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Crosswalk confusion

By Charles E. Brown
Seattle Times staff reporter

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Q: Can a crosswalk not be a crosswalk? Crown Hill resident Mark Dexter says that certainly seems to be the case at 15th Avenue Northwest and Northwest 87th Street, where there are two crosswalk signs overhead — one for two northbound lanes and one for the two southbound lanes, but no flashing yellow lights or white crosswalk lines painted on the street.

"Unfortunately, these [crosswalk] signs are either invisible to motorists or are ignored by them," he said. Passing cars frequently honk at pedestrians trying to cross, as though they are jaywalkers, he said.

And because he's witnessed a few close calls, he wonders if the city "is waiting until someone gets hurt to do something about it." He suggests that a simple flashing light and street markings would help.

A: Those in the know in Seattle's Transportation Department say every intersection is a legal crosswalk, whether lines are painted on the pavement or not — unless signs are posted that prohibit crossing.

However, Katherine Casseday, director of the department's traffic-management unit, says lines painted on the street indicate locations the city considers to be preferred pedestrian crossings.

That particular location is not preferred, she said, even though it is a busy intersection close to two banks and several businesses.

Casseday says that intersection can't be designated as a preferred crossing unless a traffic signal is installed there to stop drivers. And that intersection, unfortunately, doesn't meet the criteria for installing a signal, she said.

Dear Reader Got a traffic-related question or comment? E-mail bumper@seattletimes.com or call Charles E. Brown at 206-464-2206. Please include your name and city if you agree to publication.

So, painted lines are out. And the overhead signs should not be there and will soon be removed. The city suggests that pedestrians go to the nearest intersection with a signal — in this case that's two blocks away, at Northwest 85th Street.

Q: In an industrial section of west Renton, not far from the Seattle city limits, savvy travelers use 68th Avenue South as a back-road shortcut, especially during rush hours, between Interstate 5 and Empire Way South (which becomes Martin Luther King Jr. Way South in Seattle) and downtown Renton. That back road, which runs into Monster Road, also is heavily used by commercial and industrial truck traffic in the area.

Near where Monster Road begins, 68th South has a somewhat steep hill, and motorists must cross railroad tracks and a narrow bridge that crosses a stream flowing into the Green River. That bridge was completely rebuilt a few years ago.

Glen Carroll of Seattle says signs were posted at both ends of the bridge several months ago directing all vehicles to stop, and restricting trucks that weigh more than 12,000 pounds to cross one at a time.

Carroll wants to know what's behind the signs, because stopping there causes traffic backups.

And why were the stop signs posted long after the bridge was in use? Are those signs a sign the bridge may be unsafe?

A: Since it was built about five years ago, some cracks have been found in the Monster Road Bridge's concrete support girders, says Renton public-works official Gregg Zimmerman. (He says all bridges in the state are required by state law to be inspected structurally every two years.)

"Further analysis indicated that there was cause for concern about the structural deterioration that was happening in the bridge deck," he said, noting that stop signs at both ends of the bridge and notices restricting truck traffic on the bridge deck are a way to protect the bridge from further deterioration.

Renton has come up with a structural-reinforcement design to prevent further deterioration. "We have also been closely monitoring the cracks in the concrete to assure that the bridge remains safe for travel," he said.

Zimmerman says the reinforcement project is ready to go out to bid, and within several months reinforcement should be installed, the bridge permanently repaired, and the stop signs and "one truck at a time" signs removed.

In the meantime, he said, the bridge is safe to use under the posted conditions.

Bumper soapbox

• Carol Kujawa of Everett says the state Department of Transportation deserves raves for the patterns in the concrete sound-barrier walls along Interstate 90 just east of Issaquah.

"The leaf patterns are absolutely gorgeous, and have great visual appeal," she said. "The DOT should have patterns like that on all the concrete walls along freeways in Washington. They should have other patterns, too, like fossils."

She laments, though, that the patterns are only on the freeway-facing side of the wall. They should be on both sides, she says, "so the neighborhoods could enjoy them, too."

Copyright © 2004 The Seattle Times Company

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