Seattle Hoping to Extend a Successful Traffic Safety Project

"A 2015 safe streets redesign on Rainier Ave is working even better than expected by nearly every measure," according to an article by Tom Fucoloro.

Just by repainting the lines on the major street, the city’s Vision Zero team was able to dramatically reduce the number of dangerous collisions, nearly eliminate high-end speeding, speed up transit, and fully eliminate serious injuries and deaths. Meanwhile, delays for people driving were minimal, clocking in well below pre-construction estimates, according to a new report (PDF).

The article recounts the community-led political effort that produced the changes and also unpacks the data regarding the improvements on the street in a lot more detail.

Planetizen picked up on the news about the changes on Rainier Avenue back in January 2016, when the project made news as a solution for Seattle's "most dangerous" street. Part of the reason that the project is back in the news is the Seattle Department of Transportation is starting a public outreach process for a proposed extension of safety project "from the current project boundary south of Hillman City all the way to Rainier Beach."

Hat tip to Streetsblog USA's Twitter feed for the link to the story. Streetsblog USA editor Angie Schmitt added additional commentary on the news about Rainier Avenue's improvements on her Twitter feed, as shown below.

We know how to drastically reduce traffic deaths. We just don't do it https://t.co/ItSritpCwf

— Angie Schmitt (@schmangee) February 24, 2017