It’s the latest front in the decade-long war to slow traffic on north/south residential streets in the neighborhood. Chef Brenda Lee previously succeeded in getting a traffic circle and chicanes installed at 20th & Marion. This time the focus is on the entire stretch of 18th between the Union & Cherry.
The city has spray painted white lines in the street in the middle of each of the four blocks along that stretch, showing the locations where “chokers” will extend the eastern curb out into the street to give vehicles obstacles that will force them to slow down.
It’s funded as a project of the Neighborhood Street Fund and construction is expected to start this summer. Right now the city is seeking community feedback about the preliminary placement of the chokers. Contact SDOT’s Jane Rebelowski at [email protected] or 206-684-0817 if you have questions or comments.
Here’s the four locations:
20th Avenue normally has cars parked on both sides the entire length between Union and Marion, effectively choking the road to only single-car width, but it has no effect whatsoever on speeds. Cars still haul ass over 40mph up and down this VERY NARROW and LIMITED-SIGHT street. Doesn’t faze these people in the least. The city better start to realize this is a waste of money…the only thing that slows people down are speed bumps…and several of them in a row.
Even the damn schoolbuses burn down 20th Avenue…it’s utterly appalling.
How about putting a traffic circle at 22 & Marion, people roar down that street going North & South, and heading eastward to 23rd.
Every other street to the west has one all the way up to 18th.
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Chokers like this have as good of an effect as anything else. Speed bumps are pointless and just turn it into a drag race corridor between the bumps. I used to do delivery work in this neighborhood and in the end, there’s a large gap between the arterials at 14th and 23rd, and there’s going to be a lot of traffic down these roads.
I’ve been traveling lately, and have seen that photo-radar speed limit enforcement has a dramatic effect, far more effective than any traditional “traffic calming” methods. Seattle seems to have accepted red-light cameras, maybe speed cameras will come next in a few of the “trouble spots”?