Walking news roundup – 4/4

April 4, 2012: published by Troy Heerwagen at 8:48 pm - Closed

More walking-related news from the area:

  • Pedestrian improvements will be completed by early April on NW 90th Street between 13th and 14th Avenues NW. Improvements include wider sidewalks, improvements to curbs and planter strips, as well as providing safer access to local schools, services, and bus rapid transit. Click here to see details and a map.
  • Undriving, the Seattle-based organization that issues undriving licenses has won a national advocacy award for “joyful enthusiasm” (via Seattle Bike Blog)
  • The Duwamish Trail has opened:

    Looking for an easy walk or bike ride? Try the Duwamish Trail, approximately two-and-a-half miles along the west side of the Duwamish River in West Seattle. It’s a wonderfully flat trail, starting from the lower South Spokane Street Bridge, following West Marginal Way Southwest, southward to the First Avenue South Bridge.

  • Summer streets schedule has been released, including Ballard, Alki, Greenwood/Phinney, Rainier valley
  • On your next walk, check out the Paper Mache creature sinstalled near Hing Hay Park
  • Feet First has an urban greenway ramble planned for 4/11:

    This walk will begin with a tour of the Children’s Playgarden, and then follow the Mountains to Sound greenway to Lewis Park on Beacon Hill, passing little known parks and stunning viewpoints along the way. The walk will conclude with a visit to Jimi Hendrix Park, adjacent to the Northwest African American Museum, where plans for this new community gathering space will be discussed.

  • Join Feet First, Latona Pub, and Seattle-based brewery Two Beers for a beer-drinking Earth Day celebration:

    You are invited to join this unique Earth Day celebration highlighting the work of beer lovers and supporting our people powered movement. This one of a kind event benefits Feet First, the only organization in Washington working to ensure there are walkable communities across the state. Your ticket gets you a Feet First pint glass, a big frothy mug of Two Beer’s limited edition Hand Truckin’ Wheat Ale, and the chance to toast Mother Earth with craft brewers and pedestrian advocates.

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2012 Worst Intersection in Seattle: 5th and Denny

April 2, 2012: published by Troy Heerwagen at 9:32 am - 3 Comments

5th and Denny, no crossing

The worst intersection in Seattle

The 2012 winner of the Worst Intersection in Seattle is 5th and Denny. This intersection has a lot going for it, but a missing crosswalk and a dangerous one, along with a pedestrian signal that works only if someone hits the button, impede mobility in the area and undermine the city’s efforts to promote walkability.

You could pick dozens of bad intersections in Seattle from an era of car-friendly road building. However, in the case of 5th and Denny, the concrete that was poured decades ago isn’t the biggest problem; it’s the regulated, almost deliberate hostility to pedestrians in an area that demands the opposite. Four blocks away from last year’s worst “intersection” of Aurora and its non-crossing cross streets of John, Thomas, Harrison, and Republican, 5th and Denny is an active intersection for multiple modes of transportation in a very walkable area in the heart of the city. The sidewalks are relatively wide and smooth and the intersection has two plazas and street-friendly retail.

5th and Denny push button

Push to cross

Bordering Belltown, this intersection is host to substantial foot traffic from residents. Unfortunately, pedestrians aren’t allowed to cross Denny on the east side of 5th/Cedar, and instead must cross three streets instead of one. On southeast-bound 5th Avenue, which some call the “5th Avenue onramp,” pedestrians are forced into areas outside drivers’ lines of sight and cars veering onto Fifth speed by.

One of the most remarkable problems of this intersection is the one that is the easiest to address. People trying to cross Denny often find themselves stuck waiting for the signal to change, not realizing that they have to push the button to cross.

5th and Denny looking northwest

This intersection has potential

In much of this area near the Space Needle and multiple hotels, tourists from Tucson to Toronto and Spokane to Sequim experience what walkable, urban, Seattle has to offer. With high pedestrian traffic, frequent bus service, and the monorail soaring overhead, this intersection could serve as an example of what a pedestrian-friendly city can be like. However, the 5th and Denny intersection treats them like second-class citizens with the same “no pedestrians” sign they might see if trying to cross a freeway in Fargo and the same push button signals they would use to cross an 8-lane suburban highway in Houston.

For all of Seattle’s progressive urban undertakings – greenways, road diets, and the proposals to lift parking requirements – what does it say about the city if we can’t be practical enough to make an important urban intersection work well for walkers? What does it say if we don’t allow pedestrian to cross an urban intersection without hitting a button? What does it say if we’re ok with pedestrians being forced to cross three streets instead of one? What does it say if we allow pedestrians to be hidden behind a pillar?

It says that despite the city’s progressive urban ambitious, we will never reach our potential as a city until we rethink intersections like 5th and Denny that put cars first and put pedestrians last.

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National Walking Day April 4

March 29, 2012: published by Troy Heerwagen at 11:13 am - Closed

From the American Heart Association, National Walking Day is coming up. On Wednesday, April 4, participate in a local noontime walk starting downtown at 1200 5th Avenue. More information below and at PugetSoundHeartWalk.org:

SEATTLE – The American Heart Association (AHA) has designated Wednesday, April 4, 2012 as National Walking Day in an effort to encourage more Americans to adopt active lifestyles and lower their risk for heart disease, the leading killer in the United States.

Walking has the lowest dropout rate for any physical activity, and walking for as little as 30 minutes a day can improve circulation, lower cholesterol and blood pressure, and promote weight loss, according to the AHA.

“We are proud to collaborate with the American Heart Association for National Walking Day,” says Ron Heller, Pacific Northwest Regional Executive for Union Bank, the sponsor for National Walking Day. “At Union Bank, we are committed to responsible banking and supporting total wellness in the communities we serve. On April 4, we are calling on Puget Sound companies to get involved by encouraging their employees to bring their sneakers to work and take a walking break during the day.”

Community Walks
The AHA and Union Bank will host a one-mile group walk in Downtown Seattle from the Union Bank branch at 5th and University Streets, noon – 1:00 p.m. Companies and individual walkers are invited to participate.

The Union Bank Everett Main branch, 332 SW Everett Mall Way, will also host a walk at noon for employees, area companies, and the public.

Seattle Parks and Recreation will host community walks at various locations as part of National Walking Day. For a list of locations and times, visit PugetSoundHeartWalk.org.

The City of Bothell is organizing a walk at noon for employees, area companies, and the public. The walk will begin at the police station parking lot, 18410 101st Ave. NE, and walkers will be provided water and snacks at the finish.

Organize Your Own Walk
Anyone can be part of National Walking Day by lacing up their sneakers and going for a walk. Companies and organizations that wish to promote fitness and organize group walks can find free resources at PugetSoundHeartWalk.org. Organizations with the highest participation in the small and large categories will receive the AHA’s Golden Tennis Shoe Award.

All individuals that walk 30 minutes will be entered to win Brooks shoes and a month’s supply of snacks from Popchips. Group walk coordinators must email information to king.walk@heart.org or individuals can enter from April 4 – 12 at PugetSoundHeartWalk.org.

Put Some heART in Your Step: Shoe Decorating Contest
Tap into your creativity and style up your shoe in honor of National Walking Day. Decorate a pair of tennis shoes any way you like, then take a photo and e-mail to king.walk@heart.org. Photos will be accepted from Saturday, March 24 through Saturday, April 7 and posted on the AHA’s Facebook page, Facebook.com/AHAPugetSound. Winners of the Put Some heART in Your Step shoe decorating contest will be selected on April 13 and will receive a new pair of Brooks shoes.

National Walking Day is part of the American Heart Association’s My Heart. My Life. healthy living initiative to help Americans achieve ideal cardiovascular health. To learn more, visit PugetSoundHeartWalk.org or call the local AHA at (206) 632-6881.

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Vote for the Worst Intersection in Seattle in 2012

March 18, 2012: published by Troy Heerwagen at 9:22 pm - 3 Comments

The nominations are in and we have a large group of terrible places for peds, cyclists, and motorists who want to get around a safe and comfortable way. Here are this year’s nominees for the Worst Intersection in Seattle (click on images to see map):

  1. Pine St & Boren Ave near Capitol Hill Pine and Boren near downtown – “Dangerous for cyclists and remarkably unpleasant for pedestrians for an intersection that’s unavoidable for the commute of thousands of us.” (nominated by Hans Gerwitz)
  2. Queen Anne Dr / Raye St
    Raye St / Queen Anne Dr / 4th Ave N / 6th Ave N in Queen Anne – “This is a 6-way intersection, controlled by all-way stop signs, with no sidewalks, and is filled with cars. Completely chaotic atmosphere on foot or on a bicycle.” (nominated by Louis)
  3. Broadway Ave / Terrace St
    Broadway and Terrace St in Capitol Hill – “The crosswalk is NOT striped yet it is a busy intersection with people crossing to/from the #9 bus stop for Harborview. Lots of elderly folks too … and drivers WILL NOT STOP for people crossing because they are in too much of a hurry to make the light at Broadway/Boren.” (nominated by Gordon Werner)
  4. 5th Ave / Denny Way
    5th Ave and Denny Way – “My vote is for 5th Avenue and Denny Way. Or as I call it, the 5th Avenue onramp.” (nominated by Ryan on Summit)
  5. Montlake / 520 Montlake and 520 – “It stinks no matter what your mode of transportation. Crowded roads, terrible pavement, many crossings.” (nominated by Mike)
  6. Eastlake Ave / Harvard Ave Eastlake and Harvard – “The trip north isn’t so horrible (relatively speaking), but going south over the University Bridge, then quickly merging into traffic and across two lanes is nightmarish. Cars are dodging backed-up left-turn traffic at Fuhrman, bicycles are moving fast on the downhill with visibility limited by the bridge, and the street is a torn up mess. At least most of the grit from after the snow has been cleared out of the bike lane.” (nominated by Jason)
  7. 15th Ave / John St
    15th Ave and John St – “This intersection is rather bizarre as the street grid on either side of 15th Ave doesn’t match up. John and Thomas (on the other side of 15th) are rather busy arterials that carry two of Metro’s busiest bus routes (8 & 43) plus a huge amount of cars trying to access the neighborhood and Group Health. Typically cars trying to go east to west have to make a right turn on the red light at 15th onto John try speeding around the corner while pedestrians have a walk signal.” (nominated by Chris Mobley)
  8. 37th Ave / Lake Washington Blvd / Harrison St
    37th Ave E & Lake Washington Blvd & E Harrison St – “No crosswalks or other clear intersection markings, limited visibility for and of cars coming up the hill on Lk WA Blvd, most cars speeding. This might seem like an intersection in the boonies, but this is the flattest way to get from Madrona and Leschi to the Montlake Bridge or University Bridge.” (nominated by Maggie)
  9. 35th Ave and Avalon Way 35th Ave SW & Avalon in West Seattle – “Terrible for walking and biking. It has heavy traffic, no bike lanes, badly marked crosswalks, and there has been no sidewalk on the southeast corner for several years.” (nominated by Peter)
  10. 15th / Beacon Ave 15th and Beacon Ave in Beacon Hill – Long light cycles and long crossing distances make for an intersection worth avoiding if you can. (nominated via Twitter by @BeaconBIKES, commentary by Troy)
  11. Lafayette / Spokane Lafayette Ave and Spokane St – Would be a perfect way to access Jefferson Park from the residential area, except there are four lanes of speeding traffic to cross, there is no marked crosswalk, and there is no sidewalk on the south side of the street. (nominated via Twitter by @BeaconBIKES, commentary by Troy)

[poll id=”15″]

Note: Poll will close on April 1st.

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Walking news roundup

March 15, 2012: published by Troy Heerwagen at 9:35 pm - Closed

There’s a lot of news out there to cover – here are a few stories:

And a couple SDOT news releases that I don’t have links for:

  • “Seattle Department of Transportation’s Roadway Structures crew will construct a new staircase near the southeastern city limits at 72nd Avenue South between Rainier Avenue South and South Taft Street.” The stairway will be closed starting next Monday through early May. “The new staircase will be wider with hand rails on both sides, and will sport a new bike runnel making it easy to roll a bike up and down the stairs.”
  • “Repairs are underway on the Duwamish Trail in West Seattle. The asphalt trail has been heavily damaged in places by tree roots and needs to be repaired for bicyclist and pedestrian safety.”
  • NE Ravenna Blvd between Green Lake and 15th Ave NE will be repaved. “Work includes grinding and removing the existing asphalt roadway, repairing areas of the concrete roadway base, repaving, upgrading pedestrian curb ramps and building a curb bulb at E. Green Lake Drive N. and N.E. 71st Street. Work is expected to be completed by the end of summer, dependant on weather conditions.”
  • Also, the pedestrian paradise known as the Ballard bridge will have a closed west sidewalk starting next Monday and continuing into April due to a painting project.

One final thing – the nomination period for the worst intersection in Seattle ends this Sunday.

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Nominate your worst intersection in Seattle in 2012

March 5, 2012: published by Troy Heerwagen at 12:14 pm - 9 Comments

Nominations have been received – you can vote here

It’s time to submit your nominations for worst pedestrian intersection in Seattle. Last year you all voted Aurora Ave and John/Thomas/Harrison/Republican as the worst intersections in Seattle.

Go ahead and comment on this post to submit your nomination and tell us why it’s the worst. The criteria for “worst” intersection is your own – this could be an intersection with poor signaling, missing sidewalks, safety issues, and maybe is one you have to use every day.

The deadline for nominees is March 18 and after that we’ll put the most-nominated spots up to a vote.

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Road diet on Nickerson found to improve safety, will other streets get a road diet?

March 1, 2012: published by Troy Heerwagen at 9:01 pm - 2 Comments

SDOT has released a report on the Nickerson St road diet and found that by reducing the number of lanes for cars, safety has improved. Collisions, overall vehicle speeds, and the number of speeders have been reduced with minimal impact to traffic volumes. The Mayor outlines the good news:

Completed by the City in August 2010, the modifications have produced the following results:

  • Reduced collisions by 23 percent over a one-year period (compared to the previous five-year average)
  • Motorists traveling over the speed limit have declined by more than 60 percent
  • Top-end speeders (people traveling 10 or more miles over the speed limit) have fallen by 90 percent
  • The 85th percentile speed dropped from 40 mph and 44 mph westbound and eastbound to 33 mph and 33 Westbound and Eastbound. This is an 18 and a 24% reduction in speed.
  • Traffic volumes remain roughly the same with no evidence of traffic diversion.

This is the 27th successful road diet implemented by SDOT since 1974. And, with yet another roadway safety measure in place, the question must be asked: why isn’t SDOT implementing more of these safety measures?

We recently pointed out that 28 pedestrians have died in locations that may be eligible for a road diet. Since then, we’ve profiled three streets that may be ideal candidates for SDOT to consider next: 35th Ave SW in West Seattle, 23rd Ave in the Central District / Judkins Park, and S Jackson St in the International District. Let’s compare these three streets with Nickerson St to see whether these other streets may deserve the same successful safety treatment as Nickerson and 26 other Seattle streets.

First, we’ll start by looking at traffic volumes. SDOT looks at the total number of cars that use a roadway before implementing a road diet. Streets with average daily traffic counts above 25,000 are not good candidates, and presumably lower volumes make for better candidates, though road diets have minimal impact on overall volume. Using SDOT’s 2010 traffic volumes, here are the four streets compared, from lowest volume to highest:

  1. Jackson St: ranges from 10,200-13,600
  2. 23rd Ave: 13,400
  3. 35th Ave SW: ranges from 16,100-22,700
  4. Nickerson St: 22,300

Let’s look at another metric. While Walk Score is not an official criteria used by SDOT, it indicates the walkability of a location and is correlated with the number of pedestrians in an area. Streets with more pedestrians may be more deserving of measures that make the pedestrian environment safer and more pleasant. We took a sample Walk Score of 2-3 locations along each of these streets and are ranking them from highest (most walkable) to lowest (least walkable).

  1. Jackson St: 90
  2. 23rd Ave: 86
  3. Nickerson St: 81
  4. 35th Ave SW: 75

While the last two comparisons were interesting, the primary purpose of a lane rechannelization is to improve safety and the most dangerous streets should be looked at the hardest. We looked at this map of nationwide road fatalities, and counted the deaths that have occurred on each of these roadways from 2001-2009 to rank them in terms of urgency for safety improvements:

  1. 35th Ave SW: 4 roadway fatalities (including 2 dead peds)
  2. 23rd Ave: 4 roadway fatalities (2 dead peds)
  3. Jackson St: 3 roadway fatalities (3 dead peds)
  4. Nickerson St: 1 roadway fatality (0 dead peds)

Of our comparison group, Nickerson St has been the safest, is the second least walkable, and has the highest traffic volume. Still, a road diet was implemented and now has been shown to be a success. If a road diet can work there, then surely it can work on these other streets. How many more people will have to die before SDOT implements road diets on 35th Ave SW, 23rd Ave, Jackson St, and other locations where people are killed on Seattle’s roads?

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Deadly Seattle Street: S Jackson St in the ID

February 28, 2012: published by Troy Heerwagen at 11:29 am - Closed

Walking in Seattle is profiling some of Seattle’s deadly roadways that could be candidates for a lane rechannelization, or road diet.

A road diet involves restriping the roadway, often to add a center turn lane and bike lanes. The effect is that vehicles slow down and the roadway is safer for all users. SDOT considers a roadway a good candidate for a road diet if people often speed on the roadway, if there is a history of collisions, and if a road diet wouldn’t significantly impact traffic volumes.

Jackson St at 5th Ave

Jackson St at 5th Ave

Walking in Seattle nominates Jackson St in the International District as a good candidate for a road diet.

From 2001 to 2009 there have been three pedestrian fatalities along Jackson. At 5th and Jackson a 74-year-old woman was killed at 11:30 on a Friday in February. Later that year, an 81-year-old man was killed at Jackson & 10th on a Wednesday morning in June. In 2002, a 69-year-old woman was killed as well.

The roadway currently has four lanes of traffic, with parking lanes on each side, yet only carries 10,200-13,600 vehicles daily, far below SDOT’s maximum limit of 25,000 vehicles for implementing a road diet. While a road diet may not have prevented these fatalities, road diets have been proven to improve safety. Automobile speeds are lower and less variable, and bicycle lanes help make the roads safer for more users. By lowering vehicle speeds, pedestrians are safer as well – a pedestrian struck by a vehicle traveling at 40mph is 85% likely to die, however if the vehicle is only going 30 mph, the pedestrian has a 50-60% chance of survival.

Jackson St, like 23rd Ave and 35th Ave SW, is a street that should be made safer and should be considered for a road diet.

[poll id=”14″]

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Stairway reconstruction at NE 90th Street and Ravenna Ave NE

February 26, 2012: published by Troy Heerwagen at 7:47 pm - 1 Comment

The stairway is being reconstructed at NE 90th Street and Ravenna Ave NE, starting this week. From SDOT:

SEATTLE—Seattle Department of Transportation’s Roadway Structures crews will construct a new staircase beginning Monday, February 27, and expect to complete the work before the end of April. The stairway will be closed starting Monday, 24 hours a day, seven days a week until completion. A map of the pedestrian detour will be posted at the top and bottom of the stairway.

The crews will demolish the old staircase, install form work, and then pour concrete for the new stairs and walkway.

The stairway was built in 1940 and does not meet current standards. This project is part of SDOT’s program to upgrade the 507 stairways that SDOT owns and is responsible for maintaining. The funding is provided by the Bridging the Gap transportation initiative.

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Deadly Seattle Street: 23rd Ave

February 20, 2012: published by Troy Heerwagen at 6:19 am - Closed

23rd Ave

23rd Ave, another good road diet candidate

Walking in Seattle is looking at deadly streets that may be good road diet candidates. The list included 28 different locations – just a fraction of the 90 locations throughout the city where a pedestrian had been killed between 2001 and 2009.

With four people having been killed in less than one mile of roadway between Yesler St and I-90, Walking in Seattle nominates 23rd Ave as a good road diet candidate. A road diet on 23rd Ave would improve road safety by re-striping the roadway to add a center turn lane and bike lanes, thus slowing vehicle traffic. Pedestrians are much more likely to be killed by a car traveling at 40 mph than by a car traveling at 30 mph.

At 10 pm on January 4, 2008, a 53-year-old female pedestrian was killed at 23rd & Lane in the Judkins Park neighborhood. On May 21, 2009, a 74-year-old man was struck and killed at 23rd & Main at 3 in the afternoon. In 2004, a 57-year-old motorcyclist died at 23rd and S Judkins St. Two years later, in 2006, a 26-year-old police officer was killed at 23rd and Yesler, when a speeding car ran a light.

This particularly deadly section of 23rd has four lanes of vehicle travel, with no sharrows or bicycle lanes and few marked crosswalks. There is also a curve and an incline that limit visibility. The daily traffic volume here is only 13,400 vehicles per day, well below SDOT’s maximum threshold of 25,000 for implementing a lane rechannelization. With the low visibility, low traffic volume, and high number of fatalities, this section of roadway would be an ideal candidate for a road diet that could prevent further death of all roadway users.

[poll id=”13″]

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