Construction notices have been posted. The Seattle Department of Transportation says it is finally adding a crosswalk and flashing pedestrian signal at Harvard and E Olive Way, an intersection so dangerous, a rogue effort added guerilla-style street markings at the crossing three years ago.
The city quickly wiped away the Harvard-Olive Way rogue crosswalk. This summer, it is finally making good on promises to do the crossing right.
CHS reported over a year ago on the continued delay in improving the intersection just west of Broadway. Matt Baume, a neighborhood writer, has been documenting the crashes at E Olive Way and Harvard Ave E for a decade and wrote to D3 Councilmember Joy Hollingsworth last year to share his concerns after yet another crash, that time involving three cars and several passengers including a family with a small child.
Baume posted news of this summer’s construction notice to the CHS Facebook Group — “Thrilling news about the high-crash intersection where neighbors painted their own crosswalk, only to have the city remove it…”
The city says the upcoming work will “Improve pedestrian accessibility and safety to reduce the potential for collisions and improve sight lines and shorten pedestrian crossings” by installing a marked crosswalk and painted bulbs and post at all four corners of the intersection.
Work will include the new crosswalk and pedestrian crossing signs and signals, expanded sidewalks at the east corners of the intersection, street markings and flexible posts.
While the notice covers a possible project date between November 2024 and September 2026, SDOT says the construction is estimated to take place in July or August, according to its project database.
CHS reported here in 2022 after a guerrilla crosswalk was installed at the intersection — and quickly wiped away by the city. “We have heard the message loudly and clearly that the public wants more crossing and safety improvements,” SDOT said at the time. “We appreciate the passion which has driven someone to paint their own crosswalk, however this is not the right way to voice your desire for change.”
The project comes amid a string of deadly — and unusual — street incidents around the area. Two weeks ago, a 49-year-old woman reported sleeping outside a parking entrance was run over and killed by a driver exiting the garage on Boylston. Also in June, two residents of a First Hill senior community were killed when a shuttle bus driver backed into a smoking shelter behind the building. In March, a driver’s runaway SUV struck and killed 12-year-old Arsema Barekew outside Washington Middle School.
Meanwhile, Adiam Emery has stepped into leading the Seattle Department of Transportation this spring after serving as deputy under Mayor Bruce Harrell working on transportation initiatives. Emery is serving in the role as Greg Spotts left Seattle City Hall after two years that included completion of the $144 million RapidRide G line on Madison and shepherding a $1.45 billion transportation levy to approval with voters last fall. The “15-minute city advocate” Spotts made the move from Southern California to the Pacific Northwest with a “Vision Zero” agenda and a philosophy around “self-enforcing” roads.
The interim director’s priorities include “safer travel” and “Vision Zero Action Plan efforts” including expanded pedestrian head-start signals that are reported to be active at 80% of the city’s traffic signals, more No Turn on Red restrictions now installed at 130 new intersections in 2024 for a total of around 300 in the city, and “a commitment to safety in every project.”
Emery is now responsible for implementing the city’s plan for delivering projects under the $1.55 billion transportation levy approved by voters last fall.
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It’ll probably be a $200k line item in the budget too.
Levitating with excitement. After this, will we even have anything left to fix in Seattle?
Cool!
There used to be a motorcyle cop posted on that slope a few times a week, especially during commute hours. That would do more to calm traffic than any crosswalk. Bring back enforcement please.
North-south motorists often go straight through that intersection (or turn left), even though it is “right turn only.” So, yes, enforcement is needed.
Nothing convinces me more that Seattle is a fake progressive city than their obsession with cars and hatred of pedestrians.
The rest of us concerns much less on “progressive” label. And ask for a system that works for both cars and pedestrians.
I’m not going to say we were totally vindicated, but yeah, people tend to be 3 years ahead of the City and 20 years ahead of people who insist on proper process (but also complain about process and Seattle’s outcomes anyway)
No number of new crosswalks, no amount of spending for pedestrian infrastructure is going to help at all unless drivers actually start obeying the laws…
East John further up on the back side of the hill, from 15th down to 23rd got the full treatment – new curb bulbs, painted crosswalks, but it’s still no easier to cross or objectively safer… because – I still see motorists blithely ignore pedestrians attempting to cross.. motorists who perhaps slow a little but continue into intersections that contain pedestrians – sometimes they stop in the middle of the intersection, sometimes they roll through as pedestrians are crossing NEITHER of those is legal or proper. When someone is crossing, you need to come to a stop BEHIND the crosswalk BEFORE you enter the intersection and REMAIN stopped for as long as that pedestrian is less than one lane from the half of the roadway on which you are traveling – which on a two or three lane road means you stop and stay stopped until the pedestrian is FINISHED crossing – not go as soon as you don’t think you are going to run over their heels…
Keep your eyes open and start doing it right folks. That’s the only thing that’s going to help.
And stop screaming at me to cross at a crosswalk, or worse threatening me, by accelerating at me when I am in one… One more time for all the slow folks out there EVERY INTERSECTION, marked or not is a crosswalk unless there is a sign that explicitly forbids crossing.
I agree that drivers are still jerks, but I disagree that it’s no safer for peds along that stretch of John from 15th to 23rd. I live right by there are and cross John/Thomas at multiple locations all the time and it’s definitely a lot better with the improvements. My only complaint is that they didn’t install concrete bulb-outs at every intersection.
The SDOT has ignored pedestrians hurt by scooters and bikes. They only keep track of police reports, but police will not respond to collisions. The DOT’s safety plan: put tiny videos for first time riders, and post on social media. That’s it. There’s no way to identify scooter/bike riders. Their solution: a 1 inch high number on one side of bikes. Paris has now banned e-scooters and e-bikes. Denver is implementing a solution to prevent e-scooters/e-bikes from riding on sidewalks. Residents at Pride place have been knocked over, and have had dogs nearly decapitated when riders have gone through the leash. As many as 2 scooters ride down the sidewalk per MINUTE (even with bike lanes.) No one responds. Lime’s original proposal included the technology to prevent scooters from riding on the sidewalk, but it was not included in the contract. Sidewalks can be geofenced just like some parks are.
Research at Harborview shows hundreds of scooter and scooter/pedestrian accidents. SDOT doesn’t even bother to count.
See the following: https://www.postalley.org/2025/05/09/seattles-scooter-safety-problem/
I’ve been nearly creamed- as in narrowly-averted collisions that would definitely send someone to the hospital- twice stepping out my front door by scooter riders going traffic-speed down the sidewalk.
So far as I know the rental companies can use their GPS data to identify a rider, given a time and place…
This is a different issue… but yes, I agree. Rental scooters/ebikes on sidewalks really needs to be enforced too.
Lime scooters need to be outlawed in Downtown, Capitol Hill, SLU, Queen Anne and any close in neighborhoods where you have zero lot line buildings until Lime can accurately geofence out sidewalks. 9 out of 10 Lime scooter riders go 20 mph down the sidewalk where people step out of building entries direct onto the sidewalk.
Don’t you mean “obsession with pedestrians “ and “hatred of cars”?