Reader Toby sent us an email the other day about an aggravated driver attempting to make a left hand turn at the corner of Stone Way and 40th St. while he and his family were in the crosswalk:
We live in the Wallingfringe neighborhood east of Aurora and west of Stone Way. Every so often, I’ve been driving east on 40th and nearly hit by cars turning left onto Stone Way from westbound 40th. Today, my kids and I were crossing Stone Way on 40th and some guy just leaned on his horn, furious that we were in the way of his left turn. I know we should have crossed on the north side, but still, that’s just rude. Besides, we had the “Walk” sign. If you’re so inclined, could you kindly remind your readers that left turns DON’T have the right of way at that intersection? Also, do you know who we might contact with the city to request a left turn arrow for that traffic light?
Seems like a reasonable request to me given that the intersection in question is a rather busy one with bus stops on both the east and west side of Stone Way, and it will soon be a destination for more drivers and pedestrians. So here it is, folks, a friendly reminder from the Washington State Department of Licensing Driver Guide, the following right-of-way rules apply at intersections:
• Pedestrians and bicyclists have the right-of-way at crosswalks and intersections, whether the crosswalk is marked or not. Drivers must yield where necessary to avoid striking pedestrians and bicyclists who are crossing the road.
• Vehicles must stop if a pedestrian or bicyclist is in their half of the roadway.
• Vehicles must stop if a pedestrian or bicyclist is within one lane of their half of the roadway.
• Once the pedestrian or bicyclist is beyond one lane of their half of the roadway, the vehicles may go.
• Drivers turning left must yield to oncoming vehicles and pedestrians and bicyclists.
Toby asked who to contact for a left turn signal and what I found was a list of “Critical Crossings” from the Seattle.gov website. The Critical Crossings are subdivided by “Sectors” and all of the intersections in Wallingford fall under the “Northwest Sector”. Given that the Critical Crossings, Northwest Sector page takes you to Nick Licata’s masthead, I would recommend starting there, though if anyone else has other suggestions, let us know in the comments section.
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I wrote SDOT and asked that a protected left be considered here. I received this response in October 2010:
I haven’t heard from them since. I will e-mail the engineer and ask for an update, and post here if I get it.
Wow, thanks for sharing that, Michael. Please do let us know if you hear anything back.
Right-on-red has caused me more near misses pushing a stroller around the ‘hood than any other traffic/ped problem. IMHO, they no longer have a place in heavily ped areas, but until they go away, I wish drivers would remenber:
– their allowed to make the right-on-red only after they stop;
-The STOP is supposed to be with their wheels behind the solid line if there is one, and never blocking the crosswalk and access ramps while they wait for traffic to clear.
I’m also noticing increasing problems with bikes riding on sidewalks and across intersections. I’m not sure who’s supposed to yield to whom, but it’s really hard to steer a stroller out of their way quickly. I always wonder what it would be like with a walker or a wheel chair.
Bikes are supposed to yield to pedestrians on sidewalks.
i’d love to see a left arrow for 45th and Wallingford.
Howdy neighbor Toby! I’ve taken to using the crosswalk at N41st to cross Stone Way when I don’t need to catch the bus, and I have a fun time counting how many cars would get tickets if there were police around. (I also do that at the crosswalk on 45th by the Chevron station that I know a lot of middle school kids use.)
My biggest problem crossing Stone @ 40th has been people running the light (I almost got hit once, I don’t remember if I had the stroller or not) more so than the left turn drivers, and then when crossing 40th on the east side of the street I have the same problem at iyqtoo with drivers trying to turn right on red. So much so that it’s now second nature for me to look over my shoulder for cars turning right before pushing the stroller into the intersection.
Drivers really need to be aware of pedestrians when they are trying to make a right-on-red turn, but as a pedestrian you’d better not assume they will. Keep your eyes open anytime you are crossing the lane they’re supposed to stop in — many drivers plow right into the crosswalk, barely slowing down. Even worse, they look left while turning right, and often don’t see if something has moved in front of them. I was actually struck by a vehicle in the neighborhood in exactly this situation, fortunately causing no significant harm. It made me realize that it’s probably generally safer to walk on the right side of the street, where at least they’ll be looking your way.
Also, the point about unmarked crosswalks at intersections is all too unfamiliar to most drivers. Hell, many don’t even give a marked, “school zone” crosswalk any notice (45th street by the Chili Pepper). Unfortunately pedestrians encourage a vehicle-right-of-way view by standing patiently waiting for gap in the traffic. I like to make it clear that yes, I do intend to cross and I do expect you to yield.
I’m down with pedestrian rights, and it looks like SPD was back out enforcing today at 40th and Stone Way. Regarding right-on-red at 45th and Wallingford though, I’m sympathetic to the drivers though. The law may mandate stopping behind the limit line, but you cannot see far enough out into the intersection to safely turn right from such a deep starting point. Your view to the left is blocked by the buildings on the south side of 45th Street, the SUV with opaque windows that pulled up next to you in the center lane, etc. You’ve got to creep slowly into the intersection to get adequate visibility, and yes that means permeating the crosswalk, while you might wind up getting “stuck” for a bit. Ditto turning right onto 40th from Woodlawn. And yes it can be easy to miss something on wheels coming along the sidewalk from your right at that point. Be careful out there everyone!
Maybe the cross walks on that corner could be painted like the interestion of 45th and Wallingford Ave.
As for westbound drivers turning left across 40th, it’s BAD. I’ve seen SO many near misses with both pedestrians and cars. We need a turn arrow there!
Also, I was in an accident there once — I was clearly right there, but someone turned across in front of me — damaging me and my car. Another time, had a near miss that hurt me, but not my car. (Lots of spinning and skidding.)
Last month, I was going west on 40th and someone ran the red going north on Stone. The person turning left onto Stone was narrowly missed and I escaped only by turning hard right and nearly hitting the parked cars.
And yes, I’ve nearly been hit as a pedestrian numerous times crossing west to east at 40th on Stone Way.(You’d think I’d avoid that intersection by now, eh?) Those downhill/left-turning drivers somehow don’t see people in the crosswalk there.
I wonder if there’s something about the “feng shui” of those intersections. Coming down a hill just as you turn is distracting? The 7-11 with fluorescent lighting takes the attention away for just a moment–impairing attention or judgment? The arc onto Bridge Way creates an artificial flow?
So, I want to join the effort to change that intersection. Please let me know what I can do!
regarding #3’s (iyqtoo) comment about bicycles on sidewalks, it’s my understanding that, unless the cyclist is dismounted and walking their bike, it is illegal to ride on the sidewalk period. By law bicycle riders are supposed to obey all traffic laws and when using a crosswalk in an intersection are supposed to dismount and walk the bike the bike when using a crosswalk. It is also illegal to ride a bike w/out a helmet. As a pedestrian it irks me that folks ride their bikes on sidewalks up and down 45th as a way to avoid lights and traffic. I confronted a female cyclist (no helmet) about this and she said she was “afraid of the traffic.” I told her it was illegal and that she needed to dismount and walk her bike (we were going in opposite directions). Another dude on a bike riding on the sidewalk, (no helmet) came up behind me, going in the same direction; he said “excuse me” and I responded with: “Why are you on the sidewalk when it’s illegal ? His response was: “It is? What is the world coming too?” He was also riding w/only one hand on the handlebars because he had his cell phone gizmo in his left. he appeared to be “texting” while riding and being on the sidewalk made his multi-tasking easier. After our interaction, he did get off the sidewalk and rode against traffic to the bike land….With regard to cars, I’ve learned to make eye contact and be hypervigilant after three near misses near 45th and Bagley (cars making left turns).
Joan, I agree it is often not an ideal situation when pedestrians and bikers share the sidewalk but I would like to point out that it IS legal in the City of Seattle to ride your bike on the sidewalk as long as you do so in a careful manner and yield to pedestrians.
See:
Seattle Municipal Code Section 11.44.120 (Bikers Can Ride on the Sidewalk) allows bicycles on the sidewalk, though many pedestrians are unaware of this. Bikers are well advised to let pedestrians know they are coming by using a bell or a calm voice.
Heidi, Thanks for the clarification. My information came from a conversation with someone else. I will update this person too. I feel a tad sheepish in that I didn’t check the law out first before responding to this column, simply took his input as fact. Good lesson learned. Aloha and all the best!
I got this response today: