From the Seattle Times (hat tip Seattle Transit Blog)
The King County Medical Examiner’s Office says a 49-year-old man who died after he was struck by a Link light-rail train in Seattle’s Industrial District on Thursday committed suicide.
This is the second suicide-by-rail since the opening of Link, and according to the comments at Seattle Transit Blog, near misses with light rail aren’t uncommon.
Total Crisis Panic Button by Jason Eppink
Some crosswalk buttons in LA have been labeled Total Crisis Panic Buttons. According to the artist:
The Total Crisis Panic Button initiative replaced Los Angeles crosswalk instruction signs with more relevant and useful instructional graphics. (Nobody walks in Los Angeles, and who doesn’t know how to use a crosswalk anyway?)
I can’t think of anywhere in Seattle that has signs for a crosswalk push button (not even a sign with a slightly less authoritarian bent), but maybe I just overlook them. This is an open thread.
A man walked in front of a moving Link light rail vehicle and was struck and killed earlier today.
Preliminary investigation indicates that a 49-year-old male pedestrian was crossing the light rail tracks westbound against multiple warning signals, which included flashing lights, traffic closure arms, and the sound of the horn of the approaching northbound light rail vehicle (LRV).
The LRV operator saw the pedestrian and applied the emergency brakes but was unable to stop in time and the pedestrian was subsequently struck. SFD medics responded to the scene and transported the pedestrian to Harborview Medical Center where he later died.
From SDOT:
The sidewalk on the south side of Pine Street from Ninth to Boren avenues, by the Paramount Theater, will be closed until May for Sound Transit’s light rail construction project. The closure is needed to prepare for tunneling under I-5 so the rail line can be extended from downtown to Capitol Hill and then on to the University of Washington.
Enforcement actions have begun downtown to keep pedestrians safe as part of the Holiday Pedestrian Safety Campaign.
As part of the Holiday Pedestrian Safety Campaign, targeted enforcement efforts by the Seattle Police Department will occur at high collision locations in the Center City area from December 29, 2010, to January 19, 2011.
The main goal of enforcement is to deter unsafe behavior by drivers, pedestrians and bicyclists, and to encourage people, whether they are driving or walking, to obey traffic laws and share the road safely. The effort will not detract from other policing duties or require additional funding, but will be part of the regular duties of the Seattle Police Department’s Traffic Section.
Drivers and pedestrians are both at risk of being cited for breaking any of these laws:
SMC 11.66.060 Blocking intersections and crosswalks
No person who is responsible for the operation of any railroad train or car shall stop the same within an intersection or on a crosswalk except to avoid accident or upon direction of a peace officer.SMC 11.53.400 Further limitations on overtaking and passing
Whenever any vehicle is stopped at a marked crosswalk or at any unmarked crosswalk at an intersection to permit a pedestrian to cross the roadway, the operator of any other vehicle approaching from the rear shall not overtake and pass such stopped vehicle. (RCW 46.61.235(4))SMC 11.50.270 “Walk” pedestrian-control signal
Pedestrians facing a walking person symbol signal may cross the roadway in the direction of the signal. If pedestrians have begun to cross a roadway while facing such a signal, all approaching vehicle operators shall stop to allow them to complete their crossing.SMC 11.50.280 “Don’t walk” pedestrian-control signal
Pedestrians facing a steady or flashing hand symbol signal shall not enter the roadway, but if pedestrians have begun to cross before the display of either signal, vehicle operators shall stop to allow them to complete their movements.
It’s good to see enforcement like this, even if it is only for a small part of the year.
Sidewalks around Westlake Streetcar Plaza have mostly remained open after the conclusion of the holiday construction moratorium.
We reported back in October that construction had closed the sidewalks around McGraw Square, significantly impacting pedestrian movement. However, those sidewalks were completely reopened to accommodate pedestrians during the holiday construction moratorium during the past few weeks.
Now that the moratorium has passed, the construction project is continuing. The sidewalks along 5th appear to be remaining open, however a concrete sidewalk along Stewart has not yet been poured, so that sidewalk has been closed again. The latest report from SDOT says that construction will be complete in early February.
DC’s StreetsBlog has a good profile of the walking advocacy organization America Walks:
People tend to identify most strongly with things that set them apart. If everyone’s doing something, it hardly seems worth calling attention to the fact that you do it too.
Which may be part of the reason it’s been hard for pedestrian advocacy organizations to build a strong identity around walking.
America Walks is the only national organization dedicated to pedestrian rights and walkability. The fifteen year-old organization supports community-based walkability movements, such as Seattle’s Feet First. America Walks is putting together a national coalition of organizations that support pedestrian mobility, including the American Heart Association and the Rails to Trails Conservancy, and predicts expanding from 70 coalition members today to 500 by 2012.
They also hope to gather 25,000 signatures for their vision statement:
By 2020, walking in everyday life is embraced across America. Streets and neighborhoods are safe and attractive public places that encourage people of all ages, abilities, ethnicities, and incomes to walk for exercise, recreation, and transportation. Walkable community policies promote health, economic vitality, environmental sustainability, and social equity.
If that’s the future, it’s also the past. After all, as America Walks points out, “In 1969 walking made up 40 percent of all transportation trips, but in 2008 walking trips decreased to 11 percent.” Although walking is good for our heart rates and waistlines, modern road design can make it hazardous to our health: in the past 15 years, 76,000 pedestrians have been killed.
“We need to create places where you feel safe and comfortable walking along the street and even in the street, playing in the street,” says Bricker. “Crossing the street needs to be easy, accessible and safe.” He points to simple additions like crosswalks, raised median islands, and countdown signals as innovations that immeasurably improve the pedestrian experience.
Funding for active transportation has risen dramatically from 0.1 percent of the federal transportation program in 1992 to 2 percent this year. Considering the fact that 11 percent of all trips are by foot, America Walks wants to make sure walking gets its fair piece of the pie.
And though creating a strong identity among walkers can be challenging, Bricker says, “We don’t hear people saying, ‘this is not important, walking is not part of the transportation system.’ People understand that walking is a fundamental part of life.”
Central District News looked at how R. H. Thomson Expressway would have walled off the Central District from Lake Washington. This was posted in May of 09, but we just came across it. The report shows how walkability in Seattle almost took a big blow due to over-ambitious freeway construction. A freeway master plan shows a Seattle criss-crossed with pedestrian-impeding highways. One in particular would have sliced through the Central District and included crossings only at a few major intersections:
View Thompson Expressway in a larger map
Head over to Central District News to read more and find out how activists were able to stop the project.
Capitol Hill Seattle reports that two pedestrians were hit yesterday.
View Two Pedestrian Accidents in a larger map
One person was taken to Harborview with serious head injuries. The condition of the second person is not known at this time.
This shouldn’t come as a surprise to residents of the 6th most walkable city in the country, but a recent study has shown that walkable neighborhoods have happier people:
People who live in walkable communities are more socially engaged and trusting than those who live in less walkable areas, says a new study from the University of New Hampshire.
The study buttresses other research that has linked a neighborhood’s walkability to its residents’ quality of life, notably improved physical and mental health.
The researchers scored 700 residents of three communities in New Hampshire on measures of “social capital” such as socializing with friends, civic engagement and trust in their community. They found those in neighborhoods with higher Walk Score ratings reported being happier and healthier and more apt to volunteer, work on community projects or simply entertain friends at home.
