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The Facts on NE 125th Street Speeds and Collisions
The proposed rechannelization of NE 125th Street between Roosevelt Way NE and 35th Avenue NE has generated a lot of interest with the public and press. Here are some important facts that demonstrate why this corridor needs changes to lower speeds and enhance safety.
- Eighty nine percent of eastbound vehicles and seventy four percent of westbound vehicles drive faster than the posted speed limit of 30 m.p.h.
- The speed at which motorists are comfortable traveling (the 85th percentile speed) is 10 to 12 m.p.h. over the posted speed limit.
- From January 2007 to April 2010 153 collisions have occurred along this roadway.
- In that same period of time, 13 collisions involving pedestrians and three involving cyclists have occurred.
- For all collisions, 51 percent resulted in injuries versus the citywide average of 33 percent for collisions on similar minor arterial streets.
Approximately 16,200 daily trips are made on this roadway. As demonstrated by Stone Way N and Fauntleroy Way SW, a three lane rechannelization can easily accommodate up to 25,000 average daily trips in a way that lowers speeds and maintains capacity. Plus, the cost of making these proposed lane changes is roughly $50,000 to $60,000, which is an inexpensive way of providing 24-hour a day safety enhancements.
Posted: August 13th, 2010 under SDOT.
[...] DOT. Funny but right to the point. Seattle’s arterial speed limit is 30 as well, although you wouldn’t know it on some streets. « Maintenance: Comments [...]
I agree with the post above and I will find more information from google.
[...] information concerned residents are requesting is available in streets all over the city. SDOT has laid out fact after fact proving that they understand how this project will affect 125th. Some people may remain [...]
I use NE 125th three or four times a day and have never seen an accident on it between Roosevelt and 35th. I have trouble believing there were 153 accidents. Can you document that?
Yes, we can document the 153 collisions that occurred between January 1, 2007, and April 20, 2010. This data is derived from reports filed by Seattle Police Department officers for each collision. Coupled with the significant speeding documented on this corridor, they argue strongly for safety related changes.
[...] Likes Bikes, Publicola, Seattle Bike Blog, and the SDOT blog have all weighed in, mostly in response to the now infamous article by Nicole Brodeur of the [...]
The reason people are over the 30 mile limit is that the limit is too low. Going up the steep hill you need a head of steam and going down it you must ride the brakes for four blocks to stay at 30. SDOT didn’t put the correct speed limit on the road.
The grade of the street is not a factor that’s considered when establishing an appropriate speed limit. Among many factors, safety is SDOT’s number one priority. Drivers are expected to obey the designated speed limit.
[...] SDOT’s blog features something called “facts” [...]
In 2008, SDOT reported that a road diet did not make sense for 125th because the traffic volume required 2 lanes in each direction. The statement from SDOT is still being carried on Councilmember Nick Licata’s web site. http://www.seattle.gov/council/Licata/crossings/ne_125st_25ave.htm
You are now reporting 16,200 daily trips on 125th and proposing a road diet. How does this level compare to what you measured in 2008? It seems highly unlikely that the traffic volume has decreased.
SDOT considers road diets for roadways with average daily traffic volumes of 25,000 or less. NE 125th St between NE Roosevelt Way and 35th Ave NE has demonstrated average volumes of about 16,200 vehicles on an average day. We have been monitoring traffic every year on NE 125th St west of 27th Ave NE since 2001. Traffic volumes decreased a whopping 17.3 % in less than a ten year time period. There was a 5% decrease in volumes between 2008 and 2009, alone.
[...] http://sdotblog.seattle.gov/2010/08/13/the-facts-on-ne-125th-street-speeds-and-collisions/ [...]
Is there a collision-rate available? Or at least details on how 153 collisions compares to other minor arterials in the city with similar car throughput?
We would need to do additional analysis to provide a good minor arterial comparison. We need to use streets that have similar features, such as roadway configuration, volumes, adjacent properties, etc. We’ll give this a look and see what comparables we can provide.