplesyrupParticipantOctober 12, 2009 at 9:21 pm #677728
CMPParticipantHey, I wanted to provide everyone an update from my inquiry to SDOT from a few weeks ago. Like I thought, it didn’t really answer my questions, nor are they going to listen to my suggestions. Typical. I have a lot more that I could say about this, but I’m interested in other opinions. Here’s the response from Reiner R. Blanco, P.E., Senior Civil Engineer:
Thank you for writing to the Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT). We receive many requests concerning traffic safety issues ranging from speeding to traffic congestion. We also receive requests throughout West Seattle (such as 35th Avenue SW) to lower speed limits, where the speed limit is 35-MPH.
In April 2006, SDOT received a request from the Seattle Police Department to lower the speed limit along SW Admiral Way to 30-MPH to create a consistent speed corridor and assist with speed enforcement efforts. SW Admiral Way is a relatively short roadway segment that was 35 mph, and it didn’t make sense to have people speed up only to have to reduce speed at the top or bottom of the hill. The Bicycle Master Plan also proposes bicycle facilities throughout the city to promote other transportation modes and reduce the vehicular congestion. SDOT is working on plans to modify the existing roadway section throughout the city to accommodate bicycle lanes, including this segment of SW Admiral Way.
The modification was made due to growing safety concerns along the corridor. SDOT studied different factors including engineering factors (such as traffic data), environmental and societal factors to make our determination to reduce the speed limit to 30-MPH. The intent of the speed reduction is part of a long term goal to create a facility for all users to promote the health, safety and welfare of the general public.
The reduced speed limit will lower the speed differential between vehicles and bicycles. Speed differential is a major safety concern for bicycle facility users and the Bicycle Master Plan lists SW Admiral Way as a future bicycle route.
SDOT wants to incrementally modifying driver behavior: initially, via speed reduction, secondarily, via roadway section modification, and finally, via constructing roadway features such as median islands. By doing this, SDOT is attempting to meet the City’s long term goal of creating a roadway network for all users, pedestrians, bicyclists, transit, motor vehicles, and freight.
Reducing speed limits isn’t as simple as it sounds. Our goal is to modify behavior to create an environment for safe travel for all traffic modes. SDOT works to create a roadway environment that ensures long lasting positive impacts (without the need for constant SPD enforcement). The channelization along Fauntleroy Way SW was recently modified include bicycle facilities and traffic calming elements. We believe this will have a positive impact on the neighborhood. We are beginning to monitor this roadway to determine additional changes (if any) that are needed. At this time, we do not have plans to lower the speed limit on Fauntleroy Way SW.
We are also planning to study the 35th Avenue SW corridor for potential improvements. As you know, 35th Avenue SW is a straight corridor with hills and valleys. We must determine other methods that help induce a lower travel speed yet keep people moving efficiently and safely. We hope to have a determination in 2010. At this time, we do not have plans to lower the speed limit on 35th Avenue SW.
October 12, 2009 at 11:01 pm #677729
swimcatMemberWell, thank you for posting that completely useless response from SDOT. With canned answers like this, it seems as if all SDOT employees do not live in city limits.
October 13, 2009 at 12:05 am #677730
IrukandjiParticipantI’m not sure when the speed alert sign went up on the uphill side of Admiral, but sure as poop, the guy in the next lane was going 45 and knowing he was 15 over the limit seemed to make no difference in his speed.
Rock on.
October 13, 2009 at 3:35 pm #677731
CMPParticipantOh, I can’t wait to go up Admiral to hit the library from the bridge this week to check out this speed sign thing. I think I might write this guy back b/c his logic is totally inconsistent with other parts of West Seattle regarding speed limits. The east side of Admiral was lowered to 30 b/c the west side was 30 mph. Please note the SPD requested the decrease, probably to generate more speeding tickets rather than modify our driving behavior as originally stated. It was also to be consistent with all of the Admiral corridor so 30 mph was set.
I decided to drive down Fauntleroy yesterday afternoon and noticed that it’s still 35 mph east of California but 30 mph west of California. Not exactly consistent. And what’s with this master bike plan thing? Plenty of cyclists ride on Fauntleroy and are stuck with cars speeding by at 35+, but Admiral, which has no dedicated bike lane (to my knowledge), gets a lower speed limit. Reiner is getting an email from me eventually.
Every time I email SDOT to complain about something, I get stupid responses like this. I agree with m, SDOT employees either don’t live in Seattle or they must all work from home and only travel by bus.
October 13, 2009 at 3:46 pm #677732
swimcatMemberI love it- I will eagerly await the response you get from SDOT CMP. I wrote to them about the traffic issues at 35th & Avalon, got a canned response that they saw no reason to do anything about it, and so I wrote back explaining again that they need to investigate this corner b/c of the Mastro building fiasco. It’s nice they take the time to respond to initial concerns, but the response is so generic…
October 13, 2009 at 6:22 pm #677733
HomerParticipantYeah, I’ve tried and received nothing but garbage from Reiner as well…nothing that made sense or sounded like he had a genuine interest in what I was saying. Think he’s just on the payroll to write emails back to people’s questions rather than really go out and look at the situation and make an informed decision…
October 13, 2009 at 8:49 pm #677734
thieraMemberi like the 30 mph thing. i just hang back and wait for obnoxious tailgaters and passer by speeders to get their ticket because the whole street is a speed trap. it’s just like on queen anne. rich people always think they own the road and get right up on your ass and then speed on by cuz they’re SOOOO IMPORTANT. <<NOT! 30 is perfect. slow down, take a breath and shut up.
October 13, 2009 at 9:27 pm #677735
JoBParticipantthiera..
i’m with you.. slowing down won’t ruin your day but it sure might make someone else’s.
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