While Seattle is consistently rated as one of the best cities for walkers in the country, recent tragic deaths of pedestrians have highlighted the need for the City to do even better.
A Special Council Committee on Pedestrian Safety co-chaired by Council President Nick Licata and Transportation Committee Chair Jan Drago will lead the Council’s 2007 Pedestrian Safety Legislative Initiative. The Council and Mayor adopted a resolution providing for the development and oversight of a Pedestrian Master Plan that articulates the City's goals, policies, programs, and improvements for making Seattle a pedestrian-friendly city.
The Council’s Pedestrian Safety Agenda will focus on the following:
- Pedestrian Improvements: Evaluate potential new investments in pedestrian infrastructure including sidewalks, walkways, staircases, and traffic lights, all made possible by the transportation levy, “Bridging the Gap.”
- Education: Launching a public campaign emphasizing that vehicles must, by law, yield to pedestrians at every intersection, whether there is a marked crosswalk or not; and that pedestrians must not move into the path of a vehicle in such a way that it is impossible for the driver to stop.
- Enforcement: Evaluate opportunities to enhance law enforcement to protect pedestrians through more traffic patrols and expand the use of “red light cameras” at dangerous intersections.
Past Council Achievements on Pedestrian Safety
Bridging the Gap
In September 2006, Councilmember Jan Drago led the effort to put Bridging the Gap, a nine-year transportation levy, on November’s ballot. Fifty-three percent of Seattle voters approved Bridging the Gap, which will raise $11.2 million in its first year for sidewalks, trails, walkways, stairways, bike paths, and pedestrian safety measures.
Negligent Drivers
In December 2006, the Council unanimously passed legislation, sponsored by Council President Licata, making negligent drivers who are proven to be the cause of serious injury or death guilty of an assault. Previously, these types of infractions only carried a fine of $101. Now, when someone is seriously harmed, City prosecutors can pursue a punishment of up to a year in jail and a $5,000 fine.
Crossing Guards
In 2003, the Council used $258,577 to fund the program that pays for school crossing guards, a program which had been proposed for elimination that same year. In July 2004, Councilmember David Burgess led the Council’s effort to put a Families and Education Levy with $519, 300 in funds for crossing guards on the September 2004 ballot. Sixty-two percent of the voters supported it.
Red-Light Cameras
The Council, in last year’s State Legislative Agenda, asked the City to pursue authorization to use automated traffic cameras to detect stoplight infractions at intersections. Authorizing legislation was subsequently passed in Olympia and Council President Licata and Councilmember Tom Rasmussen co-sponsored implementation legislation that was adopted by the Council. Studies show that these stoplight violations involve more serious injuries and deaths than all other kinds of accidents at signalized intersections.
New Traffic Lights
The Council added $1 million in funding to the 2006 budget for traffic lights at ten specifically targeted intersections identified as highest priority for pedestrian safety.
Pedestrian Summer
In July 2003, Councilmember Richard Conlin, then Chair of the Transportation Committee, started "Pedestrian Summer," a campaign to promote walking and pedestrian safety. The campaign distributed 20,000 brochures, placed billboards on major arterials, held 26 walking events across the city, and worked with the Seattle Police Department on crosswalk enforcement activities in May and June. Enforcement activities included "sting" operations that resulted in dozens of tickets for drivers who violated crosswalk laws.
Comprehensive Plan Amendments
In December 2006, Councilmember Peter Harrell sponsored amendments that clarified prioritization of pedestrian improvements, including accelerating the maintenance, development, and improvement of pedestrian facilities; developing the Pedestrian Master Plan to include a threshold for the level of population growth that would trigger a City review of pedestrian safety infrastructure; promoting sidewalk design on principal and minor arterials to encourage pedestrian use and improve pedestrian safety; and many more at: http://www.seattle.gov/council/issues/comprehensive_plan_2006.htm
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