Two Seattle councilmembers are proposing a large, necessary step toward slowing drivers enough to eliminate traffic deaths in the city.
"Seattle City Councilmembers Tim Burgess and Mike O’Brien announced a proposal to lower speed limits throughout much of the City of Seattle to limits currently found throughout every other city in King County," reports Ryan Packer.
The proposal would "lower the unsigned speed limit on all non-arterial neighborhood streets" throughout the city to 20 mph and lower the speed limit on center city streets to 25 mph. Packer notes that the change would be a significant gesture toward the city's stated Vision Zero goals of eliminating traffic fatalities and serious injuries by 2030. "Previous moves that the Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) has made in pursuit of this goal include the restriction of right turns on red on some problem intersections in Downtown, as well as highly visible distracted driving and anti-DUI campaigns that focus on the personal responsibility aspect of traffic safety," adds Packer.
FULL STORY: Vision Zero To Be Propelled By Speed Limit Changes
Lower Speed Limits Are the Law in Seattle
The city of Seattle moved quickly in enacting a speed limit change on streets around downtown. File this under real change to achieve the goals of Vision Zero.
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After the Twin Cities lowered speed limits in the urban core of the region in 2020, a trio of suburban cities are planning to follow. Two of the cities are planning to set some speed limits as low as 20 mph.
Seattle Expands Speed Limit Reductions
After an initial wave of speed limit reductions in 2016, the city of Seattle will embark on a major expansion of speed limit reductions over the next 18 months.
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California Exodus: Population Drops Below 39 Million
Never mind the 40 million that demographers predicted the Golden State would reach by 2018. The state's population dipped below 39 million to 38.965 million last July, according to Census data released in March, the lowest since 2015.
Chicago to Turn High-Rise Offices into Housing
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Transit Riders Face the Highest Safety Risks in These 10 States
According to federal data, the average number of safety incidents on public transportation averaged 55.2 per 100,000 people across all states between 2010 and 2023. Which states came in well above the national average?
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Safety and harassment are commonly cited reasons passengers, particularly women and girls, avoid public transit.
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