Tag Archives: streets

CHS Pics | Why this hole in Broadway was glowing green Friday night

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dscf1989 There were worriesĀ of a large Capitol Hill sinkhole opening up in the street but, fortunately, a sewer inspector, a tow truck driver, a gaggle of police, a patient driver, andĀ some lime green marking dye were all it took to get things stabilized Friday on Broadway just north of Roy.

Seattle Fire was called to the scene in the 700 block of Broadway E just after 4 PM to a report of a sinkhole in the area. It turned out to be a relatively puny thing, about two feet by three feet. But that didn’t stop a car from getting a tire stuck in the small collapse. That set off a wet and rainy night of sorting out what to do and just how much danger the collapsing pavement might pose if the soppy situation worsened. Continue reading →

Silhouettes to mark deadly crash locations across Capitol Hill, Seattle

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Seattle is marking theĀ World Day of Remembrance with a citywide effort to remember pedestrians, bicyclists, and drivers who have died or been injured on the city’s streets.

Volunteers and friends and familyĀ who want to remember the loved ones lost will gather at the E Pike VictrolaĀ on Sunday before heading out across Capitol Hill and the Central District to mark the places in our neighborhoods where people have died in traffic collisions in the decade past.

Since 2006, 234 peopleĀ have been killed and around 2,400 have been seriously injured in traffic crashes, the SNG group says. Nearly 30 collisions occur on Seattleā€™s streets daily.

Sunday, SNG says families and groupsĀ plan toĀ distribute 234 white silhouettes to place at crash locations around the city. The Capitol Hill group will meet Sunday at noon at Victrola E Pike before heading out to place three silhouettes. Other silhouettes will be placed between now and then so that they’re in place by Sunday, organizers said. Continue reading →

Slow down: Belmont/Bellevue gets its crosswalk — Plus, speed limits lowered on Broadway, Pike, Pine, more

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Changes around Capitol Hill streets will hopefully make things a little safer for everybody as a crosswalk project the city says was already in motion before a fatal collision was installed and new speed limits were rolled out across the city.

Election Day morning, CHS found a Seattle Department of TransportationĀ work crew putting the finishing touches on a ladder style crosswalk to hopefully provide safer passage where Bellevue meets the sloping, speedy tilt of Belmont Ave E on the northwest corner of Capitol Hill. A few in the crew admitted installation had been more harrowing than most as some drivers sped down the steep hill while others seemed determined to get a head of steam going on their way up to make it to the top. “This should be a one-way street,” one worker told CHS. A sign to alert drivers to the crosswalk was also going to be installed, another crew member said. A separate “curb buffer” marking was also added along one side of Bellevue where parking was already prohibited. Continue reading →

CHS Pics | The night a Capitol Hill parking lot turned into an arcade

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OK. It wasn’t exactly three stories high but it was, indeed, projected on a three-story building. An event and fundraiser featuring a Capitol Hill-record tallĀ version of Street Fighter II drew gamers serious and less so to Broadway between Pike and Pine Saturday night. Sponsored by Seattle ā€œeSports startupā€ RumbleMonkey, ā€œRumble in the Streetsā€ put one of the last remaining surface parking lots onĀ Broadway to a more interesting than usual use. Proceeds raised from the players benefittedĀ Childā€™s Play, ā€œa foundation dedicated to improving the lives of children in hospitals and domestic violence shelters through the generosity and kindness of the video game industry.ā€

Capitol Hill “street activation” will also be in full swing with the Hilloween weekend at hand. First, there is the organic. Expect costumed masses to be out in force and to take ownership of the streets — especially when trick-or-treating Halloween night along E Aloha’s side streets. There will also be some organized Hilloween activation. The rescheduled Pike People Street pilot test will play out on E Pike Saturday afternoon. Find out more about PPS plus the annual Hilloween fair and a new zombie crawl on the CHS Hilloween Calendar.

http://www.capitolhillseattle.com/event/pike-people-street-hilloween-edition/?instance_id=7431100

Community remembers man struck by motorist, calls for safer streets during memorial walk across Capitol Hill

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Capitol Hill residents, activists, and their dogs took a walk on Sunday carrying signs with a photograph of Max RichardsĀ who died after being struck by a motorist on September 21.

ā€œTo feel that the community is concerned is very special,ā€ Marilyn Black, Richardsā€™ wife, told CHS about the outpouring of support.

Central Seattle Greenways organized the walk to remember Richards and bring awareness to their call for safer streets in the city.

Her neighbors have embraced her, BlackĀ said, bringing her food and words of comfort, but it still doesnā€™t feel real that Richards, 79, is gone.

Richards died after being hit by a driver as heĀ walked his dog across Belmont Ave E near Bellevue Place E.Ā Pink, the dog, was unharmed. The collision remains under investigation by Seattle Police.

Prior to Richardsā€™ death, Black said she had concerns about pedestrian safety in Seattle, especially compared to their previous home in Melbourne, Australia. She even mapped out what she thought was a safe night-time walking route with her husband. But he liked to explore, she said, and only followed the map a few times. Continue reading →

As city studies Capitol Hill street where man fatally struck by driver, neighbors call for urgent action

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dsc07349Neighbors and Seattle’s City Hall have begun the process of doing something about the conditions that led to the death of Capitol Hill residentĀ Max RichardsĀ who died last week after being hit by a driver while crossing the sloping street atĀ Belmont Ave E andĀ Bellevue Place E.

Completing aĀ legislative process begun long before the 79-year-old was killed, Seattle safe streets advocates celebrated the City Council’s passage Monday afternoon of new rulesĀ that will drop the speed limit by five miles per hour to 25 MPH on many arterials across the central city including Broadway, Pike, Pine, and Madison. Meanwhile,Ā the speed limit will drop to 20 mph on 2,400 miles of non-arterial streets across the city. Under the approved changes, around 500 new speed limit signs will be installed. The city would then enter a warning period before police officers begin enforcing the new speeds.Ā The move is part of Mayor Ed Murrayā€™s Vision Zero plan to end traffic deaths by 2030. Continue reading →

Citywide speed limit reductions are coming to Seattle streets — UPDATE

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Council member Mike O'Brien announces the speed change proposal on First Hill. (Image: CHS)

Council member Mike O’Brien announces the speed change proposal on First Hill. (Image: CHS)

screen-shot-2016-09-13-at-9-33-57-amUPDATE:Ā Some of Capitol Hillā€™s busiest streets are poised to get a 5 MPH speed limit reduction as part of a larger speed reduction proposalĀ announced by city officials Tuesday.Ā Speed limits on Capitol Hillā€™s arterial streets wouldĀ be reduced from 30 MPH to 25 MPH, which includes E Pike, E Pine, Broadway, Madison, E Union, 15th, 12th, and Bellevue among others.

Seattle officials announced speeds on all residential streets would be reduced from 25 MPH to 20 MPH ā€” the same speed limit as school zones, which will remain unchanged. Officials said that slowing vehicles down by even 5 MPH can be significant in improving survivalĀ rates in collisions.

ā€œSpeed kills,ā€ said Council member Tim Burgess during a media event outside the Horizon House on First Hill. The City Councilā€™s transportation committee is slated to take up the legislation on September 20th.

Council member Mike Oā€™Brien, who chairs the City Councilā€™s transportation committee, said he was confident the speed change legislation would be approved by City Council within a month.Ā Once the legislation is passed, around 500 new speed limit signs will be installed at $200-$300 per sign. The city would then enter a warning period before police officers begin enforcing the new speeds.Ā The move is part of Mayor Ed Murray’s Vision Zero plan to end traffic deaths by 2030.Ā  Continue reading →

Pike People Street tests continue in October with ‘art walk,’ ‘daytime’ editions

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In any pilot program, there are winning ideas — and a few losers. The Seattle Department of Transportation is out with itsĀ Pike People Street – 2016 Work Plan complete with the framework for three trial dates this October testing further refinements of the original goal: creating a strong pedestrian experience in the middle of Pike/Pine.

Here is the schedule and the description of each of the three variations SDOT will be testing around E Pike next month:

  1. FRIDAY OCTOBER 7, 11 PM – 3 AM Full closure of E Pike St between 10th Ave and 11th Ave. This expanded pedestrian space will relieve pressure on the limited sidewalk space during nightlife hours. Continue reading →

Witness to woman struck at 14th and Pine starts petition for improved safety

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Screen Shot 2016-08-25 at 10.52.01 AMJen Kilchenmann provided police with an eyewitness account of what happened in the Thursday, August 25th collision that sent a woman to the hospital with serious injuries after she was hit by a driver while crossing the street at 14th and Pine. Now she has launched a petition and is seeking 1,000 people to add their names to a call for making the area safer:

The aim of this petition is to highlight the daily hazard that is crossing anywhere at 14th Ave and E. Pine St. This petition will be submitted to the Seattle DOT. I started this petition after witnessing an accident at this street corner in August. I am aiming to ask for stronger visibility of the STOP signs, including flashing lights, and early pedestrian crossing signs.

Kilchenmann declined to describe the specifics of what she saw as the truck traveling on E Pine hit the woman but says the problems in this stretch of E Pine need to be addressed. As CHS pointed out, the top of Pike and Pine haven’t been the most dangerous areas in the neighborhood for pedestrians — check out the intersections on E Pine, especially, below Broadway around Boylston and Bellevue or E Pike at Broadway for that.

The identity of the woman injured in the morning incident has not been reported and CHS does not have updated information on her injuries.

 

You, citizen, can shape the Pike People Street plan

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The community process to embrace and reshape last summer’s Pike/Pine “pedestrian zone” experiment is moving forward and collecting a new round of feedback on proposed formats for a round of test events being planned forĀ September and October, according to an email sent to participants by a Seattle Department of Transportation planner Tuesday. Here are the details on the new proposals for the Pike PeopleĀ Street:

We’re happy to share with you a draft 2016 work plan report for the Pike People Street. Shaped by direct participation and conversations from you and others in the community, we’ve refined three options for streetscape tests and want your feedback before we issue our final report and timeline of events. Continue reading →