A new crosswalk was just installed on 15th Ave E and E Highland Drive, thanks to one resident who asked for it a year ago.
“The recent warm, fair weather enabled us to install the markings,” said SDOT representative Marybeth Turner. Turner said the resident’s request went to the Mayor’s office, was routed to SDOT and installed earlier this month.
The new crosswalk connects one of the Hill’s more tony neighborhoods with Volunteer Park. CHS recently reported on Sound Transit’s announcement that a new crosswalk will be added to help pedestrians cross John at 10th Ave near the light rail construction site.
While many of us could think of more than a few places where a crosswalk would come in handy (13th and Denny, anyone?), SDOT won’t install a crosswalk without addressing a few qualifications:
A marked crosswalk normally indicates one of two things: either a preferred pedestrian crossing or high volume pedestrian crossing area. The first is determined by lighting and visibility, or where the potential for pedestrian and vehicle conflict is low. The second is closely related to elementary school walking routes.
A roadway’s characteristics also determine whether or not a crosswalk is possible. The number of lanes a pedestrian must cross, the proximity to existing traffic signals and the number of pedestrians who cross the street consistently at that location all help determine whether a crosswalk should be implemented or not.
“A marked crosswalk, in and of itself, does not increase safety,” said Turner. “SDOT won’t put a crosswalk if it’s not an area that they wouldn’t recommend people cross, or if it feels unsafe.”
If you see locations around the city that you think would benefit from a crosswalk, you can email SDOT at [email protected], or call (206) 684-7583. You can also post questions or concerns on their blog.
They put one in at 15th and Prospect at the same time.
Yay! It did feel a little dicey at times getting across there.
A while back, I asked for a crosswalk at 14th and Aloha, but that got denied. Down 14th Ave E is a heavily used route directly to the main entrance to Volunteer Park and 14th and Aloha is hard to cross because of poor visibility for cars zipping along Aloha. But the request was denied because Aloha is an arterial and they try to limit the number of crosswalks across arterials.
If anyone else also thinks a crosswalk there might be a good idea, please submit a request to walkandbike@seattle.gov. A few requests from a few people might make it happen despite it being an arterial.
13th & denny is a quiet intersection – maybe y’all meant 13th & john?
I agree with the need for a crosswalk there. It kind of goes against the policy of putting crosswalks only where visibility is good, but there needs to be some way of slowing down the cars for pedestrians. I’d also be in favor of a four-way stop there. At your suggestion, I sent an email to walkandbike@seattle.gov – good idea!
Red
durrrrr. you’re right. i always manage to confuse the two, no matter how hard i try not to…