Take 21 » Pedestrian Safety

Should Seattle go on a “road diet”?

george — Fri, 17 Sep 2010 21:17:44 +0000

On Friday, September 17, 7:00 p.m., City Inside/Out with C.R. Douglas kick starts a new season by examining Seattle’s latest transportation controversy: road diets.

On the heels of City plans to increase traffic and pedestrian safety and promote bicycle use, the Seattle Department of Transportation is reducing car lanes on some streets while adding bike and two-way center-turn lanes. The stated goals are to keep vehicles to the speed limit while creating complete streets for all users.

Are these “road diets” good transportation policy? C.R. Douglas goes to the street proposed for an upcoming road diet—Northeast 125^th Street in the Lake City and Pinehurst neighborhoods—and interviews a business owner and a residents about the possible changes. Back in the studio, Douglas welcomes supporters and opponents of the transportation policy: Paul Guppy, Washington Policy Center; David Hiller, Cascade Bicycle Club Advocacy Director; Suzie Burke, Fremont Business Owner; and Eric Widstrand, Seattle Department of Transportation.

No matter how you like your roads—multi-modal or car-centric—you won’t want to miss this debate! Tonight, Friday, September 17, at 7 p.m., City Inside/Out, SEATTLE CHANNEL, Cable 21 or right here on http://www.seattlechannel.org/. Also earn why C.R. Douglas was just named one of the city’s “Political Geniuses” by The Stranger by watching any of last season’s shows right now by visiting http://www.seattlechannel.org/CityInsideOut/.

What’s Your Question for Mayor Mike McGinn?

Nicole — Fri, 04 Jun 2010 21:33:06 +0000

On Thursday, June 10, 7 p.m., SEATTLE CHANNEL 21, tune in and call 206-684-8821 or email askthemayor@seattle.gov and communicate in real time with the new mayor and host C.R.Douglas. If you can’t call or email then, call 206-684-8821 or email askthemayor@seattle.gov anytime to record your question for the mayor.

Do you have questions for Mayor Mike McGinn? How will the mayor choose Seattle’s next Police Chief? Even though the City faces a $50 million budget deficit, can the mayor find money for his “Walk.Bike.Ride.” initiative to improve transit and people-powered transportation? Do other political leaders share the mayor’s concerns about cost overruns on the replacement of the Alaskan Way Viaduct with a tunnel?

On Thursday, June 10, 7 p.m. call 206-684-8821 and talk to the mayor and SEATTLE CHANNEL host C.R.Douglas. If you can’t call then, call 206-684-8821 anytime (right now for instance!) and have your question recorded for the show. Or email your question by replying to this email or writing to askthemayor@seattle.gov anytime the inspiration strikes you.

Don’t miss the opportunity to dialogue with City Hall’s new CEO! Also watch past episodes now by visiting http://www.seattlechannel.org/AskTheMayor/.

Walk. Bike. Ride.

george — Fri, 28 May 2010 18:13:58 +0000

Earlier this month, Mayor Mike McGinn announced an ambitious plan to make walking, biking, and riding transit the easiest ways to get around Seattle. Over the next few years, he promises to redirect transportation funding from traditional road projects to these alternative ways of getting around. Supporters say there are many important environmental and public-health benefits to the plan; a number of transit users wonder where the money will come from to increase bus service; and many industrial businesses worry that they will face more congestion when trying to move their goods.

Joining host C.R. Douglas in the studio are David Hiller, Advocacy Director of Cascade Bicycle Club; Kevin Desmond, General Manager of Metro Transit; Dave Gering, Executive Director of the Manufacturing Industrial Council of Seattle; and Craig Benjamin, Streets for All Seattle.

Watch this important debate about Seattle’s transportation future right now by following this link: http://www.seattlechannel.org/videos/video.asp?ID=3061022

Or tune in tonight, Friday, May 28, at 7.pm., to City Inside/Out, SEATTLE CHANNEL, Cable 21 or http://www.seattlechannel.org/. Did you miss our show about South Lake Union? Watch it right now by visiting http://www.seattlechannel.org/CityInsideOut/.

More sidewalks will reduce pedestrian crashes, says Councilmember

george — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 19:46:35 +0000

On the September 2009 edition of City Inside/Out: Council Edition, a viewer named Rick asked Seattle City Councilmember Nick Licata the following question: “I know we’ve spent millions of dollars in the last few years on pedestrian safety, including better crosswalks, wider sidewalks, more signage, education campaigns, etc. Do we know yet if any of that has had an effect? Are pedestrian accidents actually lower year over year?”

Councilmember Nick Licata, co-chair of the Council’s Pedestrian Safety Committee, says, “We have over 400 pedestrian [-vehicle] crashes per year. It’s still too early to give a positive answer” on whether the City’s pedestrian safety effort is working. Licata went on to cite national studies that show that sidewalks reduce the number of pedestrian/vehicle crashes.

In 2004, the Federal Highway Administration’s (FHWA) Pedestrian and Bicycle Safety Research Program released a report that summarized research on pedestrian safety in the United States including the safety effects of various roadway features. According to the FHWA’s summary, “[S]ites with no sidewalks were the most hazardous to pedestrians, and sites where sidewalks were present on both sides of the road were least hazardous.” Surprisingly, the FHWA found that painted crosswalks did not improve pedestrian safety. In fact, on multi-lane roads with a high volume of traffic, more pedestrian-vehicle crashes occur in painted crosswalks than unpainted ones. Researchers conjecture that pedestrians exercise less caution in painted crosswalks.

There are 952 miles (at 16 blocks to a mile, roughly 15,232 blocks) of city streets that do not have sidewalks, according to the Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT). Bridging the Gap, a voter-approved transportation levy, provides around $1 million per year for building new sidewalks. With this funding, in 2008, the City built 15 blocks of new sidewalk; in 2009 the City’s goal is to increase that amount to 25 blocks.

Councilmember Licata said, “We are making the improvements…The expectation is, ‘Yes, we will see these changes,’ but we are not going to see them in the next six months. It’s going to take a couple of years.”

In the fall of 2009, the City Council is expected to make a decision on whether to adopt the Pedestrian Master Plan.

cityweb — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 23:48:59 +0000

According to Washington State law, vehicles must yield to pedestrians at every intersection, whether there is a marked crosswalk or not; and pedestrians must not move into the path of a vehicle in such a way that it is impossible for the driver to stop. The Pedestrian Master Plan notes that there are “approximately 6,000 marked crosswalks in Seattle.” The plan says, “The City has a generally conservative approach to marking crosswalks. In other cities such as Washington, D.C. and Tucson, Arizona, the project team has observed more marked crosswalks at unsignalized intersections, especially in downtown commercial-type settings. In Seattle, crosswalks are not marked on non-arterial streets unless it is a designated school crossing.”

Currently the City of Seattle is experimenting with additional measures at crosswalks such as pedestrian crossing flags, overhead pedestrian crossing signs and signs that direct drivers where to stop for pedestrians.

In the fall of 2009, the City Council is expected to make a decision on whether to adopt the Pedestrian Master Plan.

Will Seattle become the nation’s most walkable city

george — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 23:40:08 +0000

City Hall has set an ambitious goal — to make Seattle the most walkable city in the nation. On Tuesday, July 21, 2009, the Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) delivered a plan with this mission to the City Council. The draft Pedestrian Master Plan lays out the “goals, policies, programs, and improvements for making Seattle a pedestrian-friendly city,” according to the Council’s website. While, the plan notes, Seattle is consistently rated one of the safest cities for pedestrians, there were “1,433 reported pedestrian crashes in the three-year period between 2005 and 2007. Of these, nearly 70% occurred at intersections, while around 30% occurred at mid-block locations.” Currently, the plan notes, Seattle has “approximately 2,256 miles of sidewalks” but the city also has “around 767 miles of potential sidewalk locations in Seattle’s residential zones that do not presently have a sidewalk on one or both sides of the street. This accounts for around 30% of the total sidewalk area in residential zones…”

Send your comments about the plan to the city council. Councilmembers Jan Drago and Nick Licata co-chair the Council’s Pedestrian Safety Committee.